--- title: 'Director of Retail at The People Brand' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-retail-the-people-brand-manhattan-beach-gtwdzsdgfxr0' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # Director of Retail at The People Brand - **Company:** The People Brand - **Location:** Manhattan Beach, CA - **Compensation:** $130k–$140k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-07-13 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/thepeoplebrand/02e0a962-9925-4b68-a740-e4055b1fd1c8 ## Job description Director of Retail Location: Southern California (Hybrid) Reports To: General Manager The Opportunity A rapidly growing lifestyle consumer brand is launching its owned retail channel and seeking an entrepreneurial Director of Retail to build the retail organization from the ground up. This is a rare opportunity to create the retail playbook from day one—leading the launch of the company's first stores while establishing the operational foundation, talent strategy, and scalable processes needed to support long-term growth. The ideal leader enjoys building, thrives in founder-led environments, and is equally comfortable setting strategy and rolling up their sleeves to execute. ## What You'll Do Build & Scale Retail Develop and execute the owned retail strategy alongside executive leadership. Lead the successful launch of the company's first retail locations. Create scalable retail operating procedures, playbooks, and best practices. Help shape the long-term growth strategy as the retail fleet expands. Retail Operations Initially lead the flagship store while establishing operational excellence. Drive store performance through strong execution, customer experience, and financial management. Monitor key retail KPIs including sales, conversion, payroll, traffic, inventory, UPT, AOV, and profitability. Continuously improve operational efficiency and the in-store experience. Leadership & Talent Recruit, hire, onboard, coach, and develop high-performing retail teams. Build the retail organizational structure as additional stores open. Develop future store leaders and cultivate a strong culture of accountability and service. Brand & Community Create engaging retail experiences that reflect the brand's lifestyle and values. Partner with Marketing on local events and community initiatives. Help establish each location as a destination within its local market. Cross-Functional Partnership Collaborate closely with Merchandising, Planning, Marketing, eCommerce, Operations, and Finance. Support assortment planning, inventory strategy, forecasting, and product launches. Utilize retail analytics and POS reporting to drive business decisions and identify opportunities for improvement. ## What We're Looking For 8+ years of progressive retail leadership experience. Experience leading multi-unit retail operations. Proven success opening new stores and helping scale a retail organization. Background in founder-led, entrepreneurial, or high-growth consumer brands. Strong understanding of retail operations, merchandising, labor planning, inventory management, and financial performance. Experience with Shopify POS or similar retail technology platforms is preferred. Exceptional leadership, coaching, communication, and project management skills. Willingness to travel regularly between retail locations. Ideal Background This opportunity is ideal for an emerging Director of Retail, District Manager, or Area Manager who has played a meaningful role in growing a retail business and is ready to own an entire retail channel. The successful candidate combines strategic thinking with a hands-on approach, has experience opening stores, building teams, developing operational processes, and partnering cross-functionally to drive business results. They are energized by building something from the ground up and understand how to create memorable retail experiences that strengthen both brand and community. ## About The People Brand ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: The People Brand is a female-founded, owned, and operated talent acquisition agency specializing in executive and professional placements within the outdoor, lifestyle, beauty, wellness, and CPG industries. - **Entity Type**: Private (Bootstrapped) - **Headquarters**: Carson, California, United States - **Founded**: Not publicly available - **Founders**: Tiffany and Angella (both former HR executives from Nike, Hurley, and Fox Racing - last names not publicly available) ## Core Business - Primary industry/industries: Talent Acquisition & Recruitment (niche focus on lifestyle, outdoor, beauty, wellness, and CPG) - Target customers: Startups to Fortune 500 companies across outdoor, lifestyle, beauty, wellness, and CPG sectors; mid-to-executive level job seekers in those industries - Mission or purpose statement: To connect exceptional talent with leading brands that share their values, prioritizing cultural alignment, work-life balance, competitive compensation, DEI initiatives, and sustainability goals. ## Products & Services - **Executive & C-Suite Recruitment**: Headhunting and placement for senior leadership roles within target industries. - **Functional Recruitment Services**: Specialized placements across Marketing/Communications, Design/Graphic Design, Pattern Making/Technical Design, Product Development/Production, Merchandising, Sales, eCommerce/Digital, Finance/Accounting/Planning, Supply Chain/Operations, Human Resources/Talent Acquisition, Customer Service, Retail Stores and Operations, and Technical/Engineering. - **Consultative Talent Strategy**: A collaborative approach with clients to define and strategize roles before initiating a search, leveraging the founders' HR leadership experience. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private, no disclosed funding) - **Key Metric**: 9 out of 10 success rate in hiring; maintains a low attrition rate for placements. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly available (no disclosed investors). Partner brands span startups to Fortune 500 companies in their target sectors. - **Growth Signals**: Expanding job postings via their Lever careers page ([jobs.lever.co/thepeoplebrand](https://jobs.lever.co/thepeoplebrand)), indicating active recruitment for their own team. ## Competitive Advantages - **Industry Specialization**: Deep domain expertise in outdoor, lifestyle, and CPG sectors, which they call being "outdoor, lifestyle & CPG EXPERTS." This niche focus differentiates them from generalist agencies. - **Founder-Led Experience**: Founded by former HR executives from top lifestyle brands (Nike, Hurley, Fox Racing) with 20+ years of in-house HR experience, giving them insider knowledge of both client and candidate needs. - **Transparency**: Unique in the agency space for sharing salary information and company names upfront with candidates, a stated departure from typical industry practices. - **Cultural Fit Emphasis**: Invests significant time understanding company culture and candidate values, with a stated policy: "If we wouldn't place our own loved ones in a role, we certainly wouldn't place you there either." - **Personalized, Low-Volume Approach**: A "do things the right way" mentality that avoids rushing placements, resulting in high success and low attrition rates. ## Strategic Focus - Deepening partnerships with forward-thinking brands that prioritize work-life balance, DEI, and sustainability. - Leveraging their consultative HR background to provide high-touch, strategic talent solutions rather than transactional recruitment. - Utilizing AI tools to support parts of the hiring process (reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, identifying verification signals). - Building on their reputation as a female-founded, owned, and operated firm to attract mission-aligned clients and talent. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Values**: The agency itself prides itself on being a culture-first organization, emphasizing trust, mutual respect, and true partnership. They seek to work with brands that share these values. - **Work Environment**: Based in Carson, CA, with a mix of on-site and hybrid roles posted for their own team. Positions include full-time roles in locations like Carson, CA and Detroit, MI. - **Transparency**: As an employer, they use AI tools to support hiring but also tout radical transparency (sharing salary and company names) as a core principle, suggesting a straightforward, honest internal culture. - **Team & Leadership**: Founded and led by two experienced, purpose-driven HR leaders with a “do the right thing” mentality. You'd be learning from veterans who deeply understand the talent landscape. - **Impact**: Work directly with top-tier lifestyle and CPG brands, placing talent that drives those industries forward. The agency's small, specialized nature means your work has a direct impact on client success. ## Sources 1. [The People Brand - Official Website](https://thepeoplebrandusa.com/) 2. [The People Brand - About Page](https://thepeoplebrandusa.com/about) 3. [The People Brand - Candidates Page](https://thepeoplebrandusa.com/candidates) 4. [The People Brand - Careers Page (Lever)](https://jobs.lever.co/thepeoplebrand) 5. [The People Brand - Job Board Portal](https://jobs.thepeoplebrandusa.com/) ## Other roles at The People Brand - [Global Head of Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/global-head-of-sales-the-people-brand-manhattan-beach-56jfre309bas) — Manhattan Beach, CA - [Web Developer](https://feeny.ai/job/web-developer-the-people-brand-compton-bpnwmdwvtkwn) — Compton, CA - [Senior Graphic Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-graphic-designer-the-people-brand-compton-vd2ccz5pdhz2) — Compton, CA - [SIOP & Sourcing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/siop-sourcing-manager-the-people-brand-rigby-1wf3dxxx7dar) — Rigby, ID - [HR Generalist](https://feeny.ai/job/hr-generalist-the-people-brand-orange-county-swvbd1gjadrs) — Orange County, CA - [Digital Retention Specialist (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/digital-retention-specialist-contract-the-people-brand-california-d39av8x0kk4v) — California - [Materials Development Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/materials-development-manager-the-people-brand-rigby-ppz912cg8h4f) — Rigby, ID - [Head of Product](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-product-the-people-brand-austin-ts70hmvpkz2y) — Austin, TX - [Chief Operating Officer](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-operating-officer-the-people-brand-los-angeles-9nnnc4yn6071) — Los Angeles, CA - [Digital Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/digital-marketing-manager-the-people-brand-carson-2pwnmt146yga) — Carson, CA