Retail Experience Manager

Description

About Pelican Bay Foundation

Pelican Bay Foundation is a master homeowners association and premier luxury community in Naples, FL. One of the area’s largest exclusive enclaves, it spans more than three square miles and is bordered by pristine white-sand beaches. Our community offers one of the most diverse slates of amenities and activities in the region.

The Foundation manages all amenities and common areas, including two beach facilities with private restaurants, three racquet facilities, two boardwalks, a fitness and wellness center, a community center, and approximately 90 acres of land. A critical part of this responsibility includes ensuring compliance with all governing documents, state statutes, and regulatory requirements.

Position Summary

The Retail Experience Manager will lead the initial development and day-to-day operation of Pelican Bay’s growing retail program. The immediate focus is to create an exceptional member retail experience, improve product selection and presentation, establish sound inventory and financial controls, manage vendor relationships, and build consistent operations across multiple amenities and locations.

This is a hands-on startup role within an established luxury community. The Manager will personally execute many daily responsibilities while building the systems, standards, and business knowledge needed for responsible growth. As the program matures, the position will help evaluate broader assortment planning, additional sales channels, e-commerce, and future staffing needs.

Initial Priorities and Expected Outcomes

• Establish a polished, member-focused retail experience that reflects Pelican Bay’s hospitality and brand standards.

• Build a focused product assortment based on member needs, sales performance, seasonality, and the Pelican Bay lifestyle.

• Improve sales, gross margin, inventory accuracy, sell-through, markdown discipline, and operating controls.

• Create consistent retail presentation and service standards across racquets, fitness and wellness, lifestyle, beach, food and beverage, and special-event locations.

• Build a practical foundation for future expansion, additional staffing, and new sales channels.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Member Experience and Daily Retail Operations

• Create a warm, polished, consultative retail experience consistent with Pelican Bay’s service culture.

• Build relationships with members, learn their preferences, and provide personalized recommendations, special sourcing, and thoughtful follow-up.

• Actively sell and promote merchandise while ensuring the environment remains member-focused rather than overly commercial.

• Resolve returns, product concerns, and service-recovery situations promptly and professionally.

• Personally support receiving, unpacking, pricing, organizing, replenishing, transfers, special orders, member holds, gift packaging, and returns during the startup phase.

• Maintain organized, secure stockrooms and accurate merchandise records across all retail locations.

Product, Buying and Vendor Management

• Select and maintain a focused assortment of apparel, racquets, fitness, wellness, beach, gifts, accessories, event merchandise, and Pelican Bay-branded products.

• Manage purchase orders, delivery timing, pricing, reorders, markdown recommendations, and end-of-season disposition in partnership with leadership and Finance.

• Source and negotiate with vendors and brand partners regarding pricing, minimums, payment terms, delivery windows, product quality, and return allowances.

• Monitor vendor performance, product quality, on-time delivery, sell-through, margin, and member response.

• Use sales results, inventory levels, member requests, and seasonal patterns to refine the assortment and reduce overbuying, stockouts, and aged inventory.

• Ensure appropriate use of Pelican Bay names, logos, colors, and brand standards on all custom merchandise.

Financial Performance and Inventory Control

• Own retail sales, gross margin, markdowns, inventory productivity, shrink, operating expenses, and overall performance against approved goals.

• Prepare regular reporting on sales, margin, average transaction value, units per transaction, sell-through, inventory turn, stock availability, markdowns, and event performance.

• Partner with Finance to develop budgets and forecasts and to ensure accurate reconciliation, invoice processing, cost accounting, tax treatment, and financial reporting.

• Establish and maintain practical procedures for purchasing, receiving, tagging, storage, transfers, cycle counts, physical inventories, returns, damages, markdowns, and vendor credits.

• Protect Foundation assets through strong purchasing authority, cash-handling, receiving, inventory-control, and loss-prevention practices.

Visual Presentation and Retail Marketing

• Maintain attractive, organized, frequently refreshed, and seasonally relevant displays across permanent and temporary retail locations.

• Ensure product presentation, signage, pricing visibility, fixtures, packaging, and customer-facing materials reflect Pelican Bay’s quality standards.

• Partner with Communications and Marketing on launches, promotions, photography, signage, email content, social media, and event communications.

• Develop a practical retail calendar coordinated with holidays, tournaments, programs, events, and seasonal member patterns.

• Coordinate larger display, fixture, or visual projects with appropriate internal or outside support when needed.

Retail Events and Cross-Department Collaboration

• Plan and execute a focused calendar of trunk shows, pop-up shops, product launches, member previews, holiday markets, and event-based merchandising opportunities.

• Create merchandise plans for racquets tournaments, fitness and wellness initiatives, lifestyle programs, beach activities, food and beverage events, and community celebrations.

• Partner with Racquets, Fitness and Wellness, Lifestyle, Food and Beverage, Beach, Communications, Transportation, Security, Facilities, Technology, and Finance to integrate retail into the member journey.

• Coordinate vendor access, event setup, payments, inventory, staffing support, and post-event performance analysis.

• Serve as the internal retail subject-matter resource while maintaining centralized standards and controls.

Program Development and Future Growth

• Assess current retail activity, member needs, available spaces, systems, vendor relationships, and near-term growth opportunities.

• Prepare a phased operating plan that identifies quick wins, pilot concepts, seasonal priorities, required investment, and measurable results.

• Test new concepts, evaluate member response and financial performance, and recommend whether to scale, revise, or discontinue them.

• Evaluate practical future opportunities for pre-orders, online catalogs, member pickup, e-commerce, mobile retail, and additional locations as the business develops.

• Recommend future staffing based on sales volume, hours of operation, locations, events, and service expectations.

• When support is added, recruit, onboard, schedule, train, coach, and evaluate employees or seasonal team members.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in retail management, merchandising, business, hospitality, marketing, fashion, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.

• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in specialty retail, luxury hospitality, resort or private-club retail, merchandising, buying, or store management.

• Demonstrated experience managing or growing a retail operation, opening a concept, expanding product categories, or improving retail performance.

• Experience with product selection, vendor relationships, inventory management, pricing, margin management, visual presentation, and sales analysis.

• Proven ability to deliver revenue growth while maintaining brand standards and a high-touch customer or member experience.

• Experience with point-of-sale, inventory-management, reporting, Microsoft Office, and related business systems.

• Experience with retail events, pop-ups, trunk shows, e-commerce, or new-store development is preferred but not required.

• Knowledge of racquets, fitness, wellness, coastal lifestyle, luxury apparel, gifts, or private-club retail is advantageous.

Core Competencies

• Member-centered hospitality and relationship building.

• Hands-on execution and comfort working independently in a startup environment.

• Commercial judgment involving product, pricing, margin, inventory risk, and return on investment.

• Creativity, visual sensibility, and attention to detail.

• Analytical discipline and the ability to translate sales and inventory data into action.

• Organization and agility across multiple locations, deadlines, deliveries, events, and seasonal priorities.

• Clear written and verbal communication and productive collaboration with members, colleagues, vendors, and volunteers.

• Integrity and accountability in handling Foundation resources, purchasing authority, confidential information, and financial controls.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Work is performed across retail, racquets, fitness, lifestyle, beach, event, office, storage, and outdoor environments.

• Requires regular walking, standing, bending, reaching, merchandising, unpacking, moving boxes, and setting up displays or events.

• Must be able to lift and move merchandise and supplies of up to approximately 30 pounds, with assistance used for heavier items.

• Requires flexibility to work occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, tournaments, and special events, particularly during peak season.

• Regular local travel between Pelican Bay facilities and occasional travel to markets, showrooms, vendors, or industry events may be required. 

Compensation & Benefits

We offer a competitive total compensation and benefits package and pride ourselves in providing a fun, evolving, culture-centric work environment.

All eligible full-time year-round team members are offered the following benefits:

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) & Paid Holidays
• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage beginning the first of the month after 30 days of employment
• 401(k) with excellent Safe Harbor employer match
• Free Team Member Meals
• Company-paid Group Life, Disability, and AD&D insurance
• Company-paid Employee Assistance Program

Every team member at Pelican Bay Foundation lives by our Core Values:

• Welcoming: Create and embrace a sense of community and belonging for all.
• Collaborative: Leverage our collective genius through communication, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Positive: Remain open to new ideas and use creative problem-solving to deliver exceptional member satisfaction.
• Respectful: Always do the right thing, even when difficult, and treat others with fairness, consistency, and respect.

Pelican Bay Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug-Free Workplace.