Wayfair’s Real Estate team is seeking a Director to build and lead a retail real estate function that will enable Wayfair’s physical retail agenda. Wayfair intends to build a physical retail platform for both Wayfair & Specialty Retail Brands that is the offline destination for home. We believe there is a white space in the brick-and-mortar market and an opportunity to create a differentiated retail experience that showcases the breadth and depth of our catalog. This presents a great opportunity for Wayfair to develop and execute a retail strategy at scale. To achieve this, Wayfair is looking to build a team that can define and drive our ambitious physical retail agenda. The Director of Retail Real Estate will develop and lead real estate strategy and execution for this exciting initiative.
The Director of Retail Real Estate will work with cross-functional partners to develop the real estate strategies and capabilities necessary to support Wayfair’s expansion of physical retail across multiple brands and store formats. This includes go-to-market strategy, footprint optimization, diligence and analytics, lease negotiation and execution, and ongoing portfolio management. We anticipate that our real estate strategy will include traditional leasing, rehab/redevelopment of existing real estate, and greenfield builds. We are seeking a motivated leader who can develop our internal real estate capabilities to ensure that real estate is a major contributor to the financial success of our physical retail platform.
In addition to working with internal partners, the Director of Retail Real Estate will be responsible for developing and managing external relationships with brokers, landlords, developers, and other relevant third-party vendors/consultants that are supporting Wayfair’s retail expansion.
This role is based in Boston and reports to the Head of Real Estate, with significant cross-functional responsibility and opportunity for exposure to senior executives. The Director of Retail Real Estate should expect to build and manage a small team in the short-term that will grow as volume and strategy dictate.
Responsibilities:
- Develop strategy for the rollout of physical retail across multiple brands on issues such as: store footprints, timing and location of store expansion, landlord/developer partnerships, leasing structures, data-driven customer & market analytics, etc.
- Translate real estate strategy into execution plans; own the outcomes.
- Build out a highly-capable retail real estate team to support retail expansion at scale.
- Partner with the Physical Retail teams to ensure real estate supports and enhances brand, marketing, merchandising, store operations, etc.
- Partner with brokers, landlords and developers as needed to execute Wayfair’s retail strategy.
- Lead a team that manages site identification and diligence, including data-driven processes to evaluate and compare retail sites; drive innovation in site selection processes and tools.
- Lead a team that manages negotiation and execution of development deals, leases, renewals, expansions, subleasing and other transaction types with landlords, brokers, and legal team.
- Partner with the Wayfair Builds teams to create and execute a repeatable process for building-out new locations to meet Wayfair/brand specifications.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Demonstrated business experience, including experience in real estate and/or physical retail
- Strong business management skills; demonstrated ability to create and lead important strategic initiatives
- Ability to implement strategic plans and drive results with multiple teams and stakeholders; inspire and motivate teams to bring future state vision to life
- Demonstrated ability to thrive in a dynamic environment
- Successful track record of managing external partners
- Strong financial/quantitative acumen; data-driven decision-making
- Senior presence; able to collaborate across all levels of the organization to achieve objectives
- Travel required
Additional Considerations:
- MBA preferred
- Experience leading physical retail rollout/expansion initiatives
- Background in retail-focused consulting
About Wayfair Inc.
Wayfair is one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home. Whether you work in our global headquarters in Boston or Berlin, or in our warehouses or offices throughout the world, we’re reinventing the way people shop for their homes. Through our commitment to industry-leading technology and creative problem-solving, we are confident that Wayfair will be home to the most rewarding work of your career. If you’re looking for rapid growth, constant learning, and dynamic challenges, then you’ll find that amazing career opportunities are knocking.
No matter who you are, Wayfair is a place you can call home. We’re a community of innovators, risk-takers, and trailblazers who celebrate our differences, and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger, smarter, and well-positioned for success. We value and rely on the collective voices of our employees, customers, community, and suppliers to help guide us as we build a better Wayfair – and world – for all. Every voice, every perspective matters. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or genetic information.