Director of Retail
North Reading, MA, USA
USD 160k-180k / year + Equity
We’re leading the way in redefining the workwear category. Our mission is to engineer better boots and apparel for our country’s tradesmen and women by working directly with real workers to learn what they actually need to execute their jobs.
The BRUNT team is not only devoted to improving on the old workwear standards, but we’re also creating a community that tradesmen and women can call their own. From our weekly hangouts at the BRUNT Garage, to hosting events across the country, we’re all about getting boots on the ground and building something real with the BRUNT crew.
What you’ll do:
BRUNT Workwear is seeking a Director of Retail who is ready to roll up their sleeves and build. This is not a "maintain the status quo" corporate management role. This is a hands-on player-coach position for an operational powerhouse who thrives in ambiguity and builds without a roadmap. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will define the operational DNA of BRUNT retail, transforming our physical spaces from a single flagship into a scalable, high-growth network.
Your mission is to elevate BRUNT’s retail footprint into a community hub where craftsmanship, grit, and pride in hard work come together. You will establish the systems, culture, and economics required to scale our unique physical experience from 1 store to 50+.
How You’ll Do It:
Infrastructure & Systems
- Define store standards, daily operating procedures, inventory control, and shrink processes.
- Write the comprehensive new store opening playbook we will use for every future location, and select the retail tech stack that ties it all together.
- Establish impactful visual merchandising standards that remain authentically true to the BRUNT brand and the trades.
Selling Model & Experience
- Optimizing associate engagement, product education, floor coverage, conversion, and attachment strategies.
- Ensure retail functions as a seamless extension of our DTC brand by defining BOPIS strategy, assisted selling, clientele tools, and cross-channel inventory management.
People & Culture
- Design roles, hiring profiles, onboarding programs, and training modules tailored for high performance.
- Establish compensation structures, performance systems, and career progression pathways that scale smoothly as the organizational footprint grows.
Growth & Economics
- Own the bottom line for retail performance, managing labor productivity, labor modeling, sales/sqft benchmarks, site selection analytics, lease economics, and national expansion planning.
- Identify and rally internal partners across Marketing, Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, IT, and Digital Product to build out infrastructure without relying on a pre-assembled support team.
- Directly manage BRUNT’s Retail Strategy Operations Manager and lead the expanding retail team, while traveling regularly to existing stores and scouting potential future sites.
What You Need to Succeed:
- 8–15 years of retail leadership experience, including multi-unit or field responsibility. Experience in apparel, footwear, or trade-oriented/workwear retail is highly preferred.
- A proven track record of scaling an emerging or high-growth retail brand ideally bringing a founder-led or DTC brand into physical retail by rapidly opening 5+ stores.
- Exceptional ability to build operational systems, labor models, and selling structures entirely from scratch. You don't need a roadmap; you enjoy drawing it.
- Deep fluency in 4-wall economics, labor efficiency, site selection analytics, and lease evaluations. You understand how operational decisions impact the profit and loss statement.
- Strong communication skills and leadership presence, with a demonstrated history of developing high-performing store teams and mentoring future leaders.
In accordance with applicable salary transparency laws, we are providing the good-faith salary range for this position. This range reflects the base salary that we reasonably expect to pay for this position at the time of posting. The actual compensation offered will depend on factors such as qualifications, experience, skills, and budget.
Benefits & Perks:
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Healthcare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance options.
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Retirement: 401(k) plan with Company Match.
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Paid Time Off: 15 days of PTO, plus 11 paid holidays and sick leave.
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Incentives: Performance-based bonus eligibility and Equity if applicable.
The anticipated salary range for this role is:
No matter what experience you have within our industry we encourage you to apply. At BRUNT, we believe that a strong crew is assembled with people from different backgrounds.
We look for individuals who thrive on challenges, will be passionate about our brand, and believe that teamwork is necessary for success. Show us how your experiences have shaped you and how you can contribute to BRUNT. We can’t wait to hear from you!