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KREWE

Independent eyewear brand designing handcrafted frames

Vice President Retail

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/20/2026
$200k/yr+ Annual bonus
Expert
New Orleans, LA, USA+1 moreMore locations: New York, NY, USA
In PersonBased in the New Orleans or New York headquarters five days a week.
RetailRetail Store Management

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 12 years of luxury or specialty retail leadership experience, including at least 5 years in an executive role.
  • A proven track record of scaling multi-unit, multi-market retail operations with P&L ownership.
  • Experience developing and executing retail expansion strategies, including market prioritization, site selection, lease negotiation, and retail development.
  • A strong track record of delivering profitable growth while maintaining brand integrity and guest experience excellence.
  • Experience with omnichannel environments and integrating physical and digital customer journeys.
  • Sharp attention to detail and uncompromising visual and brand standards.
  • Executive presence and the ability to collaborate cross-functionally and influence at the senior leadership level.
Responsibilities
  • Serve as an executive leader and culture carrier, fostering a high-performing, accountable, and guest-centric team.
  • Build and maintain an environment of learning, development, and growth to deliver exceptional guest experiences and measurable business results.
  • Lead, mentor, and develop the retail organization to ensure alignment with the brand vision, values, and performance standards.
  • Define and own the long-term retail roadmap, including market prioritization, site selection, lease negotiations, and retail development execution.
  • Analyze market trends, customer insights, and competitive dynamics to inform expansion priorities, location strategy, and ongoing store performance.
  • Develop and execute sales and guest experience strategies aligned with brand goals and financial targets.
  • Partner with internal stakeholders and external partners, including brokers, landlords, architects, designers, and contractors, to deliver store openings and expansions.
  • Set strategy and oversee P&L management to ensure stores meet KPIs, revenue, profitability, and operational excellence goals.
  • Implement programs that drive foot traffic, conversion, average transaction value, and repeat customers to optimize performance.
  • Develop and monitor performance dashboards, KPIs, and reports to enable data-driven decisions that improve outcomes across the retail footprint.
  • Drive consistency in operations, compliance, policies, and guest experience across all retail touchpoints.
  • Champion and continuously evolve the guest experience to set new service standards.
  • Ensure brand, visual, and experiential standards are consistently upheld across all stores.
  • Strengthen community and customer engagement to drive brand loyalty.
  • Partner with Marketing, Planning, Operations, and Digital to create a seamless omnichannel experience.
  • Collaborate with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting to ensure disciplined, profitable growth.
  • Partner with HR to recruit, train, and develop the retail organization, reinforcing the company's culture and values.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with independent, design-led brands.

About the company

KREWE designs and sells sun and optical eyewear inspired by New Orleans, offered through direct-to-consumer sales, its Maison du KREWE flagship, and wholesale partners like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. Each pair is handcrafted in small batches from materials such as plant-based acetate, bio-plastics, titanium, and 24K gold-plated hardware, and undergoes a 100-point quality inspection. The brand differentiates itself with New Orleans-inspired designs, artisanal craftsmanship, and a strong service promise including a complimentary replacement for the first full-price pair (Second Chances) plus a lifetime warranty option, plus community investment through the KREWE Foundation. Its goal is to celebrate New Orleans’ energy and style through durable eyewear and meaningful customer service while improving access to vision care in the community.

Company Size

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Company Stage

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Total Funding

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Headquarters

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Founded

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • KREWE opened Rice Village Houston and Charlotte pop-up in 2025, showing continued expansion.
  • Summer 2025 and May 2025 collections show fresh product cadence supporting repeat purchases.
  • Greyson collaboration and full-service optical bars deepen premium positioning and broaden male customer reach.

What critics are saying

  • KREWE’s 2020 employee revolt still defines employer brand risk around Stirling Barrett’s leadership.
  • Rapid store expansion increases lease, inventory, and staffing burden before profitability is publicly proven.
  • Independent eyewear brands face fashion-cycle fatigue; a weak collection after 2025 collections hurts traffic.

What makes KREWE unique

  • New Orleans-rooted design and storytelling still differentiate KREWE across 18 stores in 2025.
  • KREWE combines DTC, wholesale, and permanent retail, including Soho, Houston, Austin, and Nashville.
  • The 24-hour custom lens program and Second Chances warranty create sticky premium eyewear loyalty.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Commuter Benefits
  • Parental Leave
  • Training Programs
  • Professional Development Budget
  • Paid Holidays
  • Paid Vacation