Full-Time

Director/Senior Director Global Retail Owned and Operated

Fanatics Collectibles

Fanatics

Fanatics

10,001+ employees

China-based licensed sports merchandise retailer

No salary listed

Company Historically Provides H1B Sponsorship

London, UK + 3 more

More locations: San Francisco, CA, USA | Los Angeles, CA, USA | New York, NY, USA

In Person

London office 5 days on-site; relocation considered for the right candidate.

Category
Real Estate (2)
,
Required Skills
Financial Modeling

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Requirements
  • 12–15+ years of progressive retail leadership experience, including global or multi-region ownership
  • Demonstrated expertise in global retail real estate strategy, site selection, and lease negotiation across multiple countries
  • Proven ability to build and present investment cases, pitch decks, and executive-level materials
  • Strong global P&L ownership with accountability for unit economics and portfolio-level profitability
  • Experience building and managing regional teams and external operating partners across multiple geographies
  • Deep understanding of store development, construction management, and capex planning at scale
  • Exceptional analytical, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
  • Clear, confident communicator capable of influencing senior leaders and external partners globally
  • Fluent in English; additional languages a plus
  • Subject to applicable laws, Fanatics Collectibles may choose to run a background check
Responsibilities
  • Define and execute the global owned and operated retail strategy, including market prioritization, store formats, expansion sequencing, and revenue targets across regions
  • Establish the global retail expansion playbook, codifying criteria for market entry, site selection, capital allocation, and store economics
  • Lead end-to-end financial modeling and business case development for all new store openings, relocations, remodels, and format innovations
  • Create executive- and board-ready pitch decks to support real estate approvals, capital investment decisions, and long-range planning
  • Partner with Global leadership to ensure alignment with Fanatics Collectibles’ overall growth strategy, brand priorities, and capital plans
  • Own the global retail real estate strategy, including country and city selection, trade-area analysis, footfall and tourism assessment, and competitive benchmarking
  • Identify, evaluate, and secure best-in-class retail locations across priority global markets
  • Lead and oversee lease negotiations worldwide, structuring deals to optimize rent, incentives, flexibility, and long-term portfolio value
  • Manage senior-level relationships with landlords, developers, brokers, and strategic partners across regions
  • Ensure global consistency while navigating local regulatory, zoning, and permitting requirements
  • Oversee global store development from feasibility through opening, including design standards, construction management, and launch execution
  • Partner with Design, Operations, and Brand teams to evolve scalable store prototypes adaptable to different markets and formats
  • Establish disciplined project management and governance to deliver stores on time, on budget, and to brand standards globally
  • Own full global P&L responsibility for the owned and operated retail portfolio
  • Define and track global financial KPIs, forecasting cadence, and performance dashboards
  • Identify opportunities to improve unit economics through pricing, merchandising, staffing models, and operational efficiencies across markets
  • Implement scalable systems, reporting tools, and governance models to support multi-country operations
  • Build, lead, and develop a hub-and-spoke global retail organization, including regional retail leaders and local market teams
  • Set clear decision rights, performance expectations, and operating rhythms for regional teams to ensure consistency with global strategy
  • Directly manage and develop senior regional leaders; coach teams to operate with strong commercial discipline and local market fluency
  • Oversee and coordinate external operating partners, including local retail operators and staffing partners, real estate, construction, and development partners, event, activation, and experiential vendors
  • Establish partner selection criteria, governance models, SLAs, and performance management frameworks to ensure accountability, quality, and scalability
  • Balance internal ownership with external leverage to enable capital-efficient global expansion
  • Partner with Marketing, Product, and Licensing to deliver globally consistent, locally resonant in-store experiences
  • Oversee flagship openings, global retail activations, and experiential moments, ensuring strong execution and ROI
  • Champion innovation in experiential retail, merchandising, and visual presentation to elevate fan engagement worldwide

Fanatics China is a joint venture between Fanatics Inc. and Hillhouse Capital that localizes and scales licensed sports merchandise for China. It designs, manufactures, and markets fan gear for Chinese consumers, operating a multi-channel model that includes building and running e-commerce sites for global leagues and teams, exploring online marketplaces, and developing physical retail concepts. Its product workflow combines technology, data, and on-demand manufacturing to manage the entire supply chain, enabling fast response to demand. The company differentiates itself through a China-focused approach backed by Hillhouse’s network and investments, its end-to-end vertical commerce model, and partnerships with hundreds of sports organizations, which together help it navigate China’s complex retail landscape. The goal is to satisfy a previously underserved Chinese market for licensed sports merchandise by creating localized products and channels that connect fans with official gear.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$5.2B

Headquarters

Huangpu, China

Founded

1995

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The May 2026 FIFA agreement expands Topps into trading cards, stickers, and card games.
  • Fanatics Sportsbook reached 23 states and Washington, D.C. by July 2026.
  • Fanatics Fest and KAWS x MLB launches show stronger brand heat and merchandising leverage.

What critics are saying

  • A March 2026 collector antitrust suit and Panini litigation keep monopoly scrutiny alive.
  • Fanatics closed Riverview, Florida in 2026, cutting 286 jobs after Jacksonville warehouse layoffs.
  • FIFA's 2031 timing leaves years before major collectibles revenue lands, exposing execution risk.

What makes Fanatics unique

  • Fanatics controls design, manufacturing, distribution, and commerce across leagues in one stack.
  • Fanatics secured FIFA's exclusive collectibles deal beginning in 2031 across physical and digital products.
  • Fanatics China, launched with Hillhouse in Shanghai, localizes licensed merchandise for China.

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Benefits

Work Life Balance - At Fanatics we place our focus on results and empowerment and encourage you to enjoy your time on and OFF the field with our competitive time off policies.

Recognition and Rewards Program - Fanatics values our internal fans too! Our programs are designed to thank and reward Fanatics athletes for their hard work and commitment to winning as a team.

Company Sponsored Events - From breakfast to happy hour and every hour in between – Fanatics employees can enjoy time together at one of our many company events.

Fanatics.com Employee Discount - As an employee you will receive a special discount on all of your favorite sports merchandise and memorabilia.

Give Back - Fanatics cares about the fans around us. We encourage you to partner up with your teammates in giving back and serving the communities where we work and play.

Meet & Greets - You never know who will show up to the office. You might just meet one of your all-time favorite athletes.

Invest in You - Here at Fanatics we want you to accomplish your goals. We offer tuition reimbursement.

Healthy Lifestyle - Fanatics cares about helping and supporting our teams in their busy lifestyles. Through wellness relationships with fitness and weight management partners we are here to support you in whatever your lifestyle goals.

Wellness Coverage - Your health is important to you – and it’s important to us too! We offer a number of benefit plan options for convenience and flexibility.

Financial Security - Through our plans, Fanatics offers you a way to budget for health care expenses that you’d typically pay for out of pocket.

Retirement - The sooner you begin planning for your retirement, the better. Fanatics offers generous plans to help you prepare for the future.

Network of Support - Fanatics understands that sometimes you may need someone in your corner. Through the Life Assistance Program, you and your family have access to support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Fanatics Family First - Afterall we are #OneFanatics. Put your family first with our paid maternity and paternity leave program, or take advantage of our infertility treatment reimbursement program to get the support you need while you try to grow your family.

IDEA - We invite you to join one of our Employee Resource groups, or celebrate and honor what’s most important to you through our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality & Advocacy) floating holiday. We recognize diversity helps foster innovation, and people perform better when they can be themselves. Gender Affirmation Treatment reimbursement is available to employees.

Company News

CNBC
Sep 30th, 2025
Scorability raises $40M to transform recruiting

Scorability, a sports tech platform, raised $40 million in funding led by Bluestone Equity Partners, with participation from Fanatics and others. The startup, founded in 2023 by Brian Cruver, aims to modernize college sports recruiting. It has 1.2 million athletes and 3,000 college sports program users. Scorability is free for athletes, while colleges pay $10k-$40k annually. The platform simplifies recruitment by providing comprehensive data and AI-driven tools for coaches.

Instagram
Aug 25th, 2025
Black Sports Business Symposium on Instagram: "Day one of #BlackSportsBiz launched the inaugural @BlackSportsWallStreet + @Pitch.Black.Sports, presented by @Fanatics, while also featuring @CariChampion, Eli Kumekpor, @RyanHoward_006 and @1JeremiahBrown! 🎤🛍️ Congrats to @Reel_Analytics for winning Pitch Black Sports! We can’t wait to see what’s next for Cory and his team. 📈 🎥: @travisellisonproductions @aumemedia"

417 likes, 21 comments - blacksportsbiz on May 30, 2024: "Day one of #BlackSportsBiz launched the inaugural @BlackSportsWallStreet + @Pitch.Black.Sports, presented by @Fanatics, while also featuring @CariChampion, Eli Kumekpor, @RyanHoward_006 and @1JeremiahBrown! 🎤🛍️ Congrats to @Reel_Analytics for winning Pitch Black Sports! We can’t wait to see what’s next for Cory and his team. 📈 🎥: @travisellisonproductions @aumemedia".

Wall Street Journal
Dec 8th, 2024
WSJ News Exclusive | Fanatics Valuation Rises to $18 Billion as It Plans to Expand Sports Offerings

Fanatics raised a new round of funding valuing the online sports-merchandise retailer at $18 billion, people familiar with the matter said, roughly tripling its valuation from a year ago.

Sports Yahoo
Sep 12th, 2024
Fanatics Launching Events Division With Investment From IMG

Fanatics is launching a new events vertical, in partnership with IMG, to capitalize on the company’s growing suite of business ventures, including merchandise, memorabilia, fashion, music, trading cards and sports betting. Starting next year, Fanatics Events will create fan festivals that feature athletes and brands from across the industry, including those in the Fanatics orbit. […]

Fanatics, Inc.
Sep 12th, 2024
History — Fanatics Inc

What began as a single e-commerce deal in 2002 has grown into a mobile-first, tech and data-fueled consumer brand, built to satisfy global fans who purchase gear in-the-moment when passion is burning highest. Fanatics provides the ultimate shopping experience to sports fans whether buying gear onlin