Sephora Associate Director, Retail Strategy & Planning
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Director
- Department
- Retail & Boutique Operations
- Posted
- Sep 2, 2026
About Sephora
Sephora is a global prestige beauty leader, renowned for redefining the retail experience through creativity, inclusivity, and expert service. Founded in France and now part of LVMH, the company brings together an exceptional portfolio of beauty brands with a distinctive culture of discovery and innovation. As an employer, Sephora offers a dynamic, customer-centered environment where talent is encouraged to learn, experiment, and grow across retail, digital, merchandising, operations, and corporate functions. Its teams are united by a passion for beauty, entrepreneurship, and belonging, making Sephora a compelling workplace for professionals seeking impact within a fast-moving international brand.
Sephora – Associate Director, Retail Strategy & Planning, Shanghai. Lead retail strategy, market intelligence, and planning for China.
Role & Responsibilities
- Drive strategy execution and embed priorities into annual operating plans and market plans, ensuring transparency about progress and potential obstacles
- Develop financial and quantitative models for strategy planning, including business simulations, revenue and profit projections, and KPI realization tracking
- Conduct and support strategic planning activities such as market visits, business reviews, workshops, and individual executive briefings
- Prepare strategic presentations and comprehensive business planning documentation
- Oversee annual budget planning and spending allocation for the retail department
- Maintain market overview of competitive, technical, application, and societal developments within and outside the beauty industry across China
- Lead development of data sources and establish central repository for market and competitor intelligence
- Identify key market developments and ensure strategic implications are incorporated into planning and decision-making
- Synthesize consumer research, market insights, and intelligence into strategy planning using qualitative and quantitative data
- Develop and maintain retail key performance indicator database; track and report performance metrics with regular cadence to leadership
- Supervise data analysis and reporting activities (both regular and ad-hoc) to meet cross-functional requirements
- Collect and synthesize data from existing systems and sources
- Translate commercial results analysis into concrete implications, recommendations, and action plans
- Support specialized data analysis needs for regional teams as required
- Lead or participate in cross-functional strategic projects aligned with retail strategy demands
- Drive or collaborate with external consulting agencies on specific topical initiatives
- Lead the team to achieve business results through recruiting, coaching, retaining, and building capacity for evolving business needs
Qualifications
- 10+ years of professional experience, preferably combining 3+ years at a top-tier strategy consulting firm with corporate experience in retail or beauty sectors
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Business, Science, or Engineering with strong academic credentials
- Solid business acumen and critical-thinking ability; capable of solving problems through both conventional judgment and ad-hoc analysis
- Advanced statistical and analytical expertise in both quantitative methods (financial modelling, data analysis) and qualitative analysis (market trends, competitor intelligence)
- Demonstrated conceptual, analytical, and interpersonal skills with solid project management background and adaptability to change; consistent track record of delivering significant impact in multinational organizations
- Strong leadership capability; able to coach and develop team members to senior levels
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills in both English and Mandarin Chinese
Skills
Experience
10+ years of overall professional experience, preferably combining at least 3 years' tenure in top-tier strategy consulting with corporate experience in retail or beauty-related sectors.
Education
Bachelor's degree or above in Business, Science, or Engineering with an excellent academic track record.
Workplace
The role is situated in Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Culture
Sephora fosters a dynamic, inclusive workplace where creativity, curiosity, and a passion for beauty are encouraged at every level. As an employer, it is distinguished by its focus on empowerment, continuous learning, and a collaborative retail culture that celebrates individuality and client-centric innovation.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Sephora, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Retail Strategy Manager», «Strategy & Planning Lead», «Commercial Strategy Director», «Retail Planning Director», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.