Vice President, Real Estate

About Us:

vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha's Vineyard by brothers, Shep and Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US. 

vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good. 

You don't need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It's a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don't live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks - we bring it to work with us, too. 

In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees. 

Our team is our family, and we'd never have grown to where we are today without them. 

We're committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you'll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about. 

Overview: 

We are actively seeking a Vice President of Real Estate to spearhead the growth and optimization of the vineyard vines Retail store real estate portfolio. As a member of our leadership team, you will play a critical role in shaping our retail footprint. This position involves leveraging established relationships in the Retail Real Estate space, utilizing company insights, predictive analytics tools, and extensive data analysis to develop, execute, lead, and drive a sophisticated, go-to-market real estate strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, execute, drive and consistently evolve a comprehensive real estate strategy in alignment with vineyard vines goals and growth targets

• Develop and maintain relationships with key real estate owners, developers, brokers, bankers and consultants

• Manage all elements of the lease negotiations for new store, renewals, closures, store size optimization, remodels and proposed redevelopments

• Review and analyze lease transactions including upcoming renewals to assess current market conditions, financial and non-financial implications, and recommend solutions

• Work closely with finance team to ensure strategy alignment is within budgetary goals and financial targets

• Help to improve the profitability of the store fleet by recommending options to improve rent economics, build out costs, operating performance, and size

• Provide insights and recommendations to senior leadership based on market analysis and performance metrics

• Collaborate with various departments, including Stores, Outlet, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Merchandising, to ensure seamless execution of real estate strategies and to integrate into broader business planning

• Demonstrate capacity to evaluate real estate investments on a financial pro forma basis

• Partner with legal on document negotiation on multi-party easement agreements, leases, purchase and sale agreements, site plan approvals and acquiring development rights

• Coordinate property management activities with internal facilities management teams

• Perform ad-hoc analyses as requested

• Lead and execute special projects as necessary

What you bring:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; advanced degree preferred

• 12 years of progressive leadership experience in retail real estate, with a proven track record of success

• Strong strategic thinking and planning skills, with the ability to develop and execute long-term growth strategies

• Experience leading cross-functional teams and dealing with complex business challenges

•  Ability to read, write and interpret legal documents and collaborate with attorney’s on negotiation of legal documents

•  Forward thinking with understanding of potential future impacts of legal language and agreements

•  Strong knowledge of and work experience with department store or “big box” retailing in shopping malls or lifestyle centers

•  Strong knowledge of negotiation strategy and standard forms of anchor transactions 

•  Excellent oral and written communication skills

•  Excellent leadership, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across functional lines and at many levels

•  Ability to work a flexible schedule based on Company needs

Every-day Will Feel This Good Because: 

• We have a fun-spirited entrepreneurial culture filled with truly “good” people
• We have flexible working hours and work from home days to accommodate your personal life
• We offer a generous employee discount so you can rep our lifestyle on-and-off the boat
• We offer a competitive salary package, 401-K, commuter benefits, and paid-family leave, health savings , flex spending accounts, life & disability insurance
• We have an onsite gym as well as health & financial wellness programs to keep you active
• We offer 2 summer Fridays to take off in addition to a competitive vacation policy & holiday calendar