Director of Real Estate & Store Portfolio Management
12 days ago
Chicago
Job DescriptionDirector of Real Estate & Store Portfolio Management Location: Chicago, IL Job Type: Full-Time, Onsite Reports to COO Overview AKIRA is an expanding fast-fashion retailer with 40+ locations and an aggressive plan to grow to 100+ stores over the next several years. We are seeking a Director of Real Estate who will fully own our national store portfolio-strategy, renewals, site selection, negotiations, analytics, and landlord relationships. This role centralizes work historically divided among ownership and third-party brokers (Savills) and provides AKIRA with a single accountable leader to manage a large and increasingly complex portfolio. This is a high-impact role that directly influences AKIRA's profitability, growth velocity, and long-term footprint. Key Responsibilities • Portfolio Strategy & Planning, • Build a 3–5 year real estate roadmap for AKIRA as we scale from our current 40+ stores., • Analyze regional performance, co-tenancy trends, demographic shifts, mall traffic, and fashion ZIP heat maps to direct expansion or exits., • Develop and maintain a portfolio scorecard using standardized metrics (e.g., occupancy cost %, sales PSF, EBITDA contribution, renewal risk)., • Present quarterly recommendations to COO and ownership., • Lease Administration & Renewals, • Fully manage all lease expirations, options, renewals, rent escalations, and amendment negotiations., • Maintain a proactive 24-month renewal calendar and internal notification system., • Perform financial modeling on renewals (rent changes, CAM/NNN impacts, ROI on remodels)., • Ensure timely execution of all lease documents., • Market Expansion & Site Selection, • Identify new markets and high-potential locations using AKIRA's customer density, mall traffic, demographic match, and fashion ZIP scoring method., • Conduct site tours, prepare comparative site matrices, and present recommendations., • Partner with brokers (including Savills) to source and vet opportunities., • Deal Structuring & Negotiation, • Lead all negotiations with landlords for new stores, renewals, relocations, short-term pop-ups, and rent abatements., • Secure favorable TI packages, free rent periods, caps on CAM increases, and co-tenancy protections., • Coordinate with legal on lease review, risk identification, and redline management., • Compare deals against industry benchmarks to ensure competitiveness., • Cross-Functional Execution, • Work closely with Construction, Finance, Operations, and Store Leadership on openings, remodels, and closures., • Partner with Finance to ensure accurate occupancy cost budgeting and forecasting., • Provide detailed turnover requirements and timelines to Construction & Ops., • Vendor & Broker Management, • Oversee Savills and all other real estate partners; set expectations, KPIs, and reporting cadence., • Hold brokers accountable to delivering actionable market intel and competitive deal terms., • Evaluate whether external brokerage workload should be expanded, replaced, or brought in-house., • Store Performance Analytics, • Build and maintain dashboards on store health:, • Sales PSF, • Occupancy costs, • Year-1 ramp curves, • Portfolio profitability clusters, • Risk of decline (traffic shifts, anchor closures, competitive encroachment), • Recommend relocations or closures based on data and financial modeling., • Executive Communication & Alignment, • Create succinct, data-backed decks for ownership, COO, and board-level review., • Provide monthly reporting: renewals, risks, landlord issues, new deals, and market trends., • Represent AKIRA professionally with landlords, developers, and national REIT contacts.Required Skills & Experience, • 5+ years in retail real estate, ideally with a multi-unit specialty retailer (50–200 stores)., • Strong experience managing high-velocity renewals, lease negotiations, and multi-market expansion., • Advanced financial modeling skills (occupancy cost %, NPV of lease, break-even impact, EBITDA uplift)., • Demonstrated success negotiating rent reductions, TI, abatements, and early termination strategies., • Competency in reading redlines, coordinating with legal, and managing lease execution processes., • Strong relationships in the landlord community a plus (e.g., Simon, Brookfield, Macerich, WS, Kimco)., • Highly organized with ability to manage 50+ concurrent timelines and lease events., • Data-oriented and comfortable using scoring frameworks, GIS, and demographic tools.Success Metrics (Year 1 – Year 2), • 0 missed renewals or escalation deadlines., • 10–15% average improvement in renewal terms vs. legacy deals at similar locations., • Full real estate roadmap created identifying markets for 40→80 store growth., • Proactive communication on portfolio risks (anchor closures, declining malls, lease cliffs)., • Reduced reliance on ownership for real estate decision-making., • Faster deal cycle times from LOI → executed lease.Compensation & Benefits, • Salary range: $100,000–$140,000 Plus Bonus based on experience, • Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, • 401(k), FSA/HSA, transit benefits, • Generous employee discount