Director of Retail Sales (Travel)

About Lakeshore Learning Materials, LLC Lakeshore Learning Materials is one of the most innovative manufacturers of educational materials in the country. Specializing in top-quality products for the home and classroom, we are a thriving multichannel organization with a robust web business, multiple catalogs for early learning and elementary programs, 60 store locations, plus a sales force that is second to none. Thanks to the daily contributions of the amazing people on our team, Lakeshore has experienced continuous growth since the day it was founded in 1954. Although we’ve been serving teachers and parents for decades, we believe our best days are still to come—thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team. We are creative thinkers and problem solvers who continuously challenge ourselves to do our best work, roll up our sleeves to get the job done and persevere until we reach our goals. Over the last few decades, our people have helped us grow from a single retail store into an international business that continues to expand—moving us even closer to our goal of ensuring every teacher and student has access to the best learning materials possible. Because of our team’s passion and drive, Lakeshore is more than a great place to work—it’s a great experience to be part of. So if you’re a down-to-earth professional who shares our desire for making a difference in the world, we’d love to hear from you.

Lakeshore Learning Materials, LLC

L

lakeshorelearning.com

1,001-5,000 employees

Retail

Carson, CA

1954

Privately Held

120k LinkedIn followers

• We are seeking a Director of Retail Sales to own revenue production for Lakeshore’s retail channel. Working in close partnership with the Vice President of Stores, you’ll be accountable for total retail revenue, setting the sales strategy for assigned goals and driving the programs and selling behaviors that generate conversion, basket growth, institutional sales and outstanding customer engagement.
• You’ll be the revenue leader for our stores. Together with the Vice President of Stores, you’ll set the selling strategies, priorities and recovery plans, and our Retail Territory Managers will lead the teams that bring them to life in every location. You’ll lead through the quality of your plan, the strength of your programs, the clarity of your insight and close partnership with the field.
• You’ll translate company priorities into a clear, measurable sales plan for every store. We’re looking for a commercially sharp leader who brings a clear point of view and a recommendation backed by evidence. It’s meaningful work: every program you launch helps more teachers, families and schools find what they need in our stores.
• Driving total retail revenue with the Vice President of Stores, including the annual sales plan, the rolling forecast and executive updates that lead with a clear recommendation
• Leading chain-wide selling programs, such as customer outreach, educator partnerships, community events, loyalty and four-wall conversion, and scaling what works
• Defining recovery plans for at-risk stores with the Vice President of Stores and Territory Managers, using store visits to diagnose root causes and tracking results against KPIs
• Leading the retail B2B and outreach strategy across educator, school, childcare and community segments, and connecting stores with Inside and Institutional Sales so no lead gets lost
• Evolving the Lakeshore selling model and standards, along with the playbooks and training that help store leaders deliver it
• Optimizing performance through data, setting the two or three highest priorities each period with the Vice President of Stores
• Providing one of the retail channel’s voices with Marketing and Merchandising on promotions, pricing tests and launches, and measuring the sales lift

Required

• 7+ years of progressive retail sales leadership, including chain-wide or multi-region sales strategy ownership
• 3+ years carrying a revenue number or P&L line with demonstrated delivery against it
• Proven record designing sales programs and scaling them across a multi-unit fleet with measurable revenue results
• Strong financial fluency, including budgeting, forecasting, opportunity sizing and margin impact
• Candidates should ideally reside in the Mid-West area. The role requires overnight stays 3 times per week, with 75% of the time spent traveling

Preferred

• Experience building B2B, institutional or community outreach sales within a multi-unit retail business
• You have sharp commercial judgment and know which revenue opportunities are real and which are noise
• You build the case from data and can defend it with executives
• You effectively influence peers, executives and field leaders without direct authority.
• You communicate concisely, lead with a recommendation and back it with evidence
• You bring program design and project management discipline from concept through measured outcome

• Bonus eligible
• Paid leave for new parents to support work/life balance and family bonding
• Excellent medical/dental and vision coverage — EPO, PPO and HSA
• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution (because you will retire someday)
• Flexible benefits — choose what you like, ignore the rest
• On-site preschool for our employees' children
• On-site employee gym for all levels/fitness needs
• Generous employee discount
• Casual dress…and we really mean it
• At Lakeshore, we know our diversity makes us stronger, and when everyone feels included and valued, we all win. We strive to embrace our differences and create an intentionally diverse and inclusive community that is representative of the teachers, families and children we serve.
• We know we couldn't do the extraordinary things we're doing without the people on our team. Thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of this spectacular group, Lakeshore is more than a great place to work—it's a great experience to be part of. Day in and day out, we give everything we've got to create products that instill a sense of wonder and foster a true love of learning. To help maintain this high bar for success, we're constantly on the lookout for people to join us. So if you're a down-to-earth professional who shares our desire for making a difference, we'd love to hear from you.
• To learn more about Lakeshore, visit www.lakeshorelearning.com/careers