A Farm Shaped Over Time

At Boschendal, work follows the rhythm of the farm – shaped by seasons, people, produce, and care.

Set in the heart of the Cape Winelands, Boschendal is a living farm where hospitality, retail, food, wine, craft, and land come together in experiences that feel warm, generous, and grounded.

Every detail matters: what we grow, make, stock, sell, and share with our guests.

Our Purpose: Regenerating our Future through People & Soil

At Boschendal, regeneration begins with the land and is carried forward by our people. We are a farm with purpose, caring for our soil, nurturing our teams, strengthening our community, and creating meaningful guest experiences through genuine hospitality – all rooted in the future we are shaping together.

Head of Retail

The Head of Retail is a strategic commercial leader responsible for crafting and contributing to the overall retail strategy, translating Boschendal’s brand, hospitality and commercial ambitions into a distinctive, high-performing retail proposition. Oversee the e-commerce, omnichannel retail, gifting and other emerging retail models. Boschendal’s retail business is entering an exciting phase of growth, with an expanding portfolio of physical retail destinations, e-commerce, gifting and retail-led events. This includes our established Boschendal offering, the development of a new retail space in Johannesburg, and plans for a new village concept incorporating a farm shop, retail and events.

Reporting to the Chief Hospitality Officer, the role will drive retail sales, profitability and innovation across all Boschendal retail outlets, reseller channels and emerging retail opportunities. The Head of Retail will combine commercial acumen, entrepreneurial thinking and operational excellence to evolve the retail business, identify new revenue opportunities and create compelling retail experiences that strengthen both guest engagement and the Boschendal brand.

The role will take ownership of the end-to-end retail ecosystem – from strategy, product and channel development to merchandising, customer experience, systems, inventory and operational execution — ensuring that retail remains commercially relevant, operationally disciplined and continuously evolving. A key expectation of the role is to challenge conventional retail thinking, identify emerging consumer and market opportunities, and work collaboratively across Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Farm, Marketing, Brand, Finance, Procurement and other functions to build an integrated and innovative retail offering.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy & Commercial Leadership

Craft, shape and contribute to the development of Boschendal’s retail strategy, ensuring alignment with the broader hospitality, brand and commercial strategy.
Translate strategic priorities into clear commercial plans, initiatives and measurable outcomes.
Identify and develop new retail concepts, channels, partnerships and revenue opportunities.
Lead the commercial development, launch and performance of new retail destinations and concepts, building a scalable retail model across Boschendal and future locations.
Build a clear roadmap for the evolution and growth of Boschendal’s retail portfolio.
Use commercial insight, customer behaviour and market intelligence to inform investment, assortment and channel decisions.
Act as the internal champion for retail, ensuring its potential is fully leveraged as part of the overall Boschendal guest and brand experience.

Sales, Revenue & Profitability Growth

Drive retail sales and sustainable revenue growth across all Boschendal outlets, reseller channels and future retail platforms.
Identify and grow revenue opportunities across physical retail, e-commerce, gifting, reseller channels, retail-led events, activations and new destination concepts.
Develop and execute strategies to achieve and exceed revenue, gross margin and profitability targets.
Identify opportunities to increase spend per guest, conversion, basket size, frequency and customer lifetime value.
Continuously evaluate channel, product and category performance and redirect resources toward the strongest commercial opportunities.
Create commercially compelling campaigns, activations and sales initiatives in collaboration with Marketing, Hospitality and other relevant teams.
Balance revenue growth with disciplined margin, cost-of-sales and inventory management.

Retail Innovation & New Business Development

Lead a culture of retail innovation, continuously exploring new concepts, products, services, technologies and customer experiences.
Identify consumer, hospitality and retail trends that could create competitive advantage for Boschendal.
Develop, test and scale new retail ideas through disciplined pilots and commercially measurable experimentation.
Explore opportunities across physical retail, resellers, partnerships, digital commerce, gifting, experiences and other relevant channels.
Challenge existing ways of working and introduce new approaches that improve commercial performance and customer relevance.
Build external relationships and partnerships that enhance the retail proposition and open new routes to market.

Customer & Guest Experience

Create a distinctive retail experience that reflects Boschendal’s brand, provenance and hospitality philosophy.
Ensure retail environments are intuitive, inspiring, engaging and commercially effective.
Develop initiatives that deepen customer loyalty and create meaningful connections between guests, products and the Boschendal story.
Use customer feedback and behavioural insights to continuously improve the retail experience.
Ensure consistently high service standards across all retail touchpoints.
Partner with Hospitality and Brand teams to ensure retail is seamlessly integrated into the broader guest journey.

Product, Assortment & Merchandising Strategy

Shape product and category strategies that balance brand relevance, customer demand, margin and commercial opportunity.
Continuously review the retail assortment to optimise productivity and eliminate underperforming or duplicative ranges.
Identify opportunities for exclusive, seasonal, locally relevant and innovative products.
Oversee visual merchandising standards to maximise product appeal, storytelling and commercial performance.
Ensure retail spaces are dynamic and evolve regularly to encourage discovery and repeat visitation.
Collaborate with internal product owners, suppliers and partners to develop commercially compelling ranges.

Operational Excellence

Establish and continuously improve end-to-end retail operating standards, processes and controls.
Drive operational simplicity, consistency and productivity across all outlets.
Optimise internal ordering, stock movements, write-offs, waste management and resource allocation.
Ensure operational infrastructure supports growth without compromising the guest experience.
Develop scalable processes capable of supporting new channels, concepts and locations.
Remain visible and connected to retail operations, combining strategic leadership with a practical understanding of performance on the floor.

Inventory & Supply Chain Performance

Own retail inventory performance and ensure stock is managed as a strategic commercial asset.
Implement robust inventory controls to minimise stock-outs, excess inventory, shrinkage and wastage.
Improve stock productivity and turnover through better forecasting, replenishment and assortment management.
Partner closely with Procurement, Finance, Warehousing and suppliers to improve supply-chain effectiveness.
Maintain appropriate inventory KPIs, including:
- Food stock turn: approximately 10.9 per annum.
- Non-food stock turn: 4–6 per annum.
- Inventory variance within agreed tolerance levels.
- Shrinkage and wastage within budget.

Data, Technology & Retail Intelligence

Build a data-led retail culture in which decisions are informed by customer, product, inventory and financial insight.
Use POS, BI, inventory and other retail technologies to improve visibility and decision-making.
Develop meaningful dashboards and reporting that highlight commercial opportunities, risks and emerging trends.
Identify and implement technologies that improve operational efficiency and enhance the customer experience.
Establish clear measures of success for new initiatives and use performance data to determine whether concepts should be refined, scaled or discontinued.

Market & Consumer Insight

Maintain a strong understanding of evolving retail, hospitality and consumer trends.
Benchmark Boschendal against relevant local and international retail and hospitality concepts.
Analyse competitor activity, customer preferences and category developments.
Translate insight into actionable opportunities for the business.
Ensure the retail proposition remains differentiated, contemporary and relevant to both existing and future audiences.

Financial & Commercial Management

Own retail budgets, forecasts and commercial performance.
Understand and actively manage revenue, gross margin, cost of sales, operating expenses and profitability.
Identify opportunities for productivity and cost improvement without compromising quality, brand standards or customer experience.
Build commercially robust business cases for new concepts, investments and innovation initiatives.
Partner with Finance to ensure accurate reporting, forecasting and performance management.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing, commercially minded retail team.
Create clarity around objectives, accountability and performance expectations.
Build capability in selling, customer experience, commercial thinking, product knowledge and operational execution.
Encourage curiosity, experimentation and continuous improvement.
Develop future leaders and strengthen succession within the retail function.
Foster a collaborative culture that connects retail effectively with the wider Boschendal business.

Governance, Compliance & Risk

Ensure compliance with all relevant regulatory, health and safety, financial and operational requirements.
Maintain effective controls and risk-management practices across the retail environment.
Ensure processes protect customers, employees, inventory, cash and company assets.
Proactively identify operational and commercial risks and implement appropriate mitigation strategies.

Critical / Core Competencies

Strategic & Commercial

Strong strategic and commercial orientation with the ability to translate vision into executable plans.
Demonstrated ability to drive sales, revenue and profitability.
Entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of identifying and developing new commercial opportunities.
Strong understanding of retail economics, margins, inventory and financial performance.
Ability to interpret financial statements and make commercially sound decisions.
Strong analytical capability and comfort using data to drive decisions.

Innovation & Customer Orientation

Naturally curious and energised by developing new ways to engage customers and grow the business.
Strong understanding of evolving retail and consumer behaviour.
Ability to take ideas from concept through testing, implementation and scale.
Passion for creating differentiated customer and guest experiences
Able to balance creativity and innovation with commercial discipline.

Technical

Strong working knowledge of POS, inventory management and retail systems.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, with experience using BI and reporting tools.
Strong understanding of retail inventory and supply-chain principles.
Experience researching and interpreting industry, consumer and market trends.
Confident preparing and presenting business concepts, recommendations and investment proposals.

Leadership & Behavioural

Strategic thinker who is equally comfortable engaging at executive level and being visible on the retail floor.
Collaborative and able to influence effectively across multiple functions.
Strong leadership, coaching and mentorship capability.
Commercially courageous and prepared to challenge established thinking constructively.
Curious, creative and action oriented.
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and evolving environment.
High levels of ownership, accountability and personal initiative.
Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity.
Flexible in response to the operational requirements of a hospitality-led environment.

Experience Requirements

Essential

Significant retail, commercial and/or sales leadership experience, ideally within a premium, lifestyle, hospitality, food, beverage or guest-facing environment.
Demonstrated track record of driving retail sales, revenue and profitability.
Proven experience leading retail operations while contributing meaningfully to business or retail strategy.
Experience operating across physical and digital retail channels, with a strong understanding of e-commerce and omnichannel customer journeys
Experience developing or launching new retail concepts, products, channels or commercial initiatives.
Strong experience in inventory, margin and operational performance management.
Experience leading and developing teams.
Demonstrated ability to work successfully in an entrepreneurial or high-growth environment.

Advantageous

Experience within an integrated hospitality, destination, lifestyle or experiential retail environment.
Experience working across both owned retail and reseller/wholesale channels.
Experience developing new business cases and taking concepts from idea through commercialisation.

Qualifications

Practical commercial experience and a demonstrable track record of success are highly valued.

A relevant tertiary qualification would be advantageous, including:

Business Management
Commerce
Retail Management
Marketing
Hospitality Management or a related field.

Closing date: 04 September 2026

Join Our Team

If you’re passionate about hospitality, committed to excellence, and eager to make an impact, Boschendal offers an inspiring environment where you can grow and thrive. Explore opportunities to become part of a team that values authenticity, purpose, and creativity. Discover your path and join us in building a legacy that reflects our connection to the land, our dedication to community, and our commitment to a regenerative future.

Application process: Please apply HERE.