Director, Club Retail Management at MLS League Office

Overview The Director, Club Retail Management is the commercial integrator and performance architect responsible for maximizing each MLS Club’s retail and fan-engagement potential within the League’s Consumer Products ecosystem. This role ensures that every Club maximizes retail as a cultural growth engine — turning fandom into scalable revenue through differentiated assortments, retail excellence, and locally resonant storytelling that ladder up to league-wide brand and commercial impact. They will also help shape the strategy, governance and policies that ensure Club retail is operating in partnership with the League as impactfully and efficiently as possible. The Director will liaise across adidas, Clubs, Club in-venue operators, and League leadership to convert fragmented operations into an integrated, insight-driven commercial system that fuels the League’s 2026–2028 growth agenda. Responsibilities 1. Club Commercial Performance & Integration • Serve as the primary commercial owner for all club-level retail and fanwear performance across channels. • Develop and maintain Club Retail scorecards measuring sell-through, in-venue per-cap, MLSStore.com GMV, and engagement KPIs for all 30 clubs. • Build individualized Club Retail Playbooks outlining launch cadence, OTB planning, assortment mix, and in-venue activation KPIs. • Partner with club commercial, marketing, and ticketing leads to align retail performance objectives with club fan-growth strategies. 2. Product Development & Category Deployment • Identify, recommend, and implement strategy and governance model(s) for consumer products integration between League and Club, including but not limited to League-wide retail programs and product development operations • Lead the strategic deployment of assortment categories — including headwear, hardgoods, accessories, fashion and lifestyle collaborations — as a driver of differentiation and incremental revenue. • Translate league-wide cultural initiatives and partner programs into localized retail offerings that reflect club identity and fan culture. • Collaborate across Consumer Products stakeholders to align across retail operators and eCommerce platforms. 3. Club & Audience Product Insights • Understand and interpret each club’s fan growth, engagement, and audience segmentation strategies; roll these insights up to Consumer Products leadership to inform licensee mix, category depth, and product roadmap decisions, as well as to inform jersey and adidas product planning • Build a system that connects club-level fan data, social engagement, and retail performance into one unified strategic view of consumer behavior. • Partner with BI to identify emerging demographic opportunities (youth, Gen Z, multicultural segments) that can be activated through new product and retail concepts. • Serve as the league’s early-warning system for new trends emerging from clubs — from game-day marketing themes to supporter-culture aesthetics. 5. Venue Retail Planning • Partner with adidas Retail, Fanatics, Rank & Rally, and club ownership to define new commercial rules and best practices for venue operations. • Lead strategic retail planning for the 3–4 clubs building new stadiums, ensuring cutting-edge in-venue retail design, technology integration, and fan experience innovation. • Ensure new stadium projects become centers of excellence for fan experience, retail tech, and scalable merchandising models. 6. Governance • Ensure all cross-functional touchpoints contribute to a seamless, omnichannel fan experience. • Form and chair a Retail Operator Council connecting venue operators and self-operated venues under a unified commercial framework. • Collaborate with League retail leadership to align with digital retail plans and deepen the role of MLSStore.com as an extension of the club retail experience. • Collaborate with VP, Gaming, Emerging Tech & Collectibles to connect physical retail programs with digital fandom, collectibles, and gamified commerce initiatives. • Standardize performance metrics and execution standards across operators while allowing for localized flexibility. • Ensure data transparency and regular reporting of POS and GMV results Qualifications • Bachelor’s Degree required • 8+ years of experience required Required Skills • Consumer Products Subject Matter Expertise • Expertise in retail and merchandising strategy, including assortment planning, OTB management, launch cadence, and category deployment. • Understanding of eCommerce and omnichannel retail integration across physical venues and digital platforms as well as familiarity with related innovations and trends in operations and merchandising technology • Familiarity with licensed merchandise programs and partnership management with brands like adidas, Fanatics, or similar operators. ...