AKIRA - VP, Real Estate Strategy & Store Development

Location: Chicago, IL Reports to: COO / Ownership

AKIRA opened its first women’s clothing boutique in Chicago in 2002 and has since grown to 40+ stores nationwide plus a thriving eCommerce business at shopAKIRA.com. We’re a fast-fashion brand known for Other-Worldly Customer Service and a culture where every employee is expected to Act and Think Like an Owner.

The Role: VP, Real Estate Strategy & Store Development

We’re hiring a single accountable leader to own AKIRA’s entire store-development motion — from real estate strategy and lease negotiation through construction, new-store openings, remodels, and ongoing store facilities. This role centralizes work historically split between ownership, outside brokers (Savills), and our internal construction team.

AKIRA is growing aggressively, and the right leader will bring the experience, relationships, and judgment to help us open stores faster, protect margins, and keep our existing fleet healthy and on-brand. Our in-house construction team remains central to how we build; we’re looking for someone who can extend their reach by pairing their expertise with a strong national general contractor network they already have in place.

What You’ll Own

• Real estate strategy and portfolio management — multi-year roadmap, market selection, portfolio scorecard, and recommendations to ownership.

• Lease deal-making — renewals, new deals, relocations, negotiations, and landlord relationships. Zero missed renewals.

• New store construction and openings — LOI to doors-open on one accountable schedule, executed through a national GC partner network.

• Remodels, end to end — which stores, what scope, what ROI, and execution.

• Store facilities and store-side procurement — ongoing R&M, energy, and national sourcing for everything that touches the stores (excluding merchandise).

• Team leadership — leading and developing our construction team and managing outside brokers, architects, and GCs.

Non-Negotiables

These are the requirements we will not flex on. If you don’t have all of these, this is not the right role for you.

• Nationwide experience. You have personally led real estate and construction across the entire U.S. — not just one region. You know how to operate across markets, time zones, and climate zones.

• A proven national GC rolodex. You bring active, working relationships with general contractors you’ve personally hired and held accountable across multiple regions of the country. Be prepared to discuss specific firms and projects in the interview.

• Mall experience is required. AKIRA’s footprint is mall-anchored. You have negotiated with the major mall REITs (Simon, Brookfield, Macerich, Washington Prime, Tanger, etc.) and you understand the economics, leverage points, and operating rhythms of mall leasing — including TI packages, co-tenancy, percentage rent, and CAM.

• Specialty retail at scale. 10+ years leading real estate, construction, and/or store-development at a multi-unit specialty retailer in the 50–200 store range — ideally fast-fashion, apparel, or beauty.

• Opening velocity. A documented track record of opening 15+ new stores per year while running a concurrent remodel program. Not a handful of deals — real volume.

• Capital discipline. You have managed $25MM+ annual capital budgets with clear cost-per-square-foot targets, and you’ve delivered against them.

• Dealmaker. Advanced lease financial modeling (NPV, occupancy %, EBITDA impact) and a documented history of winning meaningful TI, free rent, CAM caps, and co-tenancy protections.

• Travel. This is a road job. Significant national travel for site tours, landlord meetings, GC walks, and store openings.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience evolving an internal construction function toward a leaner, GC-orchestrated model.

• Procurement and sourcing experience for indirect goods and services across a retail fleet.

• Facilities leadership across a national store fleet — preventative maintenance, energy management, national R&M programs.

• Comfort presenting to ownership or a board and operating as a senior voice in the room.

• Lifestyle center, outlet, and street-retail negotiation experience in addition to enclosed malls.

• Owner’s mindset — you make decisions like the company’s money is your money.

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive base and bonus commensurate with experience, plus Medical, Dental, Vision, Pet Insurance, Life, LTD, FSA/HSA/Dependent Care FSA, Flex Transit (CTA), 401(k), and a generous employee discount. AKIRA is committed to fair and transparent compensation; additional details will be discussed during the hiring process.s