What to Consider When Hiring Your Next Retail COO

Hiring a Chief Operating Officer is one of those moments that reshapes a retail business. The right person can lift performance across stores, build confidence in your head office teams and create the kind of rhythm that keeps a fast moving organisation steady. The wrong hire? They can do the opposite – slowing progress, unsettling teams and creating gaps that take months to fix. It’s a decision that deserves time, clarity and a really honest look at what your brand needs next.

A great COO will do more than simply run operations. They’ll influence the culture, the pace, the communication, the decision making, and the way your teams collaborate. They become the person who keeps the whole business moving in the same direction. And in today’s retail world, where stores, supply chain, digital, customer experience and head office all rely on one another, that kind of leadership has never been more important.

Start with what your brand needs now

Before you look at CVs, job titles or backgrounds, take time to understand the version of the role your business genuinely needs today. Retail changes quickly, and so do the demands on the person leading your operations. You might need someone who can steady the ship or someone who can pull off a transformation programme. You might need a calm, people focused leader who inspires long term loyalty or someone who is comfortable making tough decisions at pace.

Getting that clarity early shapes the entire search. It stops you being sidetracked by impressive profiles that aren’t quite right for where you’re heading and ensures every step of the process stays aligned to your long term vision.

Think carefully about scale and complexity

Retail operations can vary massively from brand to brand. A COO who thrives in a compact estate may struggle in a multi-country operation with a detailed distribution model. Someone who shines in a global organisation might find a leaner, faster paced brand more challenging than expected.

Look at the realities of your operation. Consider how your stores function, how your supply chain behaves, how digitally mature you are and what your trading rhythm feels like for the teams on the ground. You want someone who steps into that world and feels energised by it. Someone who understands it intuitively. That alignment matters far more than the size of the logo on their previous uniform.

Listen closely to how they talk about people

Strong COOs understand that retail only works when people feel confident, trusted and supported. When you start speaking to candidates, really listen to how they describe their past teams. Look for signs that they genuinely helped develop others, and truly cared about the culture they helped shape. The way they speak about their people reveals far more about their leadership style than any headline achievement.

Retail is collaborative by nature, so you want a COO who builds strong relationships across merchandising, HR, finance, marketing, digital and the board. Someone who pulls people together rather than creating division. Someone who communicates simply and brings clarity to busy environments.

Explore how they lead through change

Most retailers are navigating some form of transformation. New systems, new leadership structures, omnichannel growth, evolving customer expectations or cost pressures all place demands on operations. This means your COO will sit right at the centre of it.

Ask candidates to reflect on how they’ve led people through complicated moments. Not every story will be neat or polished, and that’s fine. What matters is how they approached it, what they learned, and how they kept teams motivated when things felt uncertain. A COO who steers people through change with clarity and empathy creates long term stability for the whole business.

Look for a leader who brings clarity

We all know that retail moves quickly and can feel a bit noisy at times. Competing priorities, tight deadlines and constant pressure can leave teams feeling overwhelmed. A great COO helps everyone breathe a little easier. They simplify expectations, communicate direction clearly and make goals feel achievable.

During your conversations, notice how they describe complex decisions. If they can make something sound straightforward in an interview, they’ll bring that same ease to your teams.

Make sure they understand your customer

Operational decisions directly shape the customer experience. Stock flow, store standards, click and collect efficiency and team communication all influence how customers feel in your stores or online. You want a COO who sees that connection instinctively. Someone who understands that every operational choice has a ripple effect on the people buying your products.

A COO who can marry operational logic with customer insight becomes a real asset, especially in a competitive market where every detail counts.

Define what success should look like

Before you appoint your new COO, take time to think about what meaningful progress would look like in their first year. Success doesn’t have to be defined by a long list of deliverables. It might look like a shift in culture, steadier communication between departments, improvements in store consistency or better alignment between digital and physical retail.

Having that clarity creates momentum. It gives your new leader a confident start and ensures everyone is working toward the same goals.

Support them with thoughtful onboarding

Senior hires need more than a warm welcome and a handover. They need access to people, honest insight into what’s working and what isn’t, and time to understand the rhythm of your operation. When onboarding is intentional, your new COO settles in faster, makes better decisions and builds trust with the teams they’ll rely on most. A strong introduction to store life, supply chain, head office teams and leadership peers gives them the foundation to lead confidently from the outset.

Need more tips for onboarding executive-level hires? Take a look at this blog.

Why the right recruitment support matters

Hiring a COO is high stakes. You’re looking for someone who can strengthen performance, nourish culture and partner with senior leaders to shape the future of the brand. That requires more than a job description. It requires conversations that reveal who someone truly is, not just what they’ve delivered.

Working with a partner who understands retail and understands the nuances of operational leadership can make the process easier and far more effective. We speak to senior retail leaders every day, listening to what motivates them and understanding the environments where they do their best work. That helps brands build shortlists that feel aligned, intentional and genuinely exciting.

If you’re preparing to hire your next COO and want support finding someone who will strengthen your brand for the long term, talk to us. We’d be happy to help you build a leadership team that feels confident, connected and ready for whatever comes next.