Assistant Manager Store Development (Site Expansion & Project Management)

Watsons Vietnam is looking for an Assistant Manager – Store Development to support our retail network expansion.

This role will take ownership of the end-to-end new store development journey — from identifying high-potential locations, evaluating the business opportunity and securing the site, through to managing the project and delivering the store opening on time.

The ideal candidate is commercially minded, understands retail locations and sales potential, and is able to coordinate multiple functions to turn an approved site into a successful operating store.

Key Responsibilities

1. Site Expansion & Business Feasibility

- Identify and source potential locations for new Watsons stores, with a strong focus on shopping malls, hypermarkets and modern retail developments.

- Conduct market and site assessments covering catchment, footfall, customer profile, competition, visibility, accessibility and sales potential.

- Work with internal stakeholders to evaluate the commercial potential of each location.

- Prepare or contribute to new store business cases and financial feasibility, including projected sales, rental cost, CAPEX, P&L, ROI/payback and other relevant investment indicators.

- Develop and maintain relationships with mall developers, landlords, leasing agents, brokers and other property partners.

- Negotiate commercial terms and coordinate the offer-to-lease / lease agreement process.

- Prepare site recommendations and supporting materials for internal management approval.

- Support the development of the store expansion pipeline and network planning.

2. New Store Project Management

- Take ownership of the new store opening plan once a site has been approved.

- Develop and monitor overall project timelines, milestones, dependencies and key risks.

- Coordinate closely with Operations, Finance, Legal, Design, Construction, Procurement, IT, Marketing and other relevant teams.

- Ensure each workstream is aligned and completed according to the agreed opening schedule.

- Monitor project budget and CAPEX throughout the development process.

- Proactively identify project risks, follow up on outstanding actions and escalate issues when necessary.

- Coordinate with landlords, mall management, contractors and external partners throughout the development process.

- Ensure the store is operationally ready and successfully handed over for opening.

3. Store Development & Construction Coordination

- Work closely with the Store Construction team on layout, design, fit-out and construction requirements.

- Monitor construction progress against the overall store opening timeline.

- Coordinate contractors, suppliers and relevant stakeholders to resolve site issues.

- Understand key store-development elements such as layout, BOQ, MEP, fit-out, tendering, CAPEX and handover.

- Ensure store development meets Watsons operational, brand, quality and safety standards.

What We're Looking For

- Around 5 years of relevant experience in Retail Store Expansion, Store Development, Site Development, Network Development or related functions.

- Proven experience in new retail store expansion and store openings.

- Strong understanding of site selection and commercial feasibility, including factors that influence store sales performance.

- Hands-on exposure to site sourcing, landlord negotiation and lease processes.

- Experience preparing or contributing to business cases, P&L, CAPEX, ROI/payback or other investment analysis for new locations.

- Strong project management and cross-functional coordination skills, with experience driving projects against opening deadlines.

- Good understanding of the retail store development / fit-out / construction process.

- Strong negotiation, analytical, stakeholder management and communication skills.

- Good command of English and Vietnamese.

Nice to Have

Experience within Luxury, Premium, Beauty, Fashion or international Retail brands is highly preferred. Exposure to both shopping malls / hypermarkets / modern trade and street / high-street stores would be an advantage, as would experience managing multiple openings in a fast-growing retail environment and working with regional or group stakeholders.