For retail & F&B veterans
Your experience is
your next career.
You have spent fifteen, twenty, thirty years learning things that cannot be googled — what a landlord will actually concede, which distributor really services the ground, why a format works in Jakarta and dies in Manila. Businesses across the region will pay properly for that. We make it easy to sell without turning yourself into a consultancy.
Why join
The upside of consulting, without the admin.
You set your rate
You name your hourly rate and your project fee. We never discount your time to win a client, and we tell you the fee before you accept anything.
You choose the work
Non-exclusive, no minimum commitment, no obligation to accept. Decline anything that does not suit your calendar, your interests or your conscience.
We handle the paperwork
Contracting, scoping, invoicing, chasing payment and managing the client relationship sit with us. You do the thinking and the work.
Founding terms for life
Experts admitted during the Singapore beta keep preferred commission terms permanently, including on engagements years from now.
Protection, not exposure
Clear rules on confidentiality and conflicts protect your standing with current and former employers. If in doubt, you stop — and we still pay you.
Peers worth knowing
An invitation-only room of operators across six markets. Roundtables, referrals, and work that comes to you because of who else is in it.
Who we look for
We would rather have fifty experts we would stake our name on than five thousand profiles we cannot vouch for.
Anyone can call themselves a retail consultant. Our members are invited, verified and referenced by people who have actually worked with them.
- Ten years minimum in retail, F&B, FMCG or e-commerce, with real ownership — a P&L, a category, a region, a function.
- South East Asian ground truth — you have operated in at least one of our markets and can speak to how it actually works.
- Specific, not general — you are known for something. Leasing. Category resets. Distributor networks. Cold chain. Franchise economics.
- Clean to engage — free of contractual restrictions that would prevent you participating, or willing to obtain the consent needed.
- Referenceable — two people who have worked with you will vouch for both your judgement and your integrity.
Still employed full-time?
Many of our members are. Membership is non-exclusive and carries no minimum commitment — but you are responsible for checking your employment contract and obtaining any consent your employer requires, and you must decline anything touching your employer or its direct competitors.
Recently retired or between roles?
This is often the best moment to join. Your knowledge is at its most current, and the network keeps you visible and paid while you decide what comes next.
Based outside Singapore?
Yes — we are actively building the Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines benches. Say so in your application.
How membership works
Five steps from application to first engagement.
Apply
The form below, or an introduction from someone already in the network. Ten minutes.
Verification
We confirm identity, career history and credentials, and speak to two references of your choosing.
Founder interview
A conversation about what you know, what you will not discuss, and the kind of work you want.
Terms & training
You e-sign the Network Membership Terms and complete a short compliance tutorial. Both renew annually.
Profile live
You set your rate and availability. We bring you matched briefs; you accept the ones you want.
You get paid
Calls are paid per minute of client-facing time at your rate. Projects are paid to milestones under a Statement of Work.
What we ask of you
The rules that make you safe to hire.
Clients — including funds and multinationals — engage expert networks because the rules are explicit. These same rules protect your reputation and your relationship with past employers.
Never disclose confidential information
No material non-public information, no trade secrets, no supplier cost prices, lease terms under NDA, franchise economics or unannounced store plans. If you are unsure whether something is confidential, treat it as confidential.
Decline conflicts
No engagements about your current employer or its direct competitors without written consent. Former auditors, recent finance staff and anyone inside a live IPO or takeover process step aside.
Operational insight only
No investment advice or securities recommendations, no legal advice, no selling to clients on the side, and no recording consultations yourself.
Engagements run through REN
All work is arranged and administered through the network, and for 12 months after an introduction you do not take work from that client outside it without consent.
The safe harbour: if you stop an engagement part-way because continuing would risk breaching these rules, tell compliance and you may still claim payment for the full time you set aside. We would rather pay you to stop than have you continue in doubt.
Membership application
Apply to the network.
Applications are reviewed personally by the founders during the Singapore beta. We reply to every applicant, including those we cannot admit yet.
Questions before applying?
Write to seahwx@retailexperts.asia. We are happy to walk you — or your employer's legal team — through the framework before you commit to anything.
What we do with your data
- Assess your application and verify your career history.
- Present an anonymised profile to matched clients.
- Administer engagements, contracts and payment.
Independent contractor
Experts join in their individual capacity as independent contractors — not as employees of REN or of any client — and are responsible for their own income tax and, where applicable, self-employed CPF/MediSave contributions.
Expert questions
What members ask us.
How much can I earn?
You set your own rate. Advisory calls are paid per minute of client-facing time; projects are paid to milestones under a Statement of Work. REN's commission is disclosed to you before you accept any engagement, and founding members keep preferred terms permanently.
Will my employer find out?
We never approach your employer, and client identities and briefs are confidential. But the responsibility for checking your employment contract and obtaining any consent it requires sits with you — and you must decline anything involving your employer or its direct competitors.
How often will I get work?
There is no guarantee of engagement volume, and we will not pretend otherwise. Demand follows your specialism and market. Experts with sharp, specific expertise in an active market are approached most.
Can I turn work down?
Always, without explanation. Membership is non-exclusive and carries no minimum commitment.
What if a client wants to hire me directly?
Tell us. For 12 months after an introduction, arrangements with that client happen through REN or with our written consent and the agreed buy-out. Beyond that, we are glad when engagements turn into something bigger — several are designed to.
Do I need to be in Singapore?
No. REN is the Singapore contracting entity, but our members operate across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
The founding cohort is being assembled now.
Preferred commission terms for life, and a say in how the network is built.