Jalil Rahman: The Brand Builder Balancing Heritage, Culture and Commercial Success
TRB Sits Down with Jalil Rahman: The Brand Builder Balancing Heritage, Culture and Commercial Success
Few leaders in modern retail can move as comfortably between creativity, commerce and consumer psychology as Jalil Rahman. Having held senior commercial roles at brands including Burberry and Liberty, he has spent more than two decades helping some of the world’s most recognised names navigate growth, partnerships and changing consumer behaviours. During a recent conversation with The Retail Bulletin, Jalil reflected on the lessons that have shaped his career, the challenges facing luxury retail, and why authentic leadership matters more than ever.
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For Jalil, a fascination with consumer behaviour began long before his professional career. He recalls being intrigued by something many retailers spend their entire careers trying to understand: why people choose one product over another.
Although he initially imagined a future in advertising, it was the fashion industry that ultimately captured his attention. He quickly discovered that his real passion lay not in fashion alone, but in understanding the commercial machinery that powers successful brands. He describes his professional world as existing within a triangle of psychology, creativity and commerce, where each element must work in harmony.
A formative chapter came at Burberry, where he witnessed first-hand how a heritage brand could successfully expand into new markets and categories while remaining recognisably itself. It was there that he developed a philosophy that continues to guide his work today: growth should never come at the expense of brand identity.
“How can we build this brand without diluting what made it valuable in the first place?” has become the central question underpinning much of his career.
Luxury Retail’s Most Important Challenge
When discussing the future of luxury retail, Jalil points to the fragmentation of the customer journey as perhaps the biggest shift of the past two decades.
Today’s consumer may discover a brand on TikTok, research it online, encounter it again through social media or influencers, visit a physical store to experience the product, and ultimately complete the purchase through a digital channel. To the customer, it feels like a single journey. For brands, however, it represents a growing network of interconnected touchpoints that all need to deliver a consistent message.
He argues that retailers must create a “golden thread” that connects every interaction back to the brand’s core story and values. At the same time, competition has expanded far beyond traditional rivals. Luxury brands today are not only competing against one another but also against experiences, travel and countless other claims on consumers’ disposable income.
Yet perhaps his most powerful observation concerns culture.
Brands, he warns, cannot afford to chase trends at the expense of authenticity. Drawing on lessons from Burberry’s evolution, he notes that while customer experiences and communication channels must modernise, core brand identities should remain consistent.
Consumers buy into a brand because of what it fundamentally stands for. Attempting to constantly reinvent that identity to keep pace with cultural shifts risks alienating the very customers who made the brand successful in the first place.
For Jalil, the future belongs to businesses capable of staying culturally relevant without abandoning their heritage.
Why Partnerships Often Fail
Across his career, Jalil has become known for developing commercial partnerships that extend brand reach and create new opportunities. However, he believes many organisations approach partnerships with the wrong mindset.
Too often, brands focus primarily on publicity and revenue, overlooking a more important question: does the partnership create a genuine competitive advantage for both parties?
Authenticity again emerges as a recurring theme.
Customers are quick to identify collaborations that feel forced or opportunistic, and partnerships pursued purely for exposure rarely generate lasting value. Instead, Jalil believes the strongest partnerships combine complementary strengths and tell a compelling story that makes sense to customers.
One of his favourite examples comes from his time at Liberty, where he helped develop a partnership with Microsoft around the Surface Pro. On paper, the two organisations appeared worlds apart. Yet the collaboration worked because it created a meaningful connection between technology and creativity rather than simply placing two logos side by side.
He also highlights a common mistake made by businesses after contracts are signed. While companies often invest enormous effort negotiating a deal, many fail to devote the same energy to execution afterward.
“The signature point isn’t the end of the relay,” he explains. Rather, it marks the beginning of where real value is created through product development, marketing, distribution and customer engagement.
A Different View of Leadership
As the conversation turned to leadership, Jalil offered a perspective shaped by years of managing teams across major retail businesses.
Earlier in his career, he admits he was attracted to the idea of the heroic leader. Today, his definition of effective leadership is far simpler: clarity. Clarity of purpose, clarity of communication and clarity of expectations.
When entering a new organisation, he prioritises listening. By meeting people throughout the business and understanding their perspectives, he can create a strategic vision that incorporates diverse viewpoints while providing a clear sense of direction.
Equally important is trust.
Jalil is a firm believer in giving people genuine ownership of their responsibilities. While he maintains high standards, he rejects excessive micromanagement, arguing that talented professionals perform best when they are empowered to make decisions and deliver outcomes.
Alongside accountability, he advocates for a more human style of leadership. He believes empathy and commercial discipline can coexist, and that organisations achieve stronger results when people feel trusted, valued and supported. Honest feedback remains important, but it should always be delivered in a way that helps individuals improve rather than diminishes them.
His leadership philosophy also reflects a genuine curiosity about the wider business. Whether speaking to colleagues in finance, operations, design or sales, he sees value in understanding different perspectives and joining the dots across functions.
The Human Side of Commercial Excellence
What emerges from a conversation with Jalil Rahman is not simply the story of a commercial leader, but of someone deeply committed to understanding the relationship between brands and people. Whether discussing luxury retail, strategic partnerships or team culture, the same principles surface repeatedly: authenticity, discipline, clarity and trust.
At a time when many brands are wrestling with rapid technological change and evolving consumer expectations, his message is both reassuring and challenging. Modernise customer experiences, embrace new channels and adapt to changing behaviours. But never lose sight of what made the brand meaningful in the first place.
For an industry often tempted by the next trend, it is a lesson worth remembering.
