Director of Merchandising

Description

More than a decade ago, Ledge introduced America to the first-in pool chaise and modern design forward furniture for a more compelling outdoor living experience. Today the award-winning brand is recognized as the in-pool and poolside leader, adopted by discerning homeowners and five star resort and residential properties around the world.

Our continued success is very much a consequence of our team members, the Ledge culture of collaboration and innovation, and our unwavering belief in the importance of design distinction in everything we do.

Job Overview:

At Ledge, we believe great merchandising is about understanding our customers better than anyone else.

The Director of Merchandising is responsible for maximizing the commercial performance of Ledge's product portfolio across all sales channels. This role owns assortment strategy, pricing, promotions, merchandising, and product performance to ensure we offer the right products, at the right price, to the right customer while driving profitable growth.

This is a highly collaborative, hands-on leadership role that partners daily with Marketing, Product Development, Finance, Supply Chain, Sales, Operations, and Customer Experience to make fast, data-informed commercial decisions. Success in this role requires equal parts merchant instinct, analytical thinking, financial acumen, and customer obsession.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this leader reports directly to the president and helps shape company strategy while remaining deeply involved in the day-to-day commercial performance of the business.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Commercial Performance

• Own the commercial success of Ledge's product portfolio across all sales channels.
• Continuously evaluate product performance and make assortment, pricing, promotional, and merchandising decisions that improve profitable growth.
• Identify opportunities to increase revenue, contribution margin, and customer conversion.
• Develop merchandising strategies that align with customer demand and company objectives.
• Monitor competitive trends and recommend actions that strengthen Ledge's market position.

2. Assortment Strategy

• Develop and maintain a disciplined assortment strategy that balances customer choice with operational simplicity.
• Evaluate product performance to determine which products to launch, expand, reposition, discontinue, or replace.
• Partner with Product Development to prioritize future innovation based on customer insights and commercial opportunity.
• Improve product lifecycle management from introduction through end-of-life.
• Continuously simplify assortment while maximizing revenue and profitability.

3. Pricing and Promotions

• Own pricing strategy across the business.
• Develop pricing recommendations that balance customer value, competitive positioning, and contribution margin.
• Lead promotional planning and promotional investment decisions.
• Evaluate pricing elasticity and promotional effectiveness through testing and financial analysis.
• Ensure promotional activity supports long-term profitability, not just short-term sales.

4. Customer First Merchandising

• Champion a customer-first merchandising philosophy throughout the organization.
• Use customer insights, purchasing behavior, market trends, and analytics to guide merchandising decisions.
• Partner with Marketing to improve product visibility, product storytelling, and digital merchandising.
• Recommend products that deserve greater visibility, promotional support, or merchandising investment.
• Improve the customer shopping experience across every channel.

5. Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Product Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, Operations, and Customer Experience to execute commercial priorities.
• Break down organizational silos and create alignment around shared business objectives.
• Influence without authority and build strong partnerships across the organization.
• Participate as an active member of the Executive Leadership Team.

6. Analytics and Business Performance

• Monitor and analyze key commercial performance metrics—including revenue, gross margin, contribution margin, conversion, average order value, inventory health, sell-through, promotional effectiveness, and customer feedback—to identify opportunities and risks.
• Translate data and customer insights into timely pricing, assortment, merchandising, and promotional decisions that drive profitable growth.
• Establish and maintain a merchandising scorecard that provides clear visibility into business performance and supports informed decision-making across the organization.
• Continuously evaluate product and category performance, using analytics to optimize the customer experience while improving financial results.

What Success Looks Like:

Success in this role is measured by the ability to drive profitable growth while creating an exceptional customer experience. The Director of Merchandising will:

• Develop and execute a customer-first merchandising strategy that increases revenue, profitability, and customer satisfaction across all sales channels.
• Optimize assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies to improve contribution margin while maintaining Ledge's premium brand positioning.
• Build a disciplined, data-driven merchandising operating rhythm that enables timely, informed commercial decisions.
• Establish strong cross-functional partnerships that align Product Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, and Operations around shared business priorities.
• Improve key commercial performance metrics, including conversion, average order value, sell-through, inventory productivity, and overall category performance.
• Foster a culture of ownership, curiosity, and continuous improvement by making thoughtful decisions quickly, testing new ideas, learning from results, and adapting to meet evolving customer needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, Finance, or a related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in merchandising, category management, commercial strategy, retail buying, or product portfolio management.
• Experience managing product assortments within a consumer product, retail, eCommerce, or omnichannel business.
• Experience in premium consumer products, outdoor living, home furnishings, or lifestyle brands, preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing pricing strategies and improving profitability.
• Strong financial acumen with experience evaluating contribution margin, gross margin, and business performance.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to translate data into business decisions.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and executive leaders.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong bias toward action with a willingness to make informed decisions quickly.

At Ledge, we value diversity and inclusion and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We offer a competitive salary, benefits package, and the opportunity to work with a dynamic team in a positive and supportive work environment.