Head of Costco (Company-Wide, Global)

Job Description

Location : New York (preferred) • Hybrid

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Reports to : Chief Commercial Officer (dotted lines to Divisional Presidents)

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Scope : U.S. Costco + CA/UK/JP/KR/MX

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Core systems: Circana (Costco sales portal), EDI/ASN, PLM/ERP, BI

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Role Summary

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Lead the enterprise Costco strategy and operating model across divisions while

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divisions retain product ownership. This role improves outcomes over time by

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building strong account leadership, disciplined execution, clear commercial guardrails,

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and superior visibility into sell-through—recognizing that Costco is item-driven,

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merchant-led, and inherently volatile.

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Responsibilities

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• Own the global Costco relationship and ensure a one-voice approach across

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divisions for U.S. and CA/UK/JP/KR/MX.

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• Build and drive an annual Global Joint Business Plan (JBP) by category and

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region, including rotations vs. flow, price points, Costco.com extensions, and exit

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approaches.

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• Negotiate global commercial terms and discounts with Costco management,

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aligning funding and guardrails to shared goals (fast sell-through, clean exits,

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fewer markdowns).

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• Establish and run a company-wide Costco operating cadence (weekly Costco

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Council, monthly performance reviews, seasonal line-review calendars) and

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ensure clear follow-up and accountability.

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• Implement a practical stage-gate process for Costco programs (concept →

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costing/pack → commitment → production → launch/exit), with clear milestones

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and owners across divisions.

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• Continuously improve profitability using controllable levers: IMU engineering,

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cost/pack optimization, logistics and TI/HI improvements, promo ROI discipline,

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returns reduction, packaging savings, chargeback prevention, and exit-cost

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management.

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• Serve as the internal owner of Circana, ensuring consistent reporting, adoption,

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and integration into decision-making; monitor sell-through and inventory by

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item/region/.com and convert insights into actions with divisional teams.

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• Set and enforce packaging, compliance, and pallet standards appropriate for

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Costco globally (ticketing/labeling, testing requirements, pallet cards, pack

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architecture), improving first-pass yield and reducing rework.

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• Partner with Customer Supply Chain to deliver strong service levels: OTIF, fill

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rate, ASN/EDI accuracy, DC flow, and shortage/chargeback prevention and

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recovery.

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• Treat warehouse and Costco.com as distinct businesses; ensure content

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readiness and fit/returns guardrails for eComm extensions.

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• Support international growth by localizing sizing, compliance, seasonality,

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packaging, and operating rhythms across CA/UK/JP/KR/MX.

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• Maintain alignment with division leaders: divisions own design and product

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development; this role provides guardrails, visibility, and coordination—escalating

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only when compliance, margin integrity, or service risk requires it.

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Measures of Success (volatility-aware)

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• Improved global Costco sales and repeatable rebuys/lineage on winning items,

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with transparent variance management versus plan.

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• Gross margin/IMU improvement versus baseline over time, with disciplined

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promo funding and controlled exit costs.

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• Strong service performance (OTIF high-90s, fill rate near 99%) and sustained

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reduction in shortages/chargebacks.

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• High adoption of Circana insights (weekly actions tied to sell through/availability), enabling faster course-correction.

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• Packaging/compliance execution with high first-pass yield and minimal rework or

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in-market issues.

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• International expansion (CA/UK/JP/KR/MX) growing as a meaningful share of the

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Costco business with on-time launches.

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Qualifications

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• 10–15+ years in wholesale/apparel or consumer with club or big-box scale;

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experience spanning account leadership plus operations (packaging, supply

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chain, and retailer compliance).

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• Proven ability to negotiate commercial frameworks and improve profitability in a

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retailer-led model.

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• Strong working knowledge of Costco processes, service expectations, and data-driven selling; fluency with Circana(or comparable retailer portal/scan-data

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tools).

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• Analytical, process-oriented leader who can influence across dotted lines and

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align multiple divisions without taking over product creation.

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Travel

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~25–40% including periodic travel to CA/UK/JP/KR/MX, key Costco meetings, and

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DC/vendor visits.