Women's Merchant

Job Description

Job Description

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Title & Reporting Relationships

Position Title:

Merchandiser

Reports to:

Director of Merchandising

Department:

Merchandising

Oversees:

No Direct Reports

Interactions:

All Members of the OK Staff and some outside business partners such as 3rd party vendors

Main Purpose and Major Challenges of the Role

Work with the Director of Merchandising on the planning, development, and execution of an organization's merchandise strategy. This role involves analyzing market trends, and making data-driven decisions to optimize product assortment, pricing, and inventory levels. The goal is to maximize sales and profitability while ensuring that the merchandise aligns with the company's brand and customer expectations.

The strategic link between the product team and our cross functional partners in marketing, planning and sales.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Assortment Planning

• Participate in merchandising strategies and creation of seasonal assortment plans to build profitable assortments that will meet internal margin goals
• Partner with Director of Merchandising on seasonal style line plan creation and maintenance including but not limited to style number creation, color codes, and product variable data coding for PLM system
• Set and adjust pricing strategies to optimize sales and
  profitability, taking into account competitive pricing, cost structures, and market dynamics.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Business Reporting & Analysis

• Assist in monitoring weekly sales, analyzing style performance and market trends to better understand channel specific needs and opportunities 
• Learn to understand target customers by shopping retail stores and providing competitive analysis to enhance brand strategies and opportunities 
• Assist in the development of inventory and markdown strategies that fuel company sales objectives

ACCOUNTABILITY:

M&D Calendar

• Assist the Director of Merchandising in maintaining the design calendar and development process to ensure timely completion
• Participate in development Milestone Meeting preparation, including sketch reviews, line assortment reviews, proto reviews, pricing and margin reviews, and internal sales presentations 

ACCOUNTABILITY:

GTM Calendar

• Work with Director of Merchandising to set seasonal primary and secondary product marketing stories
• Develop Briefs for Creative Production
• Complete Channel Boxes in GTM Calendar

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Sample Management

• Work closely with production to manage incoming photo samples
• Organize, maintain, and prepare samples for merchant presentations and requests from business partners
• Manage and organize the sample archive 

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Wholesale and E-Commerce Asset Creation

• Collaborate with the creative team on product descriptions
• Create shot list for seasonal photo assets and work closely with in-house photographer to ensure completion
• Work with Director of Merchandising on styling of both mens and womens collections, and assist on photoshoots 
• Review photo assets and ensure they meet Outerknown standards  

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Collaboration

• Work closely with other departments, such as marketing, sales, and supply chain, to align merchandise strategies with overall business objectives.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in design, business, or marketing
• Apparel merchandising/buying background required; contemporary menswear experience a plus, planning experience a plus
• An understanding of the Outerknown brand and mission and how they translate to the collections at the e-commerce level
• Demonstrated ability to set initiatives and deliver results while maintaining a positive attitude
• Self-motivated and organized with a strong work ethic and ability to excel in a team environment
• Excellent communication skills, both written and interpersonal
• A keen eye for fashion and style and great attention to detail
• Strong skills in Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel
• Skills in Adobe Suite (Illustrator, In Design, Photoshop) a plus