Merchandising Manager - Ralph Lauren Division (New York City Metropolitan Area)

COMPANY: Echo Design, Inc.

Echo Design, a fourth-generation American company, is a New York City based industry leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of fashion and home accessories in North America and globally. The company was founded in 1923, on the wedding day of its founders. What began with just a scarf has grown to include multiple brands in multiple categories. Building upon core strengths in print, pattern and color, Echo continues to evolve, always focused on respect for the consumer, each other, and on our global trading and manufacturing partners. After a century, Echo remains a dynamic and innovative company.

TITLE: MERCHANDISING MANAGER- RALPH LAUREN DIVISION

SALARY RANGE: $90,000 - $120,000

REPORTS TO: MANAGING DIRECTOR, RALPH LAUREN DIVISION

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Merchandising Manager, Ralph Lauren Division, is responsible for translating business performance, customer insights, and market opportunity into clear product and assortment strategies for Polo Men's, Polo Women's, and Lauren. This role owns the seasonal planning and analysis that informs line architecture, product development priorities, pricing, margin, and growth opportunities.

The Merchandising Manager combines strong product instincts with disciplined analytics and execution. Working across Design, Sales, Product Development, Inventory, and Ralph Lauren partners, this role guides product decisions from early concept through bookings and retail performance, ensuring each assortment delivers the right balance of brand integrity, consumer relevance, commercial opportunity, price/value, and margin.

PRINCIPAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to the Managing Director, Ralph Lauren Division. Partners closely with Ralph Lauren business and design teams and with Echo's Design, Sales, Product Development, Inventory Planning, Production, Finance, and Operations teams. The role also interacts with customers, factories, and other external partners as business needs require.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Merchandising Manager brings structure, insight, and commercial judgment to the division's product process while maintaining clear ownership of decisions, milestones, and follow-through. Primary responsibilities include:

Seasonal Strategy & Line Planning

• Lead seasonal analysis of bookings, sell-through, customer feedback, returns, and relevant market performance to inform future line plans and product priorities.
• Create and maintain seasonal line plans for Polo Men's, Polo Women's, and Lauren, including category, price-point, style, and productivity considerations.
• Translate divisional business goals into clear direction for Design and Product Development, identifying must-win categories, assortment gaps, and white-space opportunities.
• Participate in seasonal and long-range planning, using fact-based recommendations to support sustainable growth across the Ralph Lauren business.

Product Creation & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead the business conversation in design approval and product development meetings with Ralph Lauren and Echo partners, ensuring commercial objectives and brand standards remain aligned.
• Partner with Design from concept through line adoption, providing timely feedback on assortment balance, consumer relevance, pricing, and business potential.
• Maintain accurate line status, product attributes, pricing, and key development milestones so teams have clear visibility to decisions, risks, and next steps.
• Coordinate priorities across Design, Sales, Product Development, Inventory, and Production, escalating issues early and driving decisions that keep the seasonal calendar on track.

Pricing, Margin & Inventory Partnership

• Own and maintain product-level pricing and margin tools, including cost, wholesale, MSRP, IMU, and related profitability measures.
• Partner with Product Development leadership to address cost challenges, negotiate surcharges or cost shifts, and protect margin while satisfying customer and product needs.
• Establish the strongest price/value architecture and wholesale/MSRP relationships to support margin goals and selling potential at retail.
• Review seasonal bookings with Sales and Inventory Planning to identify minimum-order, purchase, allocation, or demand risks and recommend practical solutions.

Business Analysis & Market Intelligence

• Conduct competitive and market analysis across soft accessories, identifying consumer, channel, pricing, and product trends relevant to the division.
• Build clear, decision-oriented analyses and presentations that connect data to recommendations for product, pricing, and growth.
• Track key merchandising measures such as bookings, sell-through, SKU productivity, margin, and price-point performance; surface opportunities and risks early.
• Develop strong working knowledge of customer and channel needs and use those insights to improve seasonal assortments and business outcomes.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

• 5+ years of progressive experience in merchandising, merchandise planning, product management, product development, or a closely related consumer-product role; exceptional directly relevant experience may be considered in place of a traditional path.
• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Economics, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong analytical foundation, including retail math, bookings and sell-through analysis, pricing, cost, IMU, margin, and assortment productivity.
• Advanced Excel skills and confidence building and maintaining planning, pricing, margin, and product-tracking tools; proficiency with Microsoft Office and PLM systems.
• Demonstrated ability to translate data, customer feedback, and market intelligence into clear product recommendations and compelling presentations.
• Experience managing product lifecycles, line plans, milestone calendars, and cross-functional deliverables from concept through market and retail performance.
• Commercial product judgment and a strong understanding of price/value, assortment architecture, and brand positioning; experience in accessories or fashion is strongly preferred.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accurate information in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, including the ability to lead productive conversations with creative, commercial, operational, and external partners.
• Collaborative, solutions-oriented approach and a consistent commitment to Echo's principles and standards of excellence.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• In office attendance is expected an average of 3 times per week in NY office

SHORT-TERM (6-12 MONTHS) GOALS

During the first year, this role is expected to:

• Build strong working relationships with Ralph Lauren partners and Echo's Design, Sales, Product Development, Inventory, and leadership teams.
• Establish a clear, reliable seasonal line-planning process and maintain accurate visibility to product status, pricing, margin, milestones, and decisions.
• Deliver actionable bookings, sell-through, customer, returns, and competitive analyses that directly inform forward line planning.
• Strengthen wholesale/MSRP and cost-to-margin discipline, identifying margin risks early and partnering on solutions before adoption and production commitments.
• Identify meaningful assortment gaps, white-space opportunities, and growth priorities across Polo Men's, Polo Women's, and Lauren.
• Improve cross-functional planning and decision-making so seasonal product development remains aligned to brand objectives, customer needs, and divisional financial goals.

WHY THIS ROLE

This role sits at the center of product, brand, and business strategy for a meaningful licensed portfolio. The Merchandising Manager has the opportunity to influence what is created, how it is positioned, and how successfully it performs - partnering directly with Ralph Lauren and Echo teams to shape assortments, uncover growth opportunities, and deliver stronger commercial outcomes across three important brands.