Director of Women's Merchandising
This title requires 10+ years experience and hold a lot of responsibilities. This is a position to grow towards and not something that can just be picked up. I currently work with a luxury fashion how and have many years in retail experience. I am looking to gain managerial experience within the next year in order to move towards the goal of filling such a job. This job also requires much traveling, which I enjoy. I have always enjoyed traveling and would greatly appreciate a position that allows me to travel through the globe, especially to major fashion capitals like Paris. This particular positions works out of New York, another fashion capital.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop and drive sound profitable merchandising business plans that stay true to the brand and zone strategy while meeting consumers’ needs.
- Build strategic plans by category and location to deliver financial objectives while continually analyzing performance and making adjustments to ensure results.
- Manage all product launches to ensure the opportunities for new business is maximized and sell throughs are achieved; inclusive of strategies when performance falls short.
- Consistent presence in market needed to ensure the understanding of markets/clients to inform buy as well as to animate store network; bringing awareness and motivation around merchandising strategies.
- Attend and actively participate in Paris buying sessions 4 or more times per year (2 weeks at a time) that tie back to financial plans and product initiatives.
- Relay back buying initiatives to all corporate partners (Supply Chain, Visual Merchandising, Finance, Communications, Client Development, Training, Digital) and develop initiatives and tools to deliver to store organization to ensure the sales.
- Vet buys with Finance and their impact to the budget build.
- Work with supply chain to optimize inventory dissemination/efficiencies.
- Direct and lead the execution of assortment in the store with Visual Merchandising for all product launches and store openings.
- Actively organize and drive needed product trainings and communication tools for the store network.
- Create incentives, trunk shows, selling events as well as innovative and creative special concepts to drive sales in store with Client Development team.
- Constant follow-up with analysis of merchandise strategies to Corporate and Paris partners, inclusive of feedback to Paris on the needs of the America’s market.
- Lead a team of Managers/Sr. Managers, Associate Merchandisers and Merchandising Assistants.
- Attract, retain and develop a high-performing, highly educated world-class team of merchants. Continually evaluate and promote succession plans for the group.
NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS: 3
NUMBER OF INDIRECT REPORTS: 2
SCHEDULE
- May require evening, weekend and holiday availability on an as needed basis and as required for travel
- Travel to Paris at least 4 times per year for 1-2 weeks at a time for markets, and travel to store visits and sales meetings regularly
PROFILE
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree a plus
EXPERIENCE
- Minimum 10 to 15 years merchandising and buying experience experience in a retail specialty or luxury environment
- Succcessful leadership and development of talented teams of varying levels
OTHER SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
- An intelligent, analytical, opportunistic professional who is motivated by building a brand across multiple categories. Someone who can see and seize opportunities is a great team leader and partner and can work autonomously. An entrepreneurial professional who is comfortable thinking strategically while delving into the details.
- An extraordinary communicator who is able to weed through mounds of information, analyze and prioritize the key issues and deliver passionate presentations that are compelling and salient to everyone from the most senior to the most junior associate. Someone with the ability to influence across the organization.
- A charismatic, extremely confident but relaxed professional who is poised and has a great sense of humor, enabling them to develop extraordinary relationships across the organization while at the same time able to make tough decisions.
- A team player who has the maturity to support decisions even when they disagree with them.
- An extraordinary leader of people, experienced in leading a high performing team; someone who can attract and continually develop talent at all levels.
- Experience developing and delivering programs and developing great relationships at the store level including training, trunk shows, visual merchandising and incentives.
- Background in luxury with a strong fashion sense and awareness of competitive landscape; ideally with experience at luxury department store, vertical retail or general management of a small brand.
- Experience working with a foreign parent company a plus. Must be able to establish credibility with Paris headquarters to influence assortment strategies.
- Advanced degree a plus, as is foreign language skill.
- Someone able to travel both domestically and internationally more than 50% of the time to Paris and store network.
COMPETENCIES REQUIRED
- Intellectual horsepower & Business Acumen
- Customer focus
- Managing & Measuring Work with a Drive for results
- Approachability & Humility
- Comfort around higher management
- Integrity and trust
- Composure
- Strategic and Organizational Agility
- Timely Decision quality and Problem Solving
- Priority setting
- Directing others and building effective teams
- Developing direct reports
- Dealing with ambiguity
