Role:
The Director of Merchandise works closely with Sr. Management to deliver on brand merchandise selection for Lammle’s Western Wear. The Director of Merchandise primary principal responsibilities are in: Merchant Muscle, Operational Excellence, Customer Focus, and People First.
Responsibilities:
Merchant Muscle
· Significant product knowledge of all product categories
· Full comprehension of competitors product positioning, pricing and product lines
· Curates strong merchandise stories and alignment on product category prioritization
· Creates yearly product promotion calendar to stimulate season sales and new products
- In partnership with the Director of Retail, communicate and support company promotions through weekly product flow, setting targets with the Merchandise Buyers
· Influence and support the creation and maintenance of Visual standard guidelines to align with company objectives
- Reviews inventory turns on a monthly basis to determine appropriate markdowns to achieve and markdown targets.
· Keep core product in stores at all times and work with suppliers to ensure forecasting of the needs of these products are in place at all times
- Keep an accurate profile of each brands delivery by month.
- Maintain the proper amount of inventory in each store while being aware of the season and local events that will influence sales and product volume demand
Operational Excellence
- Analyze sales performance by class and store
- Ensure that merchandise is priced, quality competitive and current
· Attend trade show’s with Buying team and stay up to date on the latest and future trends
· Determine A, B and C stores and evaluate their replenishment needs
· Develop positive supplier relationships. Negotiate prices, terms and agreements with vendors
· Work with vendors on special buys for trending items
· Negotiate exclusivity wherever possible
· Improve the business process for each department through analysis and collaboration.
· Involved in long-term business/people planning at the managerial and executive level.
- Keep inventory in line with the budget as well as in line with the store needs and capacity
- Maintain gross margin targets
- Forecast prices and market trends in order to meet seasonal buys in advance.
· Collaborates with Sr Management to develop budgets, specific programs and sales targets.
· Collaborates in the creation of annual planning calendars
· Establishes, in partnership with Sr. leadership, weekly, monthly and yearly targets to act as a guideline that enables measurement of individual and group performance.
· Leads the direction/execution of the Merchandise Buying team to deliver operational excellence through tools and resources
· Supports company’s policies and procedures
- Keep Warehouse Manager informed of important incoming product from stores or vendors.
- Monitor the progress of orders with suppliers to ensure they are arriving on the requested delivery date and complete.
- Perform physical quality check upon arrival to ensure the brand standards are being met.
- Contact vendor with any issues and work out terms of a return authorization.
- Allocate inventory to the correct store in regards to the store profile.
Customer Focus
· Works with Marketing Manager to keep up with the latest trends and fashions in each category
· Collaborate with Director of Retail to better understand any customer concerns pertaining to merchandise trends, quality or frequent customer requests
· Has an exceptional comprehension of Lammle’s Western Wear’s customer demographic and ensures uses this filter when selecting merchandise
People First
· Empower, lead and challenges the Buying team to meet and exceed performance expectations
· Train, coach and develop direct reports to support succession planning and stabilize bench strength
· Create and maintain a positive team environment whose players are passionate about our performance culture. Represent Lammle's in a professional and positive manner, by making the company mission statement our driving force
· Partners with Sr. leadership on annual performance evaluations, development plans and reward programs.
Skills:
· Ability to manage multiple priorities in an organized and timely fashion with proven track record of delivering on projects and process improvements
· Excellent communication and organizational skills
· A creative problem solver, pro-active and able to use initiative to develop solutions
· Demonstrated team-building skills including experience in goal setting, motivating, leading, evaluating and developing a high-performance team.
Job Type: Full-time
Additional pay:
Benefits:
- Company events
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Store discount
- Vision care
Flexible language requirement:
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
- Weekends as needed
Education:
- Secondary School (preferred)
Experience:
- Apparel Buying: 3 years (required)
- Leading Teams: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
