Global Merchandising Manager

Established in Somerset in 1971, Mulberry has grown to be the largest maker of luxury leather goods in the United Kingdom. With a contemporary take on British heritage and a focus on responsible craft, our ambition is to create progressive luxury. Sustainability has been part of the Mulberry ethos since the brand's inception; in recognition of our purpose-driven approach, in 2024 we proudly achieved B Corp Certification. Today, we are a global brand, but our values remain the same; we are committed to improving our impact on people and the planet. If these are values you share, we would love you to join our team.

The Role: Reporting to the Director of Product, you will be responsible for managing the buying and reforecasting for the Global Retail and Digital Full Price Network across new/seasonal lines of Leather goods and our Lifestyle products categories. This is a high-profile role; managing the profitable execution of all product categories through full price Retail and Digital doors. Maximise delivery of sales and profit that fall in-line with business growth plans and strategies across all aspects of the Buying and Merchandising function. This is a pivotal role partnering with the Commercial/Product Merchandising/Finance Teams and other cross functional teams in the business.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Accountable for the accurate budget and forecast revenue and margin for Global Retail and Digital, plus working closely with the local subsidiaries on their Budget and Reforecast through the year.
• Responsible for managing the annual and seasonal sales and margin budgeting, category planning, and devising strategic objectives for four collections a year.
• Responsible for seasonal Open to Buy (OTB) planning across all product categories for Full Price Global Retail & Digital.
• Forecasting of sales and inventory through review of trends and product range, considering comparative stores, and new opportunities.
• Accountable for achieving the seasonal sell thru target by product category.

Product:

• Partner with Director of Product to devise and select product assortments for Global Retail stores & Online based brand category strategies, considering store grades, capacities, demographics, historical performance and sales forecasts.
• Agree the product offer for key digital trading sites and present these to the key stakeholders.
• Attend and contribute to seasonal pricing meetings to ensure competitive pricing structures are in place.
• Review and identify recommendations to leverage the Global Pricing strategy, creating a global seasonable comparable pricing SKU list ensuring consistency across digital sites and global retail stores.
• Responsible for developing seasonal product training in conjunction with the training team for delivery to store teams.
• Build and develop in-depth knowledge of direct and indirect competitors to enable commercially driven decisions across all areas of your markets.
• Review and revise store grading pre-buys based on current trends.
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of product performances and customer profiles across all markets.
• Responsible for reviewing monthly reforecast by product category and SKU for new and seasonal leather goods and for Lifestyle categories.
• Continuously develop a reliable Global reforecast for Retail & Digital.
• Responsible for the management of stock levels across Digital sites and Retail stores; analyse data to identify trends to develop a robust re-order plan ahead of promotional campaigns and peak periods to meet customer demand and mitigate out of stock lines.
• Work closely with Planning, Marketing, VM and Digital teams to co-ordinate new product launch activities and communication in line with the Global Retail and Digital calendar.
• Manage the Global discount policy to develop an effective Seasonal Markdown plan to achieve the sales and margin budgets for Global Digital and Retail.

Analysis:

• Review KPI’s, stock, sales, cover, sell-thru, margin weekly, ensuring your team reacts to the market to drive trade performance.
• Manage the product category review to ensure sales and margin budgets as well as seasonal sell thru target are achieved.
• Implement refined procedures for reporting and analysis – to bring consistency in term reporting for Global Retail and Digital.
• Conduct ad-hoc analysis of the business to give factual and solid foundations for strategic future decision making.
• Review seasonal Retail performance by country or type of channel vs other country or type of business as well as vs digital.
• Attend weekly Digital and Retail Global trading meetings.

Collaboration:

• Work with Marketing, Press, and Online teams to identify market opportunities and translate commercial merchandising initiatives.
• Partner with Visual Merchandising teams to drive product performance through the delivery of innovative VM product placement and collaborate on any VM guidelines with your team.
• Use expert knowledge of the current market and future trends to provide constructive feedback and influence decisions on product ranges, current sales, trends and market specific product requests.
• Liaise with Commercial Planning and Finance Teams to ensure that the group merchandise sales and stock forecasting are in line with the current business plans; identify and seek to resolve where these are not being met.

Agile Supply Chain:

• Accountable for the Agile Supply Chain on new/seasonal assortment process within the Buying and Merchandising team.
• Responsible for forecasting sales, stock levels and deliveries; work closely with the Commercial Planning team to identify appropriate times to trigger Agile Supply Chain on new/seasonal in order to maximise sales and store performance.

Team Management:

• Take accountability for managing your team fairly and consistently, ensuring the use of relevant HR policies and procedures.
• Build and retain a high performing team; encourage knowledge sharing and the use of training and development tools available.
• Empower and support your team to drive their own development.
• Identify training and development opportunities to support individual and team performance.
• Ensure implementation and adherence to best practice tools and efficient processes.
• Encourage your team to develop a deep understanding of their markets.

Culture:

• Embrace and demonstrate the Mulberry values and behaviours: honesty, dynamism, and a community-oriented spirit.
• Support Mulberry to deliver an inclusive culture, through behaving in a way that is open-minded and respectful towards others, and understanding that your views, opinions, and experiences may not always be shared by your colleagues.
• Act as an ambassador for Mulberry and communicate positively about the brand.

Sustainability:

• As a certified B Corp business, it is important to incorporate environmentally responsible practices into your work wherever possible.
• Support the businesses ‘Five C’s’ strategy in addressing and improving Climate, Cultivation, Craft, Culture and Circularity.
• Promote a greener, more sustainable future.
• Support to foster an environment where diversity is embraced and all individuals feel valued, respected and included.
• Promote equity, empathy and understanding and demonstrate this commitment within your internal and external communities.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Previous experience at Merchandising Manager or Senior Merchandiser level.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel.
• Effective use of Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Outlook.
• Experience working with Power BI, NuOrder, Business Objects is a bonus.
• Personable, flexible approach and collaborative.
• Excellent written & verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Adept at building robust cross functional relationships.
• Previous team management experience.
• Passion for and knowledge of luxury/lifestyle fashion.

Mulberry is an equal opportunities employer and we are passionate about hiring and developing the best talent. All hiring decisions are made only on the basis of qualifications, skills or experience and as they relate to the particular role. If you need us to make any adjustments to our application or interview processes to enable you to be at your best, please email us at talent@mulberry.com.