Merchandiser in City of London

Aday is hiring for an experienced Merchandiser with experience in apparel (and ideally direct-to-consumer) to drive an A+ product strategy that will grow our top line and bottom line. You will be responsible for managing our line plans and projections and collaborating closely with Product and Marketing to maximize product success and ensure we have the right product at the right quantities and the right price at the right time.

You will drive product strategy to deliver an A+ product at the right time. You will lead strategic forecasts for new collections, repeats, colours and new categories. You will closely collaborate with Marketing on strategically positioning Aday for growth. You will own line and range planning to deliver a balanced range for our DTC and wholesale. You will own the product budget and decide on style depth, positioning, colour, pricing, and delivery flow. You will manage our line projections in close collaboration with our Finance Lead. You will manage and support the various stakeholders to deliver on our calendar working backwards from a delivery flow point of view. You will report to Aday’s co-founder and own key mission-critical business KPIs. You will work in close collaboration with Production and Design. You will facilitate regular communication with Marketing, Brand, Web and the rest of the team to get inputs and collaborate on the product plan as well as communicate and problem solve together in a fast-changing environment.

You will constantly push yourself and the team to do better: better merchandising KPIs, better product, better collaboration, better processes and better ideas!

Your areas of responsibility:

• Line planning: deliver a balanced range for our brand (direct-to-consumer and wholesale).
• Drive seasonal product strategy meetings to kick off seasonal critical path, creative, and design.
• Strategic and budget planning: style count, depth, pricing, colour and delivery flow. Lead sign-off meetings with co-founder / key stakeholders.
• Manage line projections on alway-on styles to manage product lifecycles and seasonality and minimise out-of-stocks.
• Weekly reporting on product performance including best and worst sellers. Improving the weekly reports and analysis.
• Make regular ad-hoc strategic recommendations to the business to potentialize sales based on latest performance and ad-hoc analysis (always-on, repeat buys, colours etc).
• Collaborating closely with Head of Marketing and Head of Finance on reviewing forecasts on a weekly basis.
• Share product strategy with key stakeholders in Marketing, Web and other relevant teams and incorporate feedback into buys (e.g. high confidence in certain styles).
• Collaborate with Marketing and Web on an ongoing basis to understand what’s selling and why, “trends” we may be seeing, as well as acquisition ads potential our marketing team is anticipating.
• Seasonal teardowns.
• In collaboration with Finance, manage key KPI’s including gross margins, weeks cover, markdown % and terminal stock.
• Perform pricing analysis and suggest clever pricing strategies and manage markdowns in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• In collaboration with the Wholesale Coordinator, set up our wholesale channel including product selections, sample process, stock delivery, as well as operational set-up, discounting and terms.
• Work closely with the Wholesale Coordinator to review sales and stock information so we can maximize revenue for the channel. Provide trading suggestions for wholesale customers. Monitor wholesale trade and control RTVs.
• In collaboration with other teams manage off-price, sample sales, outlets strategy.
• Evaluate and make recommendations on set up of WSSI and terminal stock reporting.

You will likely have the following skills and experience:

• You will have previously worked as a Merchandiser or Category Manager.
• You will have previously worked at a brand or (bonus) direct-to-consumer brand, likely in fashion, sportswear or related categories.
• Strong experience in e-commerce and ideally wholesale.
• Strategic thinker with strong vision.
• Initiator: not shy to initiate workstreams and facilitate strategic meetings.
• Commercial perspective and strong understanding of competitive landscape.
• Excellent analytical capabilities.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong understanding of retail and apparel.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
• You’re a team player who thrives in a fast-paced and fluid environment.
• At least 5+ years of successful relevant experience but preference for 7-10+ years.
• You’ll be based in London with 2-3 in-office days.