Merchandiser in Manchester

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Job Summary

As a Merchandiser at BDA, you will be responsible for independently developing, sourcing, and curating compelling and profitable product assortments for our clients while negotiating and developing strategic supplier relationships.

The Merchandiser must earn the trust of internal and external customers by building assortment strategies that deliver creative and profitable products that represent the clients’ brands and speak to the end customer.

BDA’s ideal Merchandiser is ambitious in nature, detail oriented, comfortable working in cross-functional teams, and passionate about the retail and ecommerce industry.

They are organized and adept at time management skills with experience initiating and implementing merchandise strategies.

Location : This role is based in Manchester or London, UK and offers a flexible onsite schedule of onsite

4 days per week, with 1 day remote . To be considered, you must live within commuting distance , as regular in-person collaboration is a key part of the role.

Job Description

Duties and Responsibilities

• Define seasonal product strategies that identify future opportunities and trends
• Ability to take current trends and translate into creative product
• Knowledge of a range of decoration methods and the ability to assess their impact on product appearance, functionality, quality, and commercial viability
• Knowledge of market trends and the ability to adapt designs to meet the preferences and needs of different regions and customer groups
• Negotiate, build and source strategic and profitable product assortments
• Independently drive sales through the selection of product, pricing and return on investment
• Use current and historical data to evaluate what is working effectively or not and create actionable insights that inform the line architecture
• Demonstrate analytical and critical thinking and how to apply to the business
• Understand assigned clients’ brands and identify products that represent and target their end customer
• Run weekly merchandise status calls with clients and internal WIP meetings
• Ensure successful product line presentations to clients.

Use data and influencing skills to gain partnership from internal partners and clients on assortment strategies to ensure profitability

• Share productivity of assortment with accounts and internal partners
• Confidence and ability to articulate and sell a concept to a business team
• Oversee day-to-day activities for product launches/refreshes
• Responsible for areas including compliance, quality, and operational metrics (metrics including compliance, alliance partners, product margin, etc.)
• Negotiate buying terms with suppliers (price, quantity, quality, delivery, etc.)
• Oversee the execution of the assortment launch
• Build/update product status Smartsheet for tracking – internal/external views
• Help create SKUs for online stores, and prepare product images
• Help assort styles/silhouettes based on past selling history/sales goals/season
• Help select color standards within seasonal color stories
• Request graphic development and review with design team
• Review tech packs for accuracy with design team
• Review lab dips with designer
• Work with team to determine cost targets, MSRP and quantities based on past SKUs/like items
• Send any development samples or lab dips to client
• Review TOP samples for accuracy and send to client + add to sample library
• Job Skills and Traits
• Experience initiating, recommending, and implementing merchandise strategies
• Strong understanding of and ability to apply market intelligence
• Understanding of retail and the service environment
• Experience analyzing, interpreting, and applying consumer data
• Track record of building profitable assortment plans
• Skilled at cross functional influence
• Experience working with accounts or retail stores to deliver profitable and relevant assortments
• Works and communicates effectively with cross divisional leadership
• Consensus building skills - Ability to persuade co-workers of the benefits of positive changes
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication and strong interpersonal skills

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of work and experience
• Minimum 3-5 years of retail buying, product development, merchandising and/or planning experience
• Fluency in MS Office suite including Excel, Word, Power Point
• Experience working with UK and European suppliers is a plus
• Proficiency in French, German, or another European language would be a plus

BDA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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