Senior Merchandiser

Mountain Warehouse is a rapidly growing global retailer, with over 450 stores across the UK, Ireland, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, alongside a strong and expanding online presence. Since our founding, we’ve built a reputation for offering high-quality outdoor products at great value, supporting customers in enjoying the outdoors wherever they are.

We are seeking an enthusiastic, resourceful, hardworking Merchandiser who will grow with the company and add value to our fast growing team. This person will report into the Merchandise Manager and will be responsible for delivering category performance objectives, in line with the seasonal and global growth strategy. Accountable for category online and retail inventory and performance KPIs, delivering stock to fulfil category budgets, and trading the online platforms and retail stores in the most profitable way.

Key Responsibilities

• Drives the seasonal category strategy ensuring KPI’s are inline with the overall brand strategy, including sales, buy and options, using analysis to quantify risks and opportunity and communicating to leadership team.
• Plans and buys a balanced range for the category in line with budget, agreed intake phasing and architecture. Ensures range shape/construction is fit for purpose with inputs from Buying, and Trading teams, identifying options, colours, sizes needed.
• Plans buys in line with promotional events, maximising opportunities and ensuring timely intake to meet launch dates.
• Identifies category range opportunities, providing feedback to HoM and buying.
• Follows through the planning critical path, ensuring that all key actions are executed on time.
• Ensures all planning line lists are fully up-to-date, and that new season prices are set correctly, reflecting range architecture.
• Responsible for category WSSI, identifying and communicating risks and opportunities, maintaining accurate forecasts, and ensuring that stocks are sufficient to achieve availability and performance KPIs within OTB/OTC.
• Optimises availability online and in stores, notably on best sellers, maximising sales and profit, ensuring sufficient stocks are held at all times, managing CON and volume line cards appropriately, and reviewing line reports weekly, ensuring intake is optimal.
• Identifies and communicate sales/stock risk and opportunities across regions and channels, ensuring initial pricing is correct and markdowns/mark ups maximise sell through/profit and are inline with category KPI’s.
• Ensure category intake phasing is in line with requirements, reflecting this in weekly PTS requests, ensuring sufficient (and not excess stock) is shipped to MW warehouses.
• Understand the width of SKUs held at each DC for the category, understand the differences and ensure there is optimal assortment width.
• Leads by example, as a role model within merchandising and the MW team.
• Develops, coaches and supports team members to fulfil their potential, through regular one to ones, setting clear SMART objectives and delivering best practice always, creating succession plans.
• Identifies process opportunities for improving efficiencies and supports system developments and improvements.
• Close communication with Buying and Retail Trading.

We would like to meet someone who has previous experience at Merchandiser level, previous own buy/own brand experience, and expert level knowledge of systems/planning tools.