HEAD OF MERCHANDISING - SPORTS PERFORMANCE WEAR in Manchester

Head of Merchandising - D2C sports performance wear brand

Manchester — 4 days in Head Office / 1 day WFH

Reports to: CEO / Directors

Our client is a rapidly expanding D2C sports performance brand based in Manchester, with an ambitious growth strategy across the UK, Europe and the US.

As the business continues to scale, they are looking for an experienced Head of Merchandising to take ownership of the merchandising function and play a key role in shaping the next phase of the brand's growth.

This is a high-impact role for a commercially focused merchandising professional who wants to join a fast-moving business where decisions can be made quickly and where their experience will have a direct impact on the growth of the company.

Working closely with the CEO and Directors, you will take responsibility for developing and executing the merchandising strategy across the business, ensuring the brand has the right product, in the right quantities, at the right time and at the right margin.

You will lead and develop the existing merchandising team while also bringing greater structure, commercial discipline and strategic thinking to the function.

This is not a role for someone who simply wants to manage a process. They are looking for someone hands on who is comfortable making decisions, challenging assumptions, identifying opportunities and driving commercial performance.

The business is already established across the UK and Europe and is now preparing for its next stage of expansion into the US market.

With a lean and entrepreneurial structure, the business offers an opportunity to have genuine influence over the direction of the brand and its product strategy.

The successful candidate will join at an exciting point in the company's journey, with the opportunity to help build the merchandising infrastructure and strategy required to support significant future growth.

The Role

As Head of Merchandising, you will own the merchandising strategy across the business and be a key commercial partner to the CEO and Directors.

You will combine strategic thinking with strong commercial and analytical skills, using data, customer insight and trading performance to make informed decisions around product, stock, range and inventory. Working closely with the Head of E-commerce

You will be responsible for ensuring the business has the right product architecture and stock strategy to support growth while maintaining healthy margins and managing inventory effectively.

Key Responsibilities

Merchandising Strategy

• Develop and own the overall merchandising strategy in line with growth plans.
• Build and maintain a clear commercial framework for range planning, option counts, intake and stock.
• Develop seasonal and annual merchandising plans across the UK, Europe and future US market.
• Identify opportunities to optimise the product range and maximise commercial performance.
• Work closely with the CEO and Directors on key product and commercial decisions.

Trading & Commercial Performance

• Take ownership of merchandising performance across the business.
• Analyse weekly and monthly trading performance, identifying opportunities and risks.
• Drive sales, margin, sell-through and stock performance.
• Make informed decisions around intake, replenishment, markdowns and stock management.
• Identify underperforming categories, products and opportunities for growth.
• Develop clear commercial reporting and KPIs for the merchandising function.
• Turn data and analysis into clear recommendations and actions.

Range Planning

• Lead the end-to-end range planning process.
• Establish appropriate option counts, depth and size curves by category and market.
• Ensure the range reflects customer demand, commercial opportunities and the overall brand strategy.
• Partner with Product, Design and Buying to ensure ranges are commercially viable.
• Support new product development through commercial insight and performance analysis.
• Help establish a scalable product and category architecture as the business grows.
• Own the stock strategy and ensure inventory is aligned to sales expectations.
• Improve forecasting and demand planning processes.
• Balance availability against stock exposure and working capital.
• Monitor weeks of cover, sell-through, intake and stock turn.
• Establish appropriate replenishment strategies for core and seasonal products.
• Work with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure stock availability supports trading objectives.

International Expansion

• Support the merchandising strategy for European and US growth.
• Develop market-specific range and inventory strategies where appropriate.
• Use trading data and customer insight to understand differences between markets.
• Help establish the merchandising processes required to scale internationally.
• Play a key role in building the commercial infrastructure for the US launch and future expansion.

Leadership

• Lead and develop the existing merchandising team.
• Provide clear direction, priorities and commercial objectives.
• Build a high-performance merchandising culture based around accountability and decision-making.
• Develop the team's analytical and commercial capabilities.
• Introduce best practice processes without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Work collaboratively across the wider business.

Working with the Leadership Team

This role will have significant visibility across the business and will work closely with the CEO and Directors.

The successful candidate will be expected to bring their own point of view and experience to the table.

You will be involved in key commercial decisions and will have the confidence to challenge, influence and recommend changes where you see opportunities to improve performance.

The ideal candidate will enjoy working in an entrepreneurial environment where priorities can move quickly and where there is a strong expectation to take ownership rather than wait for instruction.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for an experienced merchandising professional who has operated at a senior level within a fast-growing retail, fashion, sportswear, performance apparel or D2C environment.

You will ideally have:

• Significant experience in merchandising, ideally at Senior Merchandiser / Merchandising Manager / Head of Merchandising level. within D2C fashion brand
• Experience managing and developing a merchandising team.
• Strong commercial and analytical capability.
• Proven experience with range planning and forecasting.
• Strong understanding of stock management, intake, sell-through and margin.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Excellent understanding of customer and product performance data.
• Experience working closely with senior leadership or founders.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills.
• The ability to turn complex data into clear commercial actions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial and hands‑on approach.
• The confidence to make decisions and take ownership.
• Experience within sportswear, activewear, performance apparel, fashion or a similar consumer product environment would be highly advantageous.
• International / multi-market experience would be beneficial, particularly UK, European or US markets.

The Person

Commercially driven

You naturally think about sales, margin, stock, customer demand and the overall commercial impact of every decision.

Analytical

You are comfortable working with data and can quickly identify the story behind the numbers.

Decisive

You don't need everything to be perfect before making a decision. You can assess the information available, make a recommendation and take ownership of the outcome.

You enjoy working in a growing business where you can build, improve and make a tangible difference.

Strategic but hands‑on

You can build a merchandising strategy but are equally comfortable getting into the detail when required.

You enjoy working closely with founders, directors and cross-functional teams and can influence stakeholders effectively.

Growth-minded

You are excited by the opportunity to help build a merchandising function capable of supporting significant international growth.

What You'll Get

• 1 day working from home
• A senior position within a rapidly growing D2C sports performance brand
• Direct exposure to the CEO and Directors
• Significant influence over the merchandising strategy and wider commercial direction
• The opportunity to help shape the next stage of international growth
• The opportunity to build and develop an existing merchandising team
• A fast-paced, entrepreneurial working environment
• The chance to join the business at a pivotal stage of its growth journey

#J-18808-Ljbffr