Assistant Merchandiser - Apparel in Bury

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019. We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company, you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth.

The JD Group is now recruiting for an Assistant Merchandiser to join our Bury Head Office, within the JD Sports Fashion fascia. The Assistant Merchandiser is responsible for supporting the Merchandising team by ensuring product is in the right stores to enable the achievement of all channel department sales, markdown, stock, intake and profit plans. This role offers a great opportunity to continue to develop your career in merchandising.

Responsibilities

• Order/Stock (35%): Create accurate size ratios for all buys, establish working relationships with supplier base, prioritise intake and review booked lines to ensure best stock placement, complete cost, retail and margin order checks, work with the Merchandiser to ensure pre-scheduling meets options and range plan at store level.
• Trade (60%): Prepare reporting for weekly review of stores and product in preparation for Monday trade meeting, identify priority stores for the week, review and propose actions, analyse performance of new/re-fit stores, manage over/under performing stores, action feedback from Retail and Branch Merchandising to support the stores, develop awareness of product area through analysis of reports and store visits, undertake store visits and create an action plan to improve performance, manage line cards in conjunction with the Merchandiser, maximise best sellers through the review of ideal stock levels, collate and check weekly price amendments, establish collaborative working relationships within teams across functions, carry out any ad-hoc analysis as required.

Ideal Candidate

• Passionate about JD, its brands and customer.
• Merchandising experience and knowledge – currently an Assistant Merchandiser or a Merchandise Assistant/Trainee Merchandiser looking for the next step.
• Experience within a footwear/apparel/sports retailer is advantageous.
• Analytical, data driven and highly numerate.
• Systems driven, proficient in Excel and other Microsoft Office software.
• Highly organised and strong attention to detail.
• Confident communicator able to build relationships at all levels.
• Able to take ownership of your work, prioritise and use your initiative to deliver.
• Good teamwork skills, being able to work collaboratively to reach a common goal, sharing information and supporting colleagues.
• Positive and flexible, responsive to business needs.
• Resilient and able to adapt to change, focusing on solutions not problems.
• Curious with a continuous learning mindset.

Team Structure

Here at JD, the Merchandising team structure is organised into various departments, each with a strong focus in certain areas, such as Apparel, Footwear and Accessories. Being part of this wide team will give you the opportunity to work with sports branded suppliers and other key stakeholders. There are many opportunities to grow within the different areas and there is also training and development plans in place to support and mentor you in your personal and professional career.

Benefits

• JD Group Company Discount Across All JD Group Fascia’s (JD, size?, Blacks, Millets, GO Outdoors).
• Discounted Membership At JD Gyms.
• In-House Training & Development Programmes.
• Apprenticeship opportunities.
• Staff Sales.
• Free onsite parking.
• Onsite Canteen.
• Opportunities to progress throughout the wider business – within the UK and International.