Usa Merchandiser

USA MerchandiserLeeds, LS15Full-Time (3 days in Office, 2 days from home)

Purpose of the role:

The Merchandiser will lead the commercial relaunch and merchandising management of a newly acquired brand license for the US Market. Based in the UK, this role acts as a vital strategic bridge connecting our UK-based product creation team with our US based Wholesale Sales team. The primary focus is to drive profitable revenue growth by delivering strong range plans, accurate stock forecasting and seamless supply chain execution tailored specifically to the US market.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy:

• Collaborate with the UK design and buyingteam to build commercially viable range plans specifically for US Wholesaleaccounts. Ensure the right delivery date, pricing architecture and desiredmargin has been agreed between all parties to maximise sales and profits
• Lead the commercial launch and rebuildingstrategy for the US license, establishing merchandising operations tailored toboth full price and off price Wholesale Channels
• Provide the wider team with analysis by categoryand customer by season, feeding the results into the range plan and providingforecasted sales by line that achieve the budgeted sales and margin; settingtarget margins for the buying team to facilitate
• Ownership of US Selling Windows: Defining anddriving the US seasonal selling, go to market week and intake calendars,ensuring alignment with US market expectations and key buying dates
• Budget Management: Build, monitor and deliverannual sales, margins and stock budgets for the US territory, ensuringalignment with financial targets. Liaising with the sales teams to ensure themost accurate information to cover sales, agents’ commissions and margins.
• Ensure all brand strategies are executed inline with the overall business needs and communicate these to the wider team

People:

• Develop a collaborative cross functional working relationship withthe US and UK teams across sales, design, buying and tech to ensure theright product is booked for the market and is executed in line withrequired delivery dates

Trade and planning:

• Establish and manage WSSI models specificallytuned to US delivery windows and trade cycles
• Delivery– Working with the buying team reviewing information from suppliers collated bythe team, attending CP meetings and acting where needed to improve deliveriesand ensure goods arrive on time and in full. Communicating all deliveries tothe US Sales team to make sure customers are kept fully updated throughout theseason
• Shipping– Management of all commercial paperwork – PI, packing lists, draft BL andtariff documentation ensuring on time clearance through US custom and delivery intothe US warehouse
• Workingclosely with the US team who will control the importing, exporting, invoicingand payments to make sure nothing is delayed to the customer, supporting withall required documentation
• Leadweekly trade meetings and develop comprehensive trade reports to continuouslyre-forecast sales and intake on a weekly basis to ensure deliveries are on timeand budgeted sales and margins are achieved. Highlighting any anomalies to therelevant parties and Senior Management
• Managementof the weekly cashflow document to forward plan all future stock payments inline with the most up to shipping dates
• Managementof the US Ecommerce sales reporting, working closely with the UK Merch and Ecommerce teams regarding product launches, trading stance and marketing to drive growthacross the web platform

Additional responsibility:

• Supportthe Head of Merchandising with quarterly business reviews and multi-yearreforecasting for the US Market
• Ensureall documents are checked and correct for the use of the Merchandising andwider BSI teams.
• Ensuringthe BSI Senior Management Team are communicated to in an effective and timelymanner

Knowledge & Skills:

• The ability to cope with the pressure of having to make important decisions andmeet tight deadlines.
• Understandingthe importation of goods into the US including required tariffs and duty
• Knowledge of relevant productcategories and competitors
• Presentation skills – visual, verbaland written
• Strong negotiation skills
• Organisational skills – the abilityto manage the critical path from product development to customer delivery date
• Team player – ability to manageworking relationships at all levels
• Numerate – working with margincalculations and budgets
• Analytical skills – ability toanalyse and interpret various data sources and reports
• Problem solving skills – able to makethe right the decision when faced with sales / margin / supply issues
• Understanding of the clothingindustry & trading environments. Broad knowledge of wholesale environments
• Strategic thinker – able to lookforward and innovate
• Self-motivated

Qualifications & experience:

• GCSE level C in Maths & English
• Ideallyto have Business, Merchandise or Fashion degree
• Atleast 2 years as a Senior Assistant Merchandiser/Junior Merch – ideally in arelated category with previous Wholesale exposure

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