Director - Merchandising - Children's Apparel - Quidsi - Amazon - Jersey City

Job description
We are looking for a talented Director of Merchandising to lead the children's apparel category. Softlines is a highly strategic focus for Quidsi, and we are seeking a leader with a passion for childrenswear to drive sales and margin growth through assortment planning, vendor management, on-site merchandising, and inventory management. This individual should be able to thrive in a highly entrepreneurial, fast-changing and collaborative environment where teams are driven, enthusiastic and not afraid to take risks.

VENDOR MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
o Work with existing vendor base to negotiate terms improvement, develop new incentive programs, and ensure a reliable and operationally effective flow of goods to our fulfillment centers
o Ensure profitability by accurate forecasting and close monitoring of procurement margin

o Establish new direct accounts to support the selection expansion and margin improvement
o Lead supplier/publisher business reviews
o Partner with strategic vendors to drive new buyer acquisition.
o Plan vendor funded promotions to drive sales and increase retention.

ON-LINE MERCHANDISING
o Develop on-line merchandising and promotion calendar to achieve sales targets.
o Develop business rules to support ongoing online merchandising leveraging our online search and merchandising capabilities
o Oversee initial product set-up and update vendor/item database as necessary.

ASSORTMENT PLANNING AND PRICING
o Develop and execute optimal category strategy, product assortment, pricing, promotions, and merchandising plans for an expanding assortment of shoes and athletic sportwear
o Perform financial analysis of categories to identify opportunities and accelerate growth

INVENTORY & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
o Project sales by SKU, and work with supply chain to purchase inventory required to support sales
o Partner with supply chain team to manage inventory health by ensuring efficient inventory flows (including the forecasting, purchasing, and return of new and catalog products). Involves determining and executing exit strategies for unproductive inventory.
• Bachelor's degree in business or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in an e-commerce/buying role focusing on apparel or equivalent experience as a buyer in the apparel industry with at least a year of experience leading and developing a team.
• MBA
• Strong understanding of seasonal shoe and apparel industry, children’s business a plus.
• Understanding of key retail metrics, including markup, margin, sell thru, open to buy and seasonal demand curves.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage and develop a team
• Ability to spot trends (new products, styles, brands) in the marketplace and in merchandise.
• Great communication skills (both oral and written) are a must
• Superb business judgment with a desire to build and manage your own business.
• Work well in and lead cross-functional teams, e.g., operations, planning, supply chain, etc. to drive business goals.
• A track record of developing new vendor relationships with strong negotiation and relationship management (both internal and external) skills.
• Ability to work autonomously in a highly demanding and often ambiguous environment, with strong attention to detail and exceptional organizational skills.
• Knowledge of MS Office (particularly Excel, Access, and PowerPoint), as well as an agility with web-based software applications and internally-developed systems.
• Strong analytical acumen and comfortable generating and evaluating various forecasts, metrics, and analyses
• Exceptional problem-solving skills while managing multiple priorities effectively and efficiently
• Creative thinker

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