The Senior Manager of Retail Product Merchandising will lead the successful development, communication, and execution of sales and inventory strategies that support the retail financial plan. This individual collaborates with the team to develop strategic merchandise plans and targets for critical categories to maximize sales and optimize inventory by analyzing historical sales trends, current in-season patterns, and future forecasts.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develops product assortment strategy for retail stores in conjunction with the merchandising team, focusing on tiering, ranking, and flow timing that align with financial plans.
• Analyze the assortment plan to identify gaps, potential opportunities, or liabilities to the financial plan.
• Collaborate with visual merchandising on merchandising strategies, space allocation, and store capacities.
• Partner with the VP of Retail, Demand, and Sales Planning, and Merchandising to determine to-buy quantities for retail and attend all buy meetings to give retail-specific feedback.
• Drive retail exclusive process with merchandising for store/market-specific store trends.
• Provide direction to the allocations team to develop strategies that ensure the right products are available in the suitable locations at the right time, balancing sales potential with inventory constraints.
• Analyze sales performance, margin trends, and profitability metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of merchandise plans and identify areas for improvement.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including Finance, Allocations, Demand Planning, Merchandising, Ecom, and Sales Planning, to coordinate merchandise planning activities and achieve business objectives.
• Hindsight on financial and assortment performance to develop next season's inventory plans.
• Provide qualitative and quantitative insights during Go To Market and investment reviews, concluding to inform future product assortment.
• Develop knowledge of geographic and store-attribute performance and trends to employ in strategies.

KMOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Able to lead cross-functional discussions and gain alignment.
• Demonstrates understanding of forecasting methodology, trend analysis, and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to positively influence and lead others by fostering a motivating work outlook with an emphasis on team collaboration.
• Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel and data analysis tools
• Excellent communication and people skills
• Ability to multitask and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and follow-up skills
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Merchandising, or related field
• Minimum of 6 years in merchandise planning or inventory management. Allocation experience is a plus.