Merchant

Claire's - Hoffman Estates, IL

Full-time - Mid Level

Hybrid - Hoffman Estates, IL

Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers

About the position

The Merchant is responsible for creating and driving the merchandise strategy for a given department/class that meets or exceeds the financial goals for that respective area. This role is crucial in leading the team to deliver consistent results for key financial metrics and KPIs, such as sales and gross margin. The Merchant collaborates closely with the Merchandise Manager and/or Director of Merchandising, as well as cross-functional partners, to capture and align the needs of the seasonal line planning process for a given department/class. This hybrid role is based in Hoffman Estates, IL, and requires a proactive approach to managing merchandise strategies that align with the company's financial objectives. In this position, the Merchant will develop a robust seasonal merchandise assortment strategy, roadmap, and assorted line for their area of responsibility within Global Merchandising. This strategy must tie to financial plans and seasonal goals. The Merchant will provide analytical, creative, and managerial support to the Merchandise Manager/Director of Merchandising, partnering in the day-to-day running of the department. Analyzing business and key KPIs weekly and seasonally is essential, as is taking ownership of levers such as markdowns, promotions, and risk mitigation to drive the business forward. The Merchant will oversee the training, execution, and completion of tasks assigned to Assistant Merchants and Associate Merchants, which include sample tracking and management, report creation, and purchase order maintenance. They will also own seasonal hindsight, buys, style ranking, SKU optimization, and costing & pricing that align with financial plans for their areas of ownership. Additionally, the Merchant will create pre-season promotional strategies and manage product tracking to ensure timely delivery. Analyzing sales risk and elevating concerns to upper management is also a critical responsibility. Maintaining strong cross-functional relationships with Design, Product Development, Marketing, Planning, ISP, and other merchandising partners is vital for collaborating on the seasonal buying process.

Responsibilities

• Develop robust seasonal merchandise assortment strategy, roadmap and assorted line for assigned area of responsibility within Global Merchandising that ties to financial plans and seasonal goals.
• Provide analytical, creative, and managerial support to the Merchandise Manager/Director of Merchandising, partnering in day to day running of the department.
• Analyze business and key KPIs weekly and seasonally; take ownership of levers (MD, promotions, chasing opportunity, mitigating risk) to drive the business partnering with leads to action accordingly.
• Oversee training, execution and completion of Assistant Merchant and Associate Merchant tasks which include sample tracking and management, creation, preparation and maintenance of reports and recaps, purchase order creation and maintenance.
• Own seasonal hindsight, buys, style ranking, SKU optimization and costing & pricing that ties to financial plans for areas of ownership; Create pre-season promotional strategies.
• Manage and oversee product tracking for department to ensure on time delivery.
• Analyze sales risk and elevate to upper management.
• Maintain strong cross-functional relationships with Design, Product Development, Marketing, Planning, ISP and other merchandising partners to collaborate on seasonal buying process.
• Partner closely with ISP team to determine appropriate in-store product placements that align with overall product and promotional strategy.
• Expert in customer and global competition for department, understanding other retailers' assortments, pricing and promotional strategies in comparison to Claire's/Icing and incorporate relevant actions in seasonal product strategies.
• Create and facilitate an effective work environment by coaching, developing and mentoring team, developing a common vision, setting clear objectives, modeling teamwork, recognizing and maintaining open communication.
• Maintain all seasonal selling reports & records (recaps, style boards, line sheets) and distribute to cross-functional partners as needed to maintain clear communication across the organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in fashion merchandising, business, or related field.
• 5-6 years merchandising or retail buying experience.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, collaborative environment.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, and solution oriented decision-making.
• Strong organizational, planning, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrate effective leadership skills, being able to run business and work autonomously.
• Sense of urgency with demonstrated success in a fast-paced and deadline-oriented environment.
• Flexibility and the ability to prioritize multiple deliverables.
• Self-motivated with critical attention to detail, deadlines and reporting.
• Understanding of current trends and how they apply to the Claire's/Icing customer.
• Excellent retail math skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint and Excel).