To assist with the execution and adherence of the country range plan and price strategies; providing administrative support and market feedback to the Merchandise Manager.

REPORTS TO:  Merchandise Manager

JOB SUMMARY: To assist with the execution and adherence of the country range plan and price strategies; providing administrative support and market feedback to the Merchandise Manager.

Overall Job Responsibility: Provide support to Merchandise Managers to manager inventory and                                              sell through of products within the Portfolio to achieve budgeted Revenue and Inventory targets

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITES:

• Maintains sales plans by SKU including product substitutions and make appropriate commercial recommendations to improve rate of sales.
• Updates Country Product Range Plan spreadsheets with stock information from internal systems and as supplied by Merchandise Managers
• Update and communicate branch range plans and structures in consultation with Merchandise Managers.
• Updates product information in MERSYS including retail and promotional prices
• Provides reports to Internal and External stakeholders related to assigned product portfolio
• Conducts branch visits to ensure the stores comply with Range plans and reflect the current promotions and to assess effectiveness of Merchandise Strategy.
• Follows up on local and Oversees pending POs to ensure timely stock arrival in order to reduce over and / or under-stock situations.
• Recommends Products Selections for inclusion in offers and promotions (including price & margin recommendations)
• Monitors stock movements, product trends and staff and customer feedback in order to recommend actions to achieve product objectives.

•     Conducts Competitor visits and monitoring and provides updates on intelligence gathered related to market conditions, competitors’ activities etc

• Provide product information, specifications and photos to the Marketing Department by maintaining product photo library and specs as well proofing and other marketing activities as directed by the Merchandise Managers.
• Work with internal departments to resolve issues related to products belonging to portfolio
• Laise with suppliers and relevant departments to secure supplier payments
• Maintains good product knowledge and disseminates information accordingly.
• Performs any other duties as requested by Merchandise Manager

AEO Functions:

• Ensure all Vendor Forms are completed and sent to Legal Dept for review and approval
• Report all shipment discrepancies to the Logistics Officer and Regional Office.

Qualification / education:

Degree in Business Administration, Management, Marketing or related discipline

Skills / experience:

• Experience with administration duties within a purchasing environment
• Computer literacy with a comprehensive working knowledge of micro-soft office applications
• Ability to identify variations to plan, stock movements and make appropriate recommendations for replenishment of range 
• Commercial awareness; able to assess competitor prices, ranges, promotions and other key trends in the market and make appropriate recommendations
• Ability to receive critical product and market feedback and report same to Merchandise Managers (Country and Regional)
• Understanding of range planning and range structures
• Understanding of product pricing approaches (being able to interpret competitor pricing strategies)
• Ability to compile and generate accurate data analytics, pricing data and metrics to inform decisions and commercial activity
• Understanding of supply chain procedures

personal characteristics:

• Strong personal drive and action orientation with a focus on results
• Analytical with problem solving skills
• Strong organization and planning skills
• Strong numerical and data entry skills

Qualification / education:

• Experience with administration duties within a purchasing environment
• Computer literacy with a comprehensive working knowledge of micro-soft office applications
• Ability to identify variations to plan, stock movements and make appropriate recommendations for replenishment of range 
• Commercial awareness; able to assess competitor prices, ranges, promotions and other key trends in the market and make appropriate recommendations
• Ability to receive critical product and market feedback and report same to Merchandise Managers (Country and Regional)
• Understanding of range planning and range structures
• Understanding of product pricing approaches (being able to interpret competitor pricing strategies)
• Ability to compile and generate accurate data analytics, pricing data and metrics to inform decisions and commercial activity
• Understanding of supply chain procedures

Personal Characteristics:

• Strong personal drive and action orientation with a focus on results
• Analytical with problem solving skills
• Strong organization and planning skills
• Strong numerical and data entry skills
• Strong interpersonal, communication and collaboration skills, is able to develop strong working relationships and influence cross-functional teams toward execution on agreed objectives
• Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines
• Attention to detail – paying attention to trends in the data and key metrics
• Ability to work within a team and support other team members
• Ability to work as part of a team to ensure that targets are achieved.

This represents a broad outline of the duties and responsibilities and cannot list in detail all tasks that the job holder will be expected to undertake.