Senior Merchandise Manager

Join Our Team as a Senior Merchandise Manager! Drive Product Success and Shape Retail Excellence.

About the Role:

As our Senior Merchandise Manager, you will be instrumental in planning, selecting, and managing commercially viable product ranges for designated categories. You'll collaborate with regional teams to execute strategic plans, optimize inventory, and ensure our stores are stocked with the right products at the right time. Your expertise in supply chain management, market analysis, and supplier relations will be crucial to our success.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage local range plans for assigned product categories, including cost analysis and product pricing to achieve budget and margin objectives and ensure alignment with company strategy and regional buying plans
• Manage product range, procurement, and pricing to optimize sales, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Manage the range profiles by store ensuring a balanced portfolio of brands and models in each store to appeal to diverse customer lifestyles.
• Supervise shipping and receiving processes to minimize delays and ensure timely stock availability.
• Conduct regular store visits to all branches to ensure that retail merchandising meet merchandising operation standards and compliance expectations including effective displays, space allocation and range compliance at all points of sale.
• Collaborate with regional teams to develop annual sales plans and review monthly, ensuring alignment with current trends.
• Conduct ongoing SKU management, providing accurate monthly product forecasts in accordance with supplier lead times and Open to Buy (OTB) parameters for approval and manage Purchase Orders (POs) to maximize product availability and stock productivity.. 
• Work closely with Regional Buyers/Merchandise Managers to bring traffic to our stores from both existing and new customers through product innovation in existing product categories, and new categories. 
• Monitor and analyze sales trends, competitor activities, and market dynamics providing timely feedback to inform decisions and maintain a competitive edge.
• Partner with the Marketing and Operations to ensure effective execution of Sales, Marketing, and Logistics (SML) agreements, including supplying product nominations for primary and secondary marketing campaigns and evaluating results to ensure sales, penetration and GMROI objectives are met.
• Support new store openings, refurbishments, and layout optimizations to enhance customer experience and sales potential.
• Manage relationships with preferred local suppliers to ensure that designs reflect market trends, and that quality, volume, and service requirements are met on an ongoing basis.
• Lead and develop  merchandising staff fostering a high performance culture, as well as, category and career growth.

• Support promotional executions by coordinating with sales and marketing teams to execute price changes and promotions at store level.

• Visit warehouses or other storage areas to visually assess and monitor stockholding, stock rotation and storage conditions, and optimize inventory turnover and productivity through initiatives to move and minimize aged stock, slow-moving, and discontinued lines.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies Required:

• Strong understanding of supply chain management and sourcing strategies.
• Proven ability to develop and replenish range plans, forecast sales, and adapt plans to customer demand, competitor analysis and market trends.
• Inventory Management and Optimization
• Attention to Detail and high integrity
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong numerical skills, with high proficiency in financial forecasting.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, including interpersonal skills
• Strong presentation and report-writing skills for executive-level communication.
• A proven track record in managing product life cycles, pricing strategies, and supplier negotiations.
• Proven leadership ability
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to drive category growth through data-driven decision-making.
• Computer literate with proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and inventory management systems.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and demanding environment.
• Ability to work independently, and as part of a team.
• Ability to develop sound marketing briefs.

 Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing Supply Chain Management, or a related field. Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be substituted for degree
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in retail merchandising and category management or similar role within a multinational import and logistics environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of managerial experience.