Associate Merchandiser (Fashion Jewelry)

Kendra Scott•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Associate Merchandiser is a professional member of the Merchandising team. Reporting to the Manager of Merchandising, this is an exempt, salaried position whose primary responsibility is to support the development of merchandising product strategies and assortment plans, resulting in exciting and timely product assortments that will maximize sales, profits and support overall brand positioning. All below responsibilities are for specific categories owned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree, Retail Merchandising preferred, or equivalent work experience
3+ years’ experience in retail merchandising or related field for a high-growth company
A proven ability to execute with consistent delivery
Experience and passion for fashion retail merchandising, planning and execution
Solid financial acumen
Highly organized, detail oriented and accurate
Strong communication and presentation skills; ability to influence peers and communicate up
A strong ability to build relationship with co-workers and keep others informed
A growth mindset: desire to learn, grow and embrace new ideas
A shared appreciation for our 3 core values of Family, Fashion and Philanthropy

Responsibilities

Manage assortments, milestone dates and performance analysis of owned programs, while still maintaining holistic view of category as a whole and total company financial and brand objectives
Develop and recommend product assortments that will maximize sales, profits, meet customer demand and support overall brand positioning
Responsible for line finalization, communication and go-to-market preparation
Responsible for all line maintenance: assortment sheets, adds/drops and retail pricing
Suggest clear pricing structures that ties perceived value, quality and retail pricing together
Recommend selling strategies, selling periods, product lifecycles, brand positioning and channel distribution for applicable categories and channels
Recommend brand drivers, business goals and key products by season
Manage category go-to-market calendar milestone dates and partner with key CFTs to ensure deadlines and goals are met
Communicate and distribute all critical merchandising information to key functional areas on a timely basis
Support creation and presentation of applicable category feasibility studies, business plans and overall company product roadmap
Partner with other merchants to ensure clear execution of priorities and product alignment
Recommend line plans to Director of Merchandising and collaborate with Design to effectively combine with creative strategy to build assortments that achieve sales and brand goals
Partner with Planning and Allocation to influence seasonal investment and allocation strategy, ensuring big ideas and growth drivers are protected
Collaborate with Planning to determine promotional strategy and calendar that compliments overarching product and launch priorities
Partner with channel heads to continuously understand product trends, requests, opportunities and risks within their businesses
Communicate key product items and collaborate with channel heads to ensure aligned execution of ecommerce and in-store presentations and strategies
Ensure product initiatives and priorities are seamlessly executed in accordance to merchandising strategies
Generate and share re-occurring category reports with Merchandising team to include actionable takeaways, risks and opportunities from a trend, financial and brand perspective
Partner with Planning team to recommend expected financial performance and metrics for owned categories
Proactively monitor and report on product and category performance to identify risks and opportunities
Formally hindsight product performance, communicate clear takeaways and establish actionable next steps from learnings
Monitor IMU% targets vs. actuals and provide creative solutions for meeting and exceeding financial goals
Focuses on developing customer intimacy skills through regular store visits and competitive shopping; applies findings to merchandising and execution strategies.
Conducts comprehensive competitive research and analysis