Bilingual Merchant, Hard Discount, Local Assortment (ENG/FR)

Loblaw Companies Limited•Montreal, QC

6d•CA$68,000 - CA$93,500•Onsite

About The Position

Loblaw Companies Limited is seeking a Bilingual Merchant to join the Hard Discount Division. This role will focus on delivering outstanding products and customer programs across over 500 grocery stores in Canada. Reporting to the Category Director, the Merchant will be part of a data-driven and customer-centric team, responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and managing local and regional vendors, leading promotional programs, and optimizing assortment. The position requires strong analytical skills, financial acumen, and the ability to collaborate with various internal departments and external suppliers. This is an opportunity to make a difference in communities across Canada and shape the future of Canadian retail.

Requirements

Post-secondary education or equivalent experience.
Bilingualism (French and English) — French is essential for vendor relationships and store communications in Quebec.
A curious, bold, and self-directed approach, comfortable building structure and process where little exists.
At least one year's experience as a merchant/buyer, in retail sales, or merchandising; familiarity with the local/regional supplier landscape is an asset.
Strong analytical orientation and experience using data to make decisions.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (Power Query / Power Pivot an asset) and comfort working across multiple data and reporting platforms; experience with SQL/Teradata or similar is a strong asset.
Skilled in PowerPoint and Teams, with confidence learning new software platforms.
Financial, business, and retail knowledge.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with the local/regional supplier landscape is an asset.
Power Query / Power Pivot an asset
Experience with SQL/Teradata or similar is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

Set and achieve goals, working united with colleagues in merchandising, operations, control brands, supply chain, loyalty, e-commerce, marketing, and other divisions.
Source, evaluate, and build positive relationships with local and regional vendors, acting as their primary point of contact through onboarding and beyond.
Lead the end-to-end vendor onboarding process, including article setup and workflow (SAP/AWF), costing, and retail pricing, ensuring submissions are complete, compliant, and store-ready.
Manage both listed and unlisted/backdoor supplier activity — reconciling scan data, identifying gaps and opportunities, and bringing informal supply into a structured, reportable framework.
Lead promotional programs from end to end, including product selection and forecasting, financial impact analysis, pricing decisions, vendor engagement, flyer and digital content, and post-program evaluation.
Use data and analytics to build strategic plans that best serve customers and achieve intended financial outcomes — including building and maintaining the reporting tools, dashboards, and data pipelines that support assortment, promotional, and vendor decisions.
Support the Category Director in assortment optimization, cluster and planogram design, and in-store merchandising strategies, in coordination with Associate Merchants, Space Planners, and Supply Chain colleagues.
Produce recurring store-facing communications (in French or English) to keep approximately 200 stores informed on new products, assortment changes, and key operational details.
Research the competitive landscape and understand industry benchmarking on pricing, assortment, merchandising, and promotional activity, with attention to the Quebec market.
Support the financial performance (profit and loss) and health (market share) of the local assortment, and help ensure pricing and supplier practices meet regulatory and internal compliance standards.
Lead and assist vendor program meetings and product costing discussions, playing an active role in vendors' financial performance and product assortment.