Director of Merchandising, MotoSport
About The Position
MotoSport, Backcountry’s powersports division, serves street, dirt, ATV, and UTV riders with an extensive assortment of gear and parts, motorcycle-specific expertise, a superior shopping experience, and accurate fulfillment. The Director of Merchandising sets and executes the multi-year merchandising strategy across riding categories to drive revenue growth, margin expansion, and brand differentiation. The role leads a team spanning Off Road, Street, Owned Brands, and Merch Operations, and partners with inventory and planning, marketing, and digital experience teams. The Director has end-to-end responsibility in a lean team environment. Early priorities include establishing a category roadmap, strengthening vendor partnerships, and making measurable progress toward growth and margin targets. The position is based in Portland, Oregon, with a hybrid work arrangement, and reports to John St Juliana.
Requirements
- At least 8 years of merchandising experience in retail or e-commerce.
- At least 3 years of experience in a leadership role.
- Deep powersports expertise and a proven ability to scale business lines.
- Strong analytical and strategic acumen, including fluency in retail metrics, forecasting, and consumer insights.
- Proven success leading and developing high-performing merchandising teams.
- Experience working in a digitally native retail environment.
- Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to influence cross-functionally and externally.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a multi-year merchandising strategy across riding categories, with particular focus on off-road, to achieve growth and margin targets.
- Partner with the Director of Inventory & Planning on inventory productivity.
- Balance core street and off-road performance with emerging categories and adjacent opportunities to shape MotoSport’s brand and appeal to riders.
- Oversee line architecture, initial pricing strategy, and SKU optimization to create a balanced and profitable assortment aligned with seasonal and long-range business plans.
- Lead go-to-market product storytelling in partnership with marketing, e-commerce, and product content.
- Partner with the Owned Brands manager on strategy and assortment for MotoSport owned-brand parts and gear.
- Build team capability in trend identification, competitive analysis, and vendor negotiations.
- Champion diversity of thought and collaboration across teams.
- Own P&L accountability for merchandise categories, including revenue and margin, and partner with planning on inventory investment and productivity targets.
- Work with planning and allocation to maintain inventory health, minimize markdowns, and maximize full-price sell-through.
- Use analytics to identify category gaps, emerging trends, and customer opportunities.
- Cultivate strategic brand-partner relationships to secure exclusive products, early releases, and co-branded collaborations.
- Negotiate vendor terms, margin improvements, and strategic marketing partnerships.
- Partner with vendors on exclusive and co-branded product opportunities that support the assortment strategy.
- Use consumer insights, competitive intelligence, and digital performance data to anticipate changes in customer preferences.
- Ensure merchandising strategies inspire and equip riders for their powersports pursuits.
Benefits
- Paid time off policies.
- 401(k) match (United States).
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage (United States).
- Supplemental benefit policies (United States).
- Employee discounts across the company’s portfolio of brands.
- RRSP match (Canada).
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage (Canada).
- Supplemental benefit options (Canada).
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
