Director of Merchandising, MotoSport
About The Position
MotoSport, the powersports division of Backcountry, is seeking a Director of Merchandising to set and execute multi-year merchandising strategy across street, dirt, ATV, and UTV riding categories, with particular focus on off-road. The role is responsible for driving revenue growth, margin expansion, and brand differentiation. It leads teams spanning Off Road, Street, Owned Brands, and Merch Operations, and partners with inventory and planning, marketing, and digital experience. The position has end-to-end responsibility in a lean team. Success in the first 6–12 months means establishing a clear category roadmap, strengthening key vendor partnerships, and demonstrating measurable progress against growth and margin targets. The Director owns the P&L for MotoSport merchandise categories and leads assortment, line architecture, initial pricing, SKU optimization, product storytelling, vendor relationships, and team development. The role is based in Portland, Oregon, with a hybrid workplace 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, with the ability to influence cross-functionally and externally.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute multi-year merchandising strategy across riding categories, particularly 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, profitable assortment aligned with seasonal and long-range business plans.
- Lead go-to-market product storytelling with marketing, e-commerce, and product content teams.
- 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; foster diversity of thought and collaboration.
- 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.
- 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.
- Build and develop the merchandising team across Off Road, Street, Owned Brands, and Merch Operations.
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
