DTC Buyer/Merchandiser

Kontoor Brands, Inc.•Greensboro, NC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Kontoor Brands is seeking a DTC Buyer/Merchandiser to lead assortment strategy for assigned categories, develop data-based recommendations for product selection (style, color, size, segment), and collaborate with cross-functional teams including Brand Merchandising, Licensing, Marketing, and Design. This role involves strategizing with the Marketing team on inventory investment informed by brand marketing spend, creating purchase orders with a focus on accuracy, and maintaining partnerships with external vendors and internal teams. The position also requires collaboration with Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Distribution Centers to ensure appropriate delivery timing, elevating awareness of key launches, and troubleshooting potential delays. Additionally, the role involves developing and executing a pricing/promotional strategy to maximize revenue and margin, staying informed of product lifecycle changes, analyzing sales trends and inventory levels, and reporting weekly on assigned categories. The DTC Buyer/Merchandiser will develop topline sales and product inventory plans, analyze sales results to provide guidance, and adjust forecasts as needed. They will review seasonal and replenishment assortments with Ecom/Store Merchandising and Marketing, align promotional strategies, and partner with the Ecom Merchandising team to review site metrics and online merchandising insights. This role includes managing the promotional calendar, analyzing performance, and adjusting timing as needed, as well as coaching and mentoring Merchandising Specialists. The position is responsible for balancing overall DTC inventories, communicating delivery updates, and planning and executing markdown strategies to ensure greatest margin potential. It also involves engaging in seasonal line reviews and ensuring e-commerce teams have necessary sales collateral, pricing, and merchandising information. The role requires providing reviews of business performance versus plan and seasonal product performance for monthly and quarterly business reviews, preparing reports and analysis for financial recaps, and presenting test results.

Requirements

5+ years of prior experience in a buying, planning and assortment strategy capacity.
Bachelor’s Degree (BA) or equivalent from four year college or university; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Extensive PC skills (MS Office programs, inclusive of presentation skills via Power Point and analytical skills via Excel).
Advanced in Excel and in manipulating data with advanced formulas and functions.
Strong financial and quantitative analysis acumen; Mastery of all components of retail math.
Ability to lead, coach and develop staff to improve performance and achieve professional goals
Establish and maintain effective relationships with other management staff, employees and others with whom the company conducts business
Read, analyze and interpret policies, procedures and other business practices, guideline and documents.
Aptitude to analyze discrete data to identify trends, issues and opportunities

Nice To Haves

Associate Buyer/Merchandiser Skills
Strategic mind for assortment planning and product flow
Analytical expertise to review historical sales and project future results
Flexible and adept to react to business
Cross-functional collaboration and partnership
Point of view to partner with site merchandising on product placement

Responsibilities

Lead assortment strategy for assigned categories in collaboration with Brand Merchandising and Cross-Functional teams.
Develop data-based recommendations regarding assortment including style, color, size and segment.
Strategize with Marketing team on brand marketing spend to inform inventory investment.
Responsible for product selection and creation of purchase orders focusing on order accuracy.
Conduct timely follow ups on purchase orders and inventory delivery schedules.
Maintain excellent partnerships with external vendors and internal cross functional teams.
Collaborate with business partners such as Supply Chain, Customer Service and DC to determine the appropriate timing of initial and replenishment deliveries.
Elevate awareness of key launches with internal team and troubleshoot potential delays.
Work with Merchandising and Business Unit leaders to create and execute a pricing/promotional strategy to maximize revenue while maintaining margin.
Keep informed of pending price increases, new products, cancelled products, and products that will become obsolete, taking the appropriate actions necessary to optimize opportunities and minimize inventory risks.
Analyze sales trends and inventory levels and report out weekly on assigned categories.
Work with forecasting, operations and customer service to ensure that proper inventory levels are met to avoid out-of-stocks and excess inventory on hand.
Develop topline sales and product inventory plans.
Analyze and recap sales results to plan to provide guidance/education to the overall business and to adjust forecasts up or down as needed to reduce surplus or drive incremental sales.
Reviews seasonal and replenishment assortments with Ecom/Store Merchandising and Marketing to brief on product stories, launches and key focus.
Align promotional strategies for consistency and clarity of messaging.
Partners with Ecom Merchandising team to review site metrics and online merchandising insights to improve product performance.
Collaborate to confirm timely product optimization on site; new product being turned on and discontinued product.
Manage promotional calendar, analyze performance, and adjust timing as needed.
Coach, develop and mentor Merchandising Specialists on team.
Balances overall DTC inventories for the company through tracking of product deliveries and timing the delivery of initial and replenishment distributions to achieve the highest return on investment.
Communicates delivery updates to internal teams with recommended assortment changes if needed.
Plans and executes markdown strategies through reviewing sales results, researching sales and inventory by class each month and draws conclusions about business trends to ensure greatest margin potential for our business.
Engages in seasonal line reviews and applies current selling and trend knowledge to support future buying strategy.
Ensures that ecommerce teams have sales collateral, pricing, and merchandising information in a timely manner to execute plans seamlessly.
For monthly and quarterly business reviews, provide review of business performance vs. plan and review performance of seasonal products to identify opportunities and risk.
Prepare and present reports and analysis needed for all financial recaps and reviews including test results.