Global Merchandise Manager, Footwear

Michael Kors•NY Metro Area, NY

8d•$100,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Global Merchandise Manager, Women's Footwear, plays a pivotal role in shaping the product vision, assortment strategy, and commercial success of the category. This individual combines a strong product instinct with analytical rigor to identify market opportunities, drive assortment decisions, and deliver consumer-relevant collections that support brand and financial objectives. Working cross-functionally across Merchandising, Design, Product Development, Production, Sales, Planning, and Global Retail teams. The Merchandise Manager will lead the footwear lifecycle from seasonal concept and line planning through market execution. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, passionate about product and fashion trends, highly collaborative, and skilled at translating insights into actionable product strategies that drive growth and profitability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree
Experience working in a fashion brand
Minimum of 5+ years’ experience (Women’s Footwear Merchandising preferred)
A strong sense of the women’s footwear market across luxury and accessible tiers
Solid comprehension of the women’s footwear consumer base, including geographical nuance
The ability to translate analysis into actionable business opportunities
Strong communication, organization, and analytical skills
The ability to interact with all levels of management and influence others
Strong skills in Retail Math, Merchandising/Buying metrics
Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs – Specifically Excel & Power Point
Strong presentation skills, especially visual presentation (Showroom set up)
The ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment

Responsibilities

Develop and manage seasonal footwear line plans, ensuring product assortments align with brand vision, consumer needs, and business objectives.
Build category strategies informed by historical performance, trend analysis, consumer insights, and market opportunities.
Evaluate regional line plans and partner with global teams to identify assortment opportunities and market-specific needs.
Identify assortment gaps, white-space opportunities, and key growth drivers to optimize productivity across the footwear portfolio.
Maintain and evolve assortment architecture, ensuring appropriate breadth, depth, and pricing segmentation across the collection.
Serve as the primary liaison between Merchandising, Design, Product Development, Technical Design, Production, Sales, Retail, and Planning teams throughout the product lifecycle.
Lead cross-functional alignment meetings, driving decisions on product revisions, development priorities, timelines, and market readiness.
Foster collaboration across teams to ensure product, financial, and operational objectives are achieved.
Communicate seasonal product strategies, line changes, key milestones, and assortment updates to internal and global stakeholders.
Guide the footwear development process from concept through commercialization, ensuring milestone deliverables are achieved on time and in line with category strategy.
Partner closely with Design and Product Development to refine assortments, evaluate prototypes, and ensure product integrity.
Manage assortment tools, line plans, and product data within Centric PLM, ensuring accuracy and timely updates throughout the development process.
Support go-to-market preparation by ensuring product information, positioning, and assortment strategies are communicated effectively to global partners.
Own seasonal pricing architecture, balancing brand positioning, consumer value, margin objectives, and competitive market dynamics.
Partner with Product Development and Production teams to review costing and profitability opportunities throughout the development process.
Lead pricing reviews and present final assortment, pricing, and margin recommendations to leadership teams.
Support achievement of category sales, margin, and productivity goals through strategic product and assortment management.