Home Goods, Health & Beauty Aids, and General Merchandise Buyer

ZUPAN Enterprises oregon•Portland, OR

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The General Merchandiser & Health and Beauty Director is responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining an attractive, well-stocked, and thoughtfully curated assortment of products throughout the store, with direct leadership of the Health & Beauty department. This position combines merchandising strategy, purchasing, vendor relationships, inventory management, product assortment development, and hands-on retail execution. The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of specialty grocery retail, a passion for discovering quality products, and an eye for creating engaging displays that reflect the store’s values and meet the needs of the local community. As part of a small, collaborative team, this individual will take ownership of their departments while working closely with store leadership and other department managers to support the overall success, profitability, and customer experience of the business.

Requirements

Previous experience in retail merchandising, specialty grocery, health and beauty retail, purchasing, or category management.
Passionate about entertainment and food.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Intermediate working knowledge of Excel and Outlook.
Experience with inventory management, ordering, pricing, and product merchandising.
Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
Commercial awareness, including an understanding of sales, margins, inventory turnover, and profitability.
Ability to manage multiple priorities independently in a fast-paced retail environment.
Interest in specialty products, personal care, natural and conventional beauty products, and emerging consumer brands.
Proficiency with point-of-sale systems, inventory software, spreadsheets, or related retail technology.
A proactive, resourceful, and solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving.
Ability to perform the physical requirements of retail work, including standing, lifting, stocking, and moving merchandise, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures and government regulations.
Ability to effectively present information to and respond to questions from other managers, store managers vendors & customers.
Strong basic math skills including the ability to add, multiply, divide, subtract and calculate percentages.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office application including Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.
Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages and discounts.
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
Ability to solve practical problems.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an independently owned or specialty grocery store.
Established relationships with health and beauty vendors or distributors.
Familiarity with natural, organic, clean beauty, personal care, and wellness product categories.
Experience evaluating product performance and making data-informed purchasing decisions.
Experience negotiating with vendors and managing promotional programs.
A strong eye for visual merchandising, assortment curation, and retail presentation.
Takes pride in creating a great shopping experience and understands that successful merchandising involves much more than keeping shelves full.
Curious about products, attentive to customers, comfortable making decisions, and motivated to build departments that are both commercially successful and reflective of our store’s identity.
Passionate about all things food and entertaining.
Enjoys the balance of strategic thinking and hands-on work that comes with being part of a small, locally owned grocery business.
Comfortable taking initiative, adapting to changing priorities, and contributing wherever needed while maintaining ownership of their core responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Oversee and support merchandising standards throughout the store, ensuring shelves, displays, and promotional areas are organized, visually appealing, and easy for customers to shop.
Assist in developing and executing merchandising plans that support the store’s brand, sales goals, and overall product strategy.
Identify opportunities to improve product assortment, category performance, customer engagement, and sales.
Coordinate seasonal promotions, new product introductions, special displays, and cross-merchandising opportunities.
Maintain consistent pricing, signage, product presentation, and promotional accuracy.
Collaborate with department managers to ensure products are properly stocked, rotated, and presented according to store standards.
Monitor product trends, customer preferences, and emerging brands relevant to a specialty grocery environment.
Support storewide initiatives, events, and promotional activities as needed.
Attend buying trips to determine which products to bring into the store.
Manage ordering and replenishment to maintain appropriate in-stock levels while minimizing excess inventory, out-of-stocks, and shrink.
Monitor sales, gross margins, inventory turnover, and other relevant department performance indicators.
Review invoices, pricing, promotions, and vendor terms for accuracy.
Identify opportunities to improve profitability through assortment adjustments, better purchasing practices, promotional planning, and inventory control.
Work within established purchasing budgets and inventory goals.
Track discontinued items, vendor changes, product availability, and emerging supply issues.
Maintain organized backstock and receiving areas and ensure new products are properly processed and placed on the sales floor.
Create a welcoming shopping environment that reflects the store’s commitment to quality products, local community, and personalized service.
Listen to customer feedback and use it to inform product selection and merchandising decisions.
Develop product knowledge and share relevant information with team members.
Communicate effectively with store leadership, department managers, and vendors.
Help train and support employees on merchandising standards, product placement, pricing, and department procedures as needed.
Lead by example through reliability, initiative, teamwork, and a willingness to assist with daily store operations.