Lead Merchant, Energy APP

Nike•Beaverton, OR

11d

About The Position

The Lead Merchant, Energy Apparel partners with cross-functional teams including Global Sport Merchants, Geo Energy Merchants, Global Nike Direct, Global Energy Product, Global Energy Marketing, Global Energy Planning, Global Energy Operations, Global Energy marketplace, and Global Energy Finance. This person will manage a diverse portfolio of apparel across sport and sportswear and report to the Merchandise Director, Energy Apparel. For Nike Inc. merchants, everything begins and ends with the consumer! We blend art with science to bring Nike’s vision to life in all retail environments. The team has the unrivaled ability to see beyond trends and identify new market opportunities, delivering the right product at the right price, in the right place, at the right time. Through the Energy ecosystem we service and partner with the most influential and authentic set of retailers, and together we are developing disruptive ideas that will take consumers somewhere new while energizing the existing portfolio available in market. We are looking for a Lead Merchant, Energy Apparel with an affinity for product that enjoys the energy of moving at the pace of retail and the consumer. A successful Lead will thrive and contribute to a positive and progressive team dynamic, as well as lead in a way that elevates the total team. The candidate should possess proven retail acumen and analytical abilities, bring a consumerist perspective to the team and business, and have an understanding of retail environments, physical as well as digital. As the Lead Merchant for Energy Apparel, you will be the ultimate champion of the consumer you serve and the subject matter expert in multi-season line planning, SKU management, and competitive intelligence that can translate into actionable plans. This person will be a strategic problem solver who understands current and upcoming trends relevant to our consumer and brand. A strong product sense with experience in driving product assortments will allow the person in the role to build the right product strategy and line plans, supporting consumer-led concepts that drive business objectives. This role is responsible for building consumer-right assortments and seasonal strategies with a specific focus on Apparel across two line plans for the Energy marketplace by using historical data, analytics, and real-time market feedback to advise the future (coming seasons) while winning today. You’ll lead the consumer product and assortment strategy across the Energy Marketplace in partnership with cross-functional Global and Geo teams. You’ll also drive product adoption, pricing, flow, segmentation, and mix to deliver positive results for the business and team. Work across Sport and Sportswear Merchandising teams to make sure key product opportunities are amplified. You’ll set Global product lifecycle to move at the pace of the consumer, balancing newness, and consistency. Additionally, you'll use data and consumer insights to support your strategic decisions. You'll represent the Energy consumers by providing qualitative and quantitative insights to the Product Creation teams, the Global Merchandising teams, and your cross-functional partners. You’ll lead the management of our merchandising critical metrics through robust analysis of retail insights and performance. You'll build positive and honest relationships with your partners (including Nike Direct, Marketing, and Geo Merchants, among others) to build and land assortments that meet the needs of consumers, take them to a new place, and differentiate the key points of distribution across key cities. You will build consumer centric assortment plans with an understanding of the MPU’s position in the market, blending fact based and intuitive inputs. You will participate in seasonal reviews, submits and trading; inclusive of assortment building in partnership with the other Energy Merchants and leaders across the business. You will balance multiple seasons. Your insights will contribute to future season plans and adoption by supporting Merchandising Leadership upstream. You will manage your areas of assortment planning, line planning in depth during the seasonal process and gather insights from the support of your cross functional partners to support the planning of future of seasons. You will be relied on to manage day to day communication with cross-functional partners, along with sending out weekly communication to Geo partners. You will also be responsible for maintaining master line plans, launch and release calendar, deck creation for presentations, and general support to your Merchandising director.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training.
Minimum 5 years of experience in merchandising, product creation, and/or retail, with leadership experience.
Highly analytical, with strong Excel skills and retail acumen to leverage data to influence future decision making; proficient in in retail and profit-based metrics.
Experience in building line plans identifying key areas of opportunities and standing up apparel icons.
Assortment planning, multi-season planning, and pricing experience, with deep marketplace understanding and expertise.
Proven ability to drive cross-functional collaboration.
Strong multicultural communication and storytelling capabilities.
Creativity, a passion for the consumer, and strong multi-dimensional style sensibility.
Highly organized and detail oriented.
Proficiency in presentation deck creation.
Ability to contribute to and drive strategic thinking into action.
Physical movement of samples and boxes as needed, during meeting setups.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and execution of Energy Apparel Merchandising strategy, including sales, growth, margin, and productivity targets.
Build and implement channel-level assortment frameworks, informed by must-win partners and Geo insights.
Partner closely with cross-functional teams to align on product strategies, seasonal planning, and consumer insights.
Drive product lifecycle discussions, classification health monitoring, and product line architecture development.
Provide feedback on brand concepts, ensuring alignment to line plans and commercial viability.
Inspire and develop talent within the Merchandising function, fostering a culture of excellence and inclusion.
Manage direct feedback loops with Geo Merchandising teammates, ensuring global input is incorporated at key moments.

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