Merchandise Manager

**Toy and Baby Merchandise Manager**

**Introduction**

Responsible for the development and implementation of the company's category management strategy while managing a team of buying and planning specialists. Ensuring correct ranging, stocking, buying, knowledge sharing and supplier relationships. To deliver profitable and sustainable growth for the departments. To lead and inspire a team to deliver balanced product ranges through a customer led process that meets and exceeds customer expectations within the agreed KPI’s. Additionally, responsible for feeding sales information up to the executive level, providing insights, and ensuring the senior leadership team is regularly updated with key performance data and strategic developments.

**Role & Responsibilities**
- Develop a clear merchandise strategy aligned with company goals
- Set and manage departments financial and expense budgets in line with group’s budget.
- Creating and developing a long term plan of action and strategy for the development of categories.
- Strategically sustain and develop key partnerships and supplier relationships. Manage supplier strategies to deliver Group KPI’s in line with department strategy as well as identifying and proposing mitigations for risks arising from supplier management.
- Effectively collaborate between key departments to meet department goals
- Deliver on over-all margin through collaboration with rebates, shipping and finance department

a. Establish & negotiate trading term agreements with both local and import suppliers
b. Manage front-end margin through overseeing pricing and supporting Category Managers in price negotiations
c. Drive private label development and gaps within the assortment
d. Improve margin through effective sourcing and supplier negotiations
- Align category goals with Operations through optimizing floor space, merchandise adjacencies, visual merchandising solutions, staff training and supplier support.
- Drive category sales objectives alignment with Marketing department
- Deliver on Ecommerce sales objectives through strategic alignment with Ecommerce department
- Reporting:
a. Provide meaningful analysis to the executive and senior leadership team with regard to category
performance, category trends, brand analysis and consumer behavior by store based on category
trends
b. Strategically act on category analysis with agility to meet/exceed set goals
- Lead an effective Merchandise team:
a. Review departmental operational plans to ensure that they deliver into the group strategy
b. Review range plan taking into account customer needs, trend direction, competitive analysis,
growth/exit of product categories, determining product objectives that deliver to department
operational plan.
c. Review post season analysis by department as input in the development of the group strategy
d. Review weekly and monthly performance with departments and consolidate identified solutions and
develop action plan to ensure departmental KPI’s are met and exceeded
e. Identify opportunities within the season to maximise profit and grow market share
f. Monitor Open to Buy within planning department and report anomalies to CFO.
g. Ensure buying processes are managed in line with merchandise cycle in order to deliver on time
launch and against critical paths
h. Develop, motivate, inspire and lead the team to achieve and deliver the group strategy and plans
that will ensure high performance
- Conduct regular store and competitor visits to understand product performance, assortment balance and customer experience of range and adjust where appropriate
- Identify new suppliers, products and latest trends to maintain and improve sales and service delivery
- Be proactive in identifying and developing and winning profitable new incremental business opportunities utilising market research to understand consumer needs

**Desired Experience & Qualification**
- 3 year Tertiary Degree - Supply Chain/Procurement
- 5-8 years’ experience in a similar role
- 3-5 years’ experience in managing a team
- Advanced Excel Skills
- Analytical Skills

**Knowledge**
- of Sourcing
- of Purchasing Policies, Processes, Reporting and Purchasing systems is a critical advantage
- retail knowledge, both local and global

**Key competencies**
- Strong negotiation skills
- Analytical skills
- High personal integrity
- Demonstrate product leadership and direction
- Highly numerate
- Demonstrates taste level and flair
- Understanding of range building process
- Strong merchanting ability
- Commercial acumen and financial savvy
- Ability to manage a team effectively through managing goals, identifying development needs and building buying competence
- Ability to take risks and adapt to changing circumstances that are in the best interest of the business