Merchandising / Buying
Senior Merchandiser Sportstyle
Manchester, United Kingdom
SPEED & SPIRIT is what we look for in our candidates, defined by some simple values that inspire us to BE DRIVEN in our performance, BE VIBRANT in our sporting legacy, BE TOGETHER in our team spirit, and BE YOU to let our individual talent and experience shine. Applying for a job at PUMA is easy. Simply click APPLY ONLINE and follow the steps to upload your application.
Your Talent
- Relevant wholesale or retail experience in product line management, merchandising and / or sales.
- An excellent intuitive understanding of the footwear and apparel sports-lifestyle business, the competitive environment, and future trends in the assigned business segment.
- Ability to build and maintain excellent working relationship.
- Forecasting/planning.
- Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
- Proactive, entrepreneurial, inquisitive, and tenacious
- Problem solving / decision making.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent presentation skills with the ability to relay strategic plans to a large audience.
- Demonstrate a passion and desire to work as one successful team.
- Strong business orientation, analytical aptitude, and retail maths knowledge.
- Strong collaboration skills required to work cross functionally.
- Have a desire to own projects and exceed expectations, with the ability to find solutions.
- Thrive in a fast-paced environment with short timelines and changing priorities.
- Fully proficient across Microsoft packages including Power BI, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- This role requires UK and overseas travel
Your Mission
- Provide a compelling market relevant range of Sportstyle footwear, apparel & accessories to maximise the available opportunities in line with company strategy.
- Drive and execute area product assortments according to retailer & consumer needs for your relevant categories whilst achieving seasonal KPI’s.
- Translate qualitative information (consumer trends, colour, material, fit, price value, performance innovation needs, etc...) into compelling consumer insights to provide to the global BU, referencing relevant competitor products.
- Translate quantitative information (revenue & pricing margin goals, FOB targets, forecasts, productivity / efficiency targets) along with consumer insights to deliver compelling area / country insights.
- Provide regional & global BU with quality detailed product briefs for inline and SMU products.
- Oversee full product set up, including internal systems, restrictions, embargos, relevant trackers, master sheets, pricelists etc….
- Be an expert in your respective category delivering market insights, trends, pricing, retail, and consumer needs to the regional & global teams at key milestones in the season.
- Follow and track the global critical path process to ensure key seasonal deadlines are met.
- Attend regional / global meetings at each key seasonal milestone to contribute to and influence the inline range so it delivers on key UKI market needs.
- Early identification and implementation of UKI inline and account specific SMU needs
- Support Sales by fully participating in account preview & pre line meetings, collating feedback for the wider team and ensuring this is delivered to relevant levels of the business in a presentable format.
- Develop, manage, and operate strategies in line with distribution and account plans.
- Review and adjust assortments to optimize area product efficiency.
- Analyze historical PO’s and sales data to deliver accurate forecasting within deadlines and targets.
- Work with Business Operations to reconcile forecasts.
- Deliver standout presentations.
- Provide Sales with compelling GTM sell-in materials
- Work closely with sales to execute flow plans and door strategies in line with local needs.
- Contribute to and adopt regional merchandising plan and refine / tailor for specific channels, key accounts, and doors.
- Identify new business opportunities and feedback to the Global business.
- Assist the area Senior Team Head Merchandising UKI in developing a strong and harmonious Merch Team that has excellent collaborative working relationships with all other local, regional, and global functions and personnel.
- Manage and develop direct reports, empowering them with projects and responsibilities.
- Own gross margin and article & sample count / efficiency targets
- Regular store visits and wrap-up reports to keep yourself and the wider business up to date with retailer and competitor activity.
- Proactively own the category, making game-changing decisions and leading the business in your area.
- Place sample orders having reviewed seasonal needs to maximise efficiency, avoiding unnecessary costs.
- Merchandising showrooms at the start of each season and packing them down in preparation for the next on
- Contribute to profitable growth
- Review weekly GTM updates and follow-up on action points.
PUMA provides equal opportunities for all job applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Equality for all is one of the core principles at PUMA and we do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination.
PUMA supports over 21,000 employees across 51 countries. The PUMA Group owns the brand PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
