Senior Merchandising Manager Footwear

YOUR TALENT (Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Business, Retail Merchandising, or a related field preferred

• 5+ years of experience in Merchandising or Product Management in either Wholesale or Retail organization

• Successful record and reputation of exceeding performance expectations, with progressive levels of responsibility and accountability

• Strong business orientation, analytical aptitude, and retail math knowledge

• Strong collaboration skills required to work cross-functionally with sales, product marketing, planning and ops teams.

• Comprehensive business knowledge of the US marketplace and consumer goods practices including distribution channels, pricing, segmentation strategy, regional variances, product sourcing, planning, forecasting, design, development, and sales.

• Thrives in a challenging environment with short timelines and changing priorities.

• Flexible, solution-oriented, a skilled communicator and a relationship builder

• Fully proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and Power BI

• Ability to travel 20-30%, domestically and internationally

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior Merchandising Manager role develop and manage the successful execution of Wholesale merchandising by combining consumer insights and business acumen to reach productivity and financial goals, while aligning to brand direction and objectives. In this role, the Team Head, serves as the expert on Footwear within marketplace, including its consumers, business performance and product needs. The candidate serves as critical partner to Sales, Marketing and PUMA’s key accounts, in developing growth-driving merchandising strategies to increase sales and profitability for the brand and its customers.

 

YOUR MISSION (Responsibilities)

Merchandising Strategy

• Develop and lead wholesale product and marketplace strategies that support brand priorities, drive growth, maximize profit, and provide a positive consumer experience.

Product Range Management and Administration

• Curate seasonal range assortments that optimize global product assets and leverage brand stories

• Identify and qualify regional product opportunities to serve local market needs and support key account and segmentation strategies; create comprehensive product briefings that deliver product solutions for gaps.

• Oversee regional product developments from briefing to product sign off.

• Manage range administration – set pricing, establish product flow and lifecycle, complete ranging exercises and build and maintain GTM documents and seasonal line plans.

• Own sample ordering for pre-line meetings, sales meetings and sales reps adhering to seasonal sample targets and KPIs.

Sales and Account Collaboration

• Lead the education of the sales team on seasonal merchandising strategies and products.

• Own and execute the seasonal account pre-line process to validate key concepts, ensure range coverage and identify critical gaps.

• Assist in go-to-market activities for seasonal sell in meetings inclusive of product set up and presentation support.

• Build relationships with key buyers to gain account insights, identify opportunities and gain product feedbacks.

• Collaborate with Marketing and Sales to align on seasonal marketing strategies and product activations.

Business Planning and Forecasting 

• Build seasonal forecast plans by business unit, product classification and gender that align with net sales goals.

• Contribute to the financial planning process by sharing category and gender insights to inform on trends and shifts in range emphasis.

Market Analysis and Insight

• Perform ongoing sell-through analysis for categories, channels, and key accounts to stay ahead of market needs.

• Travel to relevant markets and accounts to gain insights on current trends, consumer behaviors and channel and account opportunities.