Senior MerchantThis role is pivotal in driving product strategy, assortment planning, and merchandising excellence to meet customer needs and achieve business objectives. The Senior Merchant will lead product category management, collaborate cross-functionally, and analyze market trends to deliver innovative, high-quality products that align with the Superior Cloth & Stitch portfolio of brands through a consumer-centric lens.
This is a hybrid role based in Coppell, TX.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES - Partners with Merchandising leadership to develop and execute merchandising strategies that support the company's growth and profitability goals within the uniform and scrubs market
- Creates and communicates seasonal line plans to guide design, product development, and production in support of company objectives
- Works closely with S&OP and Finance teams to develop and validate seasonal newness financial plans
- Drives cross-functional alignment with Design and Sourcing to ensure product meets cost and gross margin targets and is delivered on time and in full
- Identifies opportunities for new product development and enhancement of existing lines to meet evolving consumer behavior, driving thoughtful collection strategies that provide meaningful differentiation in the marketplace and create impactful emotional connections
- Owns the end-to-end go-to-market process, driving efficiencies through the GTM calendar and exercising prompt, accurate decision-making at critical milestones
- Uses market data to recommend pricing strategies, promotional activities, and product assortment optimization
- Creates and communicates pricing strategies that align with brand positioning
- Tracks business performance using a data-driven approach to identify risks and opportunities and react to current business
- Provides thorough and meaningful analysis of the business by channel and effectively articulates learnings to management
- Maintains expert knowledge of the consumer base through strong field relationships, frequent store visits, and direct consumer feedback
- Maintains a constant understanding of the competitive environment
- Participates in product reviews to ensure execution meets design aesthetic, and in key business meetings throughout the product creation process
- Works closely with Marketing, Sales, and Operations teams to ensure seamless product launches and promotions
- In collaboration with the Design team, leads the optimization and integration of the Centric PLM system into the product creation process
EDUCATION/SKILLS/EXPERIENCE- Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Marketing, or a related field; advanced degree a plus
- Minimum of 3 years of experience (5 years preferred) in merchandising, buying, product management, or product creation, preferably in apparel or a related industry
- Well versed in product creation, including fabric, materials, garment construction, and production lead times
- Proven track record of success in category management, product development, and vendor negotiations
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and make strategic recommendations
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively across teams and with external partners
- Familiarity with trends in uniforms, scrubs, or workwear highly desirable
- Ability to travel approximately 10-15% of the time
COMPETENCIES- Process Management - Takes a systematic approach in contributing to making the company's workflow more effective, efficient, and capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment.
- Organizational Savvy - Gathers and accurately assesses information related to the organization's formal and informal communication channels and power relationships.
- Decisiveness - Takes calculated risks by making decisions and taking action, even in the absence of all information.
- Managing Innovation - Creates opportunities by fostering an environment open to new or radical alternatives to traditional methods, approaches, and products.
- Creativity and Innovation - Tends toward divergent thinking and questioning existing practices; challenges commonly held assumptions, originates new alternatives to traditional methods, processes, and products and builds on others' ideas.
- Business Acumen - Combines knowledge, skills, and experience to understand business situations, make sound decisions, and achieve positive outcomes for the organization.
- Team Building - Enables and encourages group members to work together to complete tasks and accomplish goals that individual members could not accomplish alone.
**Along with a competitive compensation package, the company offers an excellent benefits package, including Medical, Dental, a defined contribution plan (e.g. 401(k)), life insurance, long-term disability, a flexible spending account (FSA) and paid maternity/paternity leave.
