Vice President of Merchandising & Strategy

Full-time 3 Senior leadership 3 Reports to the Owner

Title

Vice President of Merchandising & Strategy

Reports to

Owner

Partners with

Vice President of Store Operations (co-equal peer)

Team

Merchandise Planning & Analytics Manager; Associate Buyer; ecommerce team; brand/marketing partners

Company

A nine-store western wear retailer plus ecommerce, with a strong profitable core and a plan to grow the store footprint

About the role

Russell's Western Wear is a specialty western wear retailer operating nine stores plus ecommerce, with a strong profitable core and a clear plan to grow. We're hiring a Vice President of Merchandising & Strategy to lead the merchant function and the strategy behind our expansion - the person who owns what we buy, how it sells, and what makes a Russell's store succeed and repeat.

This is one of two senior leadership roles reporting directly to the Owner. You will partner as a co-equal peer with the Vice President of Store Operations, who leads the store organization and field execution. Together you set the direction for a growing business: you own the merchandise and growth strategy; your counterpart owns how it comes to life across the stores. This is a builder's role - you'll shape the merchant function and the team as the company scales.

What you'll own

• Buying & merchandising.Build and lead a disciplined merchant function end to end - open-to-buy planning, vendor and brand mix, seasonal flow, allocation across stores and ecommerce as one inventory pool, and markdown cadence. Drive gross margin and inventory turns across the portfolio. This is the heart of the role.
• Store portfolio & expansion.Evaluate the existing store portfolio anddeterminethe right strategy for each location, including relocations or closures wherewarranted. Define what a successful Russell's store looks like - site selection criteria, unit economics, build-out, and ramp - and build the playbook to open new stores predictably and profitably.
• Brand positioning.Align merchandise and brand into a coherent position, directing our marketing partners, so thecustomerexperience stays consistent and distinctive as we grow.
• Inventory system & data.Own the accuracy and usefulness of the inventory system and the data that drives the buy, partnering with store operations, who own the physical receiving and counts, to keep the numbers trustworthy.
• Ecommerce.Direct ecommerceasa brand and customer-acquisition channel that supports the stores, with a realistic view of the margin, shipping, and fit-related dynamics of the category.
• Team building.Build the merchant, planning, and analytics bench needed to support a larger footprint, and develop the people on it.
• A strong, scalable business.Build the merchant discipline, defensible store economics, and clean operating metrics that make Russell's a demonstrably healthy and well-run business - and give leadership a clear, credible view of performance and growth.

What success looks like in the first year

• The buy is sharper - measurable improvement in gross margin and inventory turns.
• The store portfolio has been evaluated and acted on, with a clear model for what a winning store is.
• Amerchandiseplanning and analytics capability is in place, giving the business reliable numbers to plan from.
• The merchant function is staffed and running with discipline, ready to supportnew-storegrowth.

What you bring

• Multi-unit specialty or apparel retail leadershipwith direct ownership of a merchant P&L -you'veowned the whole function, not just a category.
• A track recordof scaling a store footprint- ideally having built the playbook for opening locations repeatably and profitably, not justoperatingan existing fleet.
• Strong merchant instincts.Command of open-to-buy, assortment, allocation, and markdown discipline, withreal resultsin margin and inventory turns.
• Command of the numbers.Fluent in unit economics and store performance; able to articulate and defend the store model and growth plan credibly to leadership and outside partners.
• A builder's mindset.Comfortable doing the work personally today and building the team as the business grows - not dependent on a large team from day one.
• Peopleleadership.You'vehired, developed, andretainedmerchant talent, and you can be a credible, collaborative peer to an operations leader.

Preferred

• Experience in western wear, boots/apparel, or a comparable fit-sensitive specialtyretail category.
• Omnichannel fluency where ecommerce supports rather than competes with stores, including store-fulfilled online models.
• Familiarity with retail systems (POS, inventory/ERP)sufficienttoleadimprovements in inventory data and reporting.

Why this role

This is a rare chance to own the merchant function of a profitable, growing specialty retailer and shape its next chapter - with the autonomy of a direct line to the Owner, a true partnership with an operations leader who owns the stores, and the runway to build a team and a footprint rather than inherit someone else's. If you think in terms of the buy, the customer, and what makes a store repeatable, this is a role you can make your own.