What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Merchant position at Crate and Barrel?
The Associate Merchant supports the Merchant in all aspects of product assortment, financial planning and vendor partnerships in accordance with the sales, margin, turnover and flow goals for the assigned product category.
A day in the life as an Associate Merchant...
- Make recommendations to Merchant regarding product assortment, pricing and merchandising strategies reflecting goals based on trends and forecasts
- Participate in the final decision making process by providing expert recommendations to Merchant regarding seasonal and core product mix for a given department
- Analyze sales information in order to identify opportunities to increase sales and margins
- Based on research and analysis, participate in recommending, setting and approving product-pricing strategies to achieve specific margin objectives and executes exit strategies as needed
- Provide recommendations regarding short term buying plans and long term strategies
- Negotiate product costs, terms, subsidy and VIR
- Develop and maintain vendor partnerships by providing analytical metrics to Merchant, influencing the supplier management strategy to support overall department strategy and works to improve all aspects of supplier relationship
- Build and maintain assortment plans and SKU counts
- Gather and synthesize information from partners to make strategic recommendations to Merchant
- Analyze business trends and opportunities by identifying and maximizing key items via test strategies
- Conduct competitive intelligence and use information to identify opportunities and challenges for in-season business and future seasons
- Lead product sequencing, including layouts and copy edits and communication with cross-functional teams
What you’ll bring to the table…
- An understanding of merchandising plans and processes
- Strong financial acumen and experience with negotiations
- Strong understanding of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong collaboration skills
- Strong attention to detail and accuracy
We’d love to hear from you if you have…
- 3 years retail merchandising experience, or education equivalent or related area
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience