Position Summary
The Associate Vice President (AVP) of Merchandising is a senior leader responsible for driving merchandising strategy, including assortment planning, pricing, vendor management, and execution. The role leads cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with brand goals, customer needs, and business objectives while promoting growth, profitability, and market responsiveness.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute strategic merchandising plans aligned with company vision, financial targets, and market positioning.
- Lead and manage category managers, buyers, planners, and visual merchandising teams to ensure cohesive product strategies and execution.
- Monitor and optimize sales performance, margins, inventory turnover, and overall category KPIs to drive profitability and growth.
- Oversee end-to-end merchandising activities including seasonal assortment planning, product lifecycle management, pricing strategies, and multi-channel execution.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams and vendors, leveraging market insights and talent development to support innovation, execution, and succession planning.
Qualifications:
- • Bachelor's degree in Business, Merchandising, Retail Management, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree is preferred, with 10+ years of progressive retail merchandising experience including 3–5 years in a senior leadership role.
- Strong strategic, analytical, and financial acumen with a proven ability to drive sales growth, improve margins, and manage multi-category merchandise portfolios.
- Deep expertise in retail trends, consumer insights, product development, and supply chain dynamics to support informed merchandising decisions.
- Proven leadership and collaboration skills, with the ability to build and manage high-performing teams and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and vendor management skills, with proficiency in merchandising systems, planning tools, and retail analytics in a fast-paced environment.
