Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation:

 

Lead and optimize the sales, profitability, and brand equity within our Emerging Markets organisation by developing and executing a strategic merchandising plan.

 

Key Responsibilities:

 

New leadership layer to shape and lead the Pacific Merchandising strategy for both Concept and Value store channels, a growing network of +50 stores.

Deliver key financial targets including Net Sales, Sell-through, Standard Margin, Inventory (IDL), and Operating Margin.

Drive the pre-season planning and Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy for all categories in alignment with the Emerging Markets Business Unit (EM BU) and Concept-to-Consumer (CTC) team.

Oversee end-to-end category management, including Open-To-Buy (OTB), pre-season product planning, option planning, range planning, and forecasting.

Maximize both pre-season and in-season business opportunities by effectively understanding channel potentials.

Continuously monitor industry trends, providing strategic insights and intelligence across the organization.

Collaborate effectively with key internal stakeholders, including Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics.

Lead innovation and continuous improvement initiatives, enhancing process automation and product availability across channels.

Provide actionable, data-driven category insights to internal and external stakeholders.

Ensure best-in-class merchandising practices by optimizing systems, tools, and processes.

Maintain optimal Weeks of Stock (WOS) across all retail locations.

Conduct market visits as required (office/travel ratio approximately 80%/20%).

Demonstrate leadership consistent with our leadership framework and foster a unified ONE EM team mindset.

 

Key Relationships:

 

BU Director and Category Managers (Category Merchandising)

Omnichannel Activation and Visual Merchandising

Retail Back Office and Retail Stores

Retail HUB

Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Logistics teams

Finance and Controlling

Global Merchandising Teams

 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

 

Exceptional leadership and influencing capabilities

In-depth knowledge of merchandising, range planning, forecasting, and budgeting

Strong analytical and communication skills

Collaborative team player, capable of working effectively under pressure

Proficiency in range segmentation and merchandising strategies, including eCommerce channels

Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong commercial acumen to leverage business opportunities

Fluency in English required; additional languages advantageous

 

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

 

University degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or related fields; MBA preferred

Minimum of 10 years’ experience, with at least 5 years in senior leadership/directorial roles in merchandising/buying within retail environments

Proven experience in fashion franchises and vertical/multichannel retail; Sporting Goods retail experience is highly desirable

Essential experience managing multi-store operations and eCommerce platforms

Broad understanding of store operations, Visual Merchandising, Marketing Activation, HR, Finance, Supply Chain, and Logistics

Demonstrated success working with internal stakeholders and external agencies to develop efficient, scalable processes

Experience effectively collaborating across international, cross-functional teams