Specialist, DTC Marketplace

VF Outdoor; Kreis Stabio; On-site; CHF 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

The North Face is seeking a Specialist, DTC Marketplace to join our DTC team in Stabio, Switzerland. You will shape assortment and trading strategies for our digital partner program, aiming to improve consumer experience on the platform.

You will work closely with KAM, Product, Planning, Supply Chain, Marketing and Wholesale teams to expand product categories, optimize profitability, and ensure alignment with brand and account strategies across seasons.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years in merchandising/trading analytics in the digital environment.
• Knowledge of sport performance markets and consumers.
• Apparel and footwear expertise preferred.
• Strong merchandising, assortment planning and product acumen.
• Demonstrated ability to perform quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Experience researching product classifications, market/competitors, consumers and channels.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategy, assortment and trading for the DTC partner program within buying/trading domains.
• Collaborate with KAM, Product, Planning, Supply Chain, Marketing and Wholesale teams.
• Ensure seasonal plans align with financial and strategic goals to grow market share.
• Trade using KPIs to maximize sales, inventory and margin.
• Create synergies across the digital marketplace and manage inventory KPIs.

Skills

Merch analytics

Trading analytics

Assortment planning

Apparel knowledge

Quantitative analysis

Qualitative analysis

English skills

Leadership experience

Stakeholder influence

Job description

The North Face is currently looking for an outstanding Specialist, DTC Marketplace to join our DTC team based in Stabio, Switzerland. The North Face is the premier exploration company in the world. We spark curiosity. We dare to disrupt. We create communities. And we lead with integrity. We are a community of explorers and are constantly looking for new ideas, places and people to connect with. The North Face is a subsidiary of VF, the world's largest apparel and footwear company.

As a Specialist, DTC Marketplace , your role is pivotal in managing our digital account partner program within the buying and trading domains. You will be tasked with shaping the strategy, assortment and trading aspects of our DTC partner program models for our digital strategic accounts, with a sharp focus on enhancing our consumer experience on the platform.

The core responsibility in this role is to craft impactful and profitable assortments and trading strategy that align with the Brand Vision and partner program account's strategy, contributing to the strategic expansion of the account, blending art & science.

Your primary objectives include expanding product categories, ensuring a constant stream of offerings and finding buying and trading opportunities, maintaining appropriate product variety to drive profitability for both DTC Channels and The North Face Brand.

The Specialist, DTC Marketplace will closely collaborate with various internal departments, particularly Key Account Managers and accounts stakeholders, to gain insights into consumer needs based on account's capabilities. He or She will work closely with Product, Planning, Supply Chain and Marketing but primarily with team members in Wholesale sales team.

How You Will Make a Difference

We expect that our Specialist, DTC Marketplace will deliver unbeatable results whilst also fulfilling the following aspects of the role:

• Being excited to use analysis, assumptions, market insights and trends to identify future areas of improvements in the accounts' product assortment and working closely with product, sales and DTC Channel to scope, plan, forecast and execute future additions and changes to build the best consumer offer.

  Having the ability to work on analysis, sales trends and understanding of available total product assortment to build the best possible product proposition and present it to the marketplace merchandisers and sales members, mixing show and science. Working closely with the Account, KAM, Marketing, Product & Merchandising planning department.

  Assure seasonal plans are aligned with Financial and Strategical plans, allowing growth of market share within the account DTC Dropship model. Determine and execute on differentiation needs for the account and marketplace. Check and report of sales performance KPIs. Be part of developing a GTM process for the account that provides clarity for all involved across multiple seasons.

• Having the ability to trade using predefined KPI measures to evaluate actions that allows further improving performance towards the KPIs. Taking actions to maximize sales, inventory and margin KPIs. Working closely with Sales team, Marketing, Planning and Customer Service.

  Having the ability to create synergies across the digital marketplace managing the inventory level and the related KPIs to evaluate actions minimizing the risk and maximize seasonal opportunities. Working closely with DTC Team and other Marketplace team members.

  Be a market expert in terms of competitions' product offer and trends of the account, focus on UK market. Be available and proactive for account meetings in market to build personal relationships allowing plans and execution being quick and seamless.

Skills for Success

• You have minimum 3 year of similar experience in merchandising, trading and/or merchandising support/analytics (e.g., Trading, buying activities) in the digital environment.
• You have knowledge of Sport performance markets and consumers
• You have preferably expertise in Apparel and Footwear
• You have a good level of merchandising, assortment planning and product acumen.
• You have demonstrated the ability to complete quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• You have a proven ability to conduct and/or analyse research related to product, classifications, market/competitors, consumers and channels of distribution.
• You have strategic problem-solving skills.
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• You have superior interpersonal skills and the ability to influence areas outside of direct control.
• You have leadership experience to align strategy, to mentor, inspire, and influence others within a work group.

About VFVF is a global apparel company connecting people to the lifestyles they cherish through our family of iconic brands. At the heart of our journey lies our purpose: We power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people