Retail Merchandising Trainee (m/f/d)

Join; München; On-site; EUR 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Hermès Germany is seeking a motivated Retail Merchandising Trainee for our Munich head office. The 24-month fixed-term contract focuses on supporting buying and product animation for Jewellery, Watches, Home & Maison, and Leather categories, through trend forecasting, market analyses, and sales reporting.

You will work with cross-functional teams to define assortments, analyze seasonal results, and coordinate with Communications to align local market strategies.

Qualifications

• University degree completed.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Experience in retail, merchandising, or buying is advantageous.
• Excellent communication in German and English.

Responsibilities

• Prepare weekly and monthly sales performance reports and comprehensive sell-through analyses.
• Conduct trend forecasting and competitive market analyses and prepare newsletters.
• Support buying strategy definition across product categories and analyze seasonal results.
• Coordinate with Press/Communications to align buying strategy with local market communications.
• Assist in buying sessions and follow up as key contact throughout the process.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Communication

Organizational skills

Teamwork

Education

University degree

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

As an international family-owned company, Hermès stands for the highest standards of French craftsmanship, tradition, innovation, and creativity across 16 product categories. Passion, exceptional customer service, and deep respect for both our customers and employees are at the heart of the company’s values.

Hermès Germany operates a flagship store in Munich as well as seven additional boutiques in Germany’s most important cities. These are complemented by a further flagship store in Vienna and a boutique in Kitzbühel.

For our Munich head office, we are looking for a motivated individual to join us from February as a:

Retail Merchandising Trainee (m/f/d)

24-month fixed-term contract

As a Retail Merchandising Trainee "Hard Luxury & Leather", you will actively support the buying and product animation activities for the Jewelry, Watches, Home & Maison, and Leather categories, as well as other product groups when required. Working closely with the Retail Sales Planning team, you will assist in defining and promoting the product assortment through extensive trend forecasting, competitive market analyses, and the preparation of sales performance and sell-through reports.

Your Mission

Analysis & Reporting

• Prepare weekly and monthly sales performance reports, as well as comprehensive sell-through and demand analyses.
• Conduct trend forecasting, competitive market analyses, and prepare newsletters.

Buying & Reordering

• Support the definition of the buying strategy across product categories, including growth, novelty, carry-over, and NOS (Never Out of Stock) assortment shares.
• Analyze seasonal sales results, combining quantitative and qualitative feedback to formulate recommendations for future buying decisions.
• Collaborate closely with the Press and Communications team to ensure alignment between the buying strategy and the communication strategy for the local market.
• Prepare, participate in, and follow up on buying sessions, acting as a key point of contact throughout the process.

General Responsibilities

• Maintain daily communication with boutiques regarding product assortments, specific product requests, customer needs, and various operational inquiries.
• Coordinate seasonal product flows and implement merchandising actions to achieve budget and sales targets, including product pushes, reorders, transfers, and stock rebalancing.
• Prepare briefing materials and support the organization of training sessions.
• Work closely with cross-functional departments such as Visual Merchandising, Retail Operations, Client Experience, Communications/Press, and Finance to continuously optimize boutique and head office performance through a 360 approach.
• Provide active support in the organization and execution of special projects.

Your Profile

• Successfully completed university degree.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Initial experience in retail, merchandising, or buying is an advantage.
• Ability to work independently with strong organizational skills and a structured approach.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with a variety of stakeholders.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly advanced Excel skills (including Pivot Tables) and strong PowerPoint capabilities.
• Team-oriented, reliable, proactive, and highly committed.
• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken.