Assistant Merchandiser - Beauty

Harding Retail; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus scheme

Company pension

Medical Cashback Plan

26 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Harding Retail in Bristol is seeking an Assistant Merchandiser to support the Beauty team in a hybrid role. This position requires strong analytical skills and experience in forecasting and stock management.

The successful candidate will work with renowned beauty and cosmetics brands, contributing to inventory planning and trading decisions. You will use your Excel proficiency to analyze performance data and assist in maximizing sales and profitability.

This is an opportunity to develop your merchandising career in a unique global retail environment.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting forecasting and stock management within a retail environment.
• Comfortable working with large data volumes and making data-driven recommendations.
• Practical experience in merchandising processes or retail operations.

Responsibilities

• Support forecasting, stock management, and trade analysis.
• Contribute to WSSI plans and OTB processes.
• Analyze sales and stock performance to identify opportunities.

Skills

Strong analytical capabilities

Excel proficiency

Commercial awareness

Forecasting experience

Stock planning

Relationship building

Tools

Excel

Data analysis tools

Job description

Assistant Merchandiser – Beauty

Location: Avonmouth, Bristol (Hybrid – 2-3 days in office)

Contract: Permanent

Salary: Competitive + bonus + benefits

Work with Global Beauty Brands in a Unique International Retail Business

Are you an experienced Assistant Merchandiser or an ambitious Merchandising Assistant ready for the next step?

Do you enjoy turning data into commercial action, influencing trading decisions, and working with some of the world's most recognised beauty, skincare, fragrance and cosmetics brands?

At Harding+, we're looking for two Assistant Merchandisers to join our Beauty team. These opportunities offer the chance to work at the heart of a fast-paced international retail business, helping to drive sales, maximise availability and optimise stock performance across our global cruise retail network.

Build Your Merchandising Career with a Global Retail Leader

Harding+ is the world's only dedicated cruise retailer, operating retail environments across leading cruise lines worldwide.

Working alongside Buyers, Merchandisers and supplier partners, you'll help deliver exceptional retail performance across a portfolio of premium beauty, skincare, fragrance and cosmetics brands. This is an opportunity to join a highly visible category where your analysis, recommendations and decision-making will directly influence commercial performance.

The Opportunity

As Assistant Merchandiser, you will support the Buying and Merchandising teams through forecasting, stock management, trade analysis and inventory planning. You will play a key role in balancing product availability, stock investment and commercial performance across a fast-paced beauty category.

You will support the management of WSSI plans and Open to Buy (OTB) processes, helping to ensure the right products are available at the right time whilst identifying opportunities to maximise sales and profitability.

Working closely with Buyers, Merchandising Assistants, Operations teams, Warehouse teams and supplier partners, you will contribute to forecasting, seasonal planning, stock flow decisions and promotional activity. Building strong supplier relationships will also form an important part of the role.

You will analyse weekly sales, stock, margin and markdown performance, using data and commercial insight to identify risks, opportunities and areas for improvement. We are looking for someone who can move beyond reporting and proactively contribute to trading decisions and category performance.

The Beauty team operates in a highly collaborative environment, requiring strong communication skills, relationship-building capability and the confidence to work closely with a range of stakeholders.

Gain Exposure in a Unique International Retail Environment

Harding+ operates across multiple cruise lines, supplier partners and highly seasonal trading cycles, creating a retail environment unlike traditional high street businesses.

As part of the Beauty team, you'll gain exposure to globally recognised brands whilst working closely with Buying teams, supplier partners and key stakeholders. The role offers the opportunity to broaden your commercial understanding, strengthen your planning capability and gain valuable international retail experience.

About You

You may already be an Assistant Merchandiser, or you may be a highly capable Merchandising Assistant ready to step into an Assistant Merchandiser role. You will already have experience supporting forecasting, stock planning, trade reporting and inventory management within a retail environment and be confident working with large volumes of trading data.

This role is best suited to candidates who already have practical experience of merchandising processes and are comfortable operating within a commercially focused retail environment.

You will have a strong understanding of WSSI, Open to Buy (OTB), forecasting, promotions, markdowns and sales, stock and margin analysis. Strong Excel capability is essential, including experience using Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP and data analysis tools to interpret performance and support decision-making.

Experience within beauty, cosmetics, fragrance, skincare or a related retail environment would be advantageous, but is not essential. We are equally interested in candidates with strong merchandising experience from other retail sectors who can demonstrate excellent commercial awareness and analytical capability.

Most importantly, you will be commercially minded, proactive and confident making recommendations based on data and insight. You enjoy solving problems, building relationships and working collaboratively within a fast-paced retail environment.

Why Join Harding+

This is more than a traditional retail merchandising role. You'll work within a unique international business, collaborate with global suppliers and gain exposure to complex trading environments that differ significantly from high street retail.

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Work with globally recognised beauty, fragrance and skincare brands
• Influence commercial decisions within a high-profile category
• Develop your forecasting, planning and analytical expertise
• Build relationships with international supplier partners
• Gain exposure to global retail operations
• Join a collaborative, supportive and ambitious team environment

Our Benefits

We offer a competitive reward package including:

• Annual bonus scheme
• Company pension
• Medical Cashback Plan
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days annual leave
• Hybrid working
• Career development opportunities

About Harding+

Harding+ is the world's only dedicated cruise retailer, partnering with leading global cruise lines and operating retail shops across ships worldwide.

We are committed to building diverse teams and creating an environment where everyone feels welcome, supported and able to thrive.

If you're looking for an Assistant Merchandiser opportunity where you can combine commercial analysis, stock planning and trading insight within a unique global retail environment, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now and take the next step in your merchandising career with Harding+