Merchandise Manager

V&C; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

V&C Associates is partnering with a Midlands-based luxury apparel house as it embarks on a global growth phase. You will be the Merchandise Manager owning merchandising, inventory management, forecasting and category planning across own-brand and third-party ranges.

You’ll build the function from scratch, report directly to the CEO, and drive stock productivity, margin and commercial decision-making while embedding best-practice processes across the business.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years in merchandising, commercial planning, buying or inventory management.
• Strong forecasting, stock control and inventory productivity improvements.
• Advanced Excel skills and financial acumen.
• Experience with own-brand and third-party products.
• ERP experience; NetSuite is a plus.
• Able to present to senior stakeholders and challenge with data.
• Luxury apparel/retail background helpful but not required.

Responsibilities

• Build annual, seasonal and category merchandise plans and forecasts.
• Manage inventory investment to balance profitability and working capital.
• Interrogate sales, margin, sell-through and stock turn data.
• Underpin buying with range planning, demand forecasting and OTB control.
• Oversee supplier performance, lead times and delivery risk.
• Create dashboards and reporting translating data into action.
• Embed best-practice merchandising processes across the business.
• Support launches, category development, channel growth and expansion.

Skills

Forecasting

Stock control

Excel

ERP systems

NetSuite

Stakeholder mgmt

Category planning

Data-driven decisions

Tools

NetSuite

ERP

Job description

V&C Associates is proud to be partnering with a long-established British luxury Apparel house based in the Midlands — now embarking on an ambitious phase of global growth.

This isn't a seat in a team that already exists. It's the opportunity to build the merchandising function from scratch, reporting directly to the CEO, and write the playbook the business will run on for years to come.

As Merchandise Manager you'll own merchandising, inventory management, forecasting and category planning across both own-brand and third-party ranges. The remit is to lift stock productivity, margin and commercial decision-making, and to put in place the disciplines that allow a heritage business to scale with confidence — a rare chance to leave a lasting mark on a storied name.

What you'll be doing

• Building annual, seasonal and category merchandise plans, forecasts and replenishment strategies
• Managing inventory investment to balance availability, profitability and working capital
• Interrogating sales, margin, sell-through, stock turn, ageing, cover and category performance
• Underpinning buying with range planning, assortment analysis, demand forecasting and open-to-buy control
• Overseeing supplier performance, production schedules, lead times and delivery risk
• Creating reporting and dashboards that turn data into practical commercial action
• Finding the wins in aged stock reduction, margin improvement and category profitability
• Embedding best-practice merchandising processes across the business
• Feeding commercial insight into product development, marketing, retail and ecommerce
• Supporting launches, category development, channel growth and wider expansion

What we're looking for

• Around 7–10+ years in merchandising, commercial planning, buying or inventory management
• A track record in forecasting, stock control and improving inventory productivity
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with advanced Excel
• Exposure to both own-brand and third-party product
• Comfortable in ERP and reporting environments; NetSuite an advantage
• Able to build and run a WSSI
• Credible with senior stakeholders, and willing to challenge constructively using data
• Background in apparel, footwear, accessories, retail, ecommerce or consumer goods; luxury experience is not a prerequisite
• Experience of international supply and longer production lead times would be useful

The person

Commercially minded, highly analytical and self-starting — equally comfortable in the detail and at strategic level. Someone who enjoys building process, driving performance, and helping a growing business scale without compromising the quality and integrity behind the name.