Merchandising Manager

Challenger, Inc.; Warrington; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership of strategy and influence

Small, capable team to lead

Clear progression path

Job summary

Challenger Sportswear & Lifestyle Brand in Manchester seeks a Merchandising Manager to own the merchandising strategy across online and wholesale channels. You will lead a small team and report into the Senior Leadership Team, with hybrid working from Manchester.

The role focuses on driving commercial growth, managing production timelines, and shaping the future of merchandising as the business scales. A strong leader is required to navigate a fast-growth environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a Merchandising Manager or senior merchandising role, ideally within fashion, sportswear or lifestyle apparel.
• Strong understanding of own-brand product development, production timelines and critical path.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end merchandising strategy across online and wholesale channels.
• Lead, develop and grow a small merchandising team.
• Drive sales, stock and intake planning with close eye on production timelines.
• Partner with Buying and Production/Sourcing to inform range and stock decisions.
• Analyse trade across channels and translate insights into recommendations for senior leadership.
• Manage markdown, promotions and clearance to protect margin while maximizing sell-through.
• Build strong relationships with wholesale partners and align stock commitments with the business plan.
• Shape how the merchandising function evolves as the business scales.

Skills

Merchandising leadership

People management

Cross-channel experience

Commercial acumen

Analytical thinking

Job description

foundation and a good team - your job is to elevate both.

The Role: As Merchandising Manager, you'll take ownership of the merchandising strategy across the business, managing a small team and reporting directly into the Senior Leadership Team.

Key responsibilities

• Owning the end-to-end merchandising strategy across online and wholesale channels, ensuring plans are commercially robust and aligned to ambitious growth targets
• Leading, developing and growing a small merchandising team, raising capability and building a strong bench for the future
• Driving sales, stock and intake planning, with a close eye on own-brand production timelines and critical path
• Partnering closely with Buying and Production/Sourcing teams, using a strong understanding of own-brand product development to inform range and stock decisions
• Analysing trade across channels, identifying risk and opportunity, and translating insight into clear, confident recommendations for senior leadership
• Managing markdown, promotional and clearance strategy to protect margin while maximising sell-through
• Building strong relationships with wholesale partners, ensuring stock commitments and order books are aligned with the wider business plan
• Acting as a key voice in shaping how the merchandising function evolves as the business continues to scale

About you

• Proven experience in a Merchandising Manager, Senior Merchandiser, or similar leadership-level role, ideally within fashion, sportswear or lifestyle apparel
• Strong understanding of own-brand product and production - you'll know your way around critical path, lead times and the realities of working with manufacturers
• Experience across both online/D2C and wholesale channels is a strong advantage
• A natural leader with genuine people management experience, able to develop and get the best from a small team
• Commercially sharp, analytical, and comfortable presenting recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Ambitious and progression-minded - this role has real scope to grow as the business grows, and we're looking for someone who wants to grow with it
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities can shift quickly

What's On Offer

• A brand new role with genuine ownership and influence, reporting directly into senior leadership
• The chance to lead and shape a small, capable team with plans in place for future headcount
• Real responsibility from day one, with a clear path for progression as the brand continues its exponential growth
• The opportunity to join a challenger brand at a genuinely exciting point in its journey

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Job Description

Merchandising Manager | Challenger Sportswear & Lifestyle Brand Manchester | 4/1 Hybrid Working | £65,000 - £75,000

Location: Manchester Salary: Competitive + benefits Reporting to: Senior Leadership Team Team: Managing a small merchandising team

About the Role: We're partnering with a fast-growing, challenger sportswear and lifestyle brand based in Manchester to find a Merchandising Manager - a brand new role, created to give the business the merchandising leadership it needs for its next stage of growth. This brand is scaling exponentially across both online and wholesale channels, and momentum shows no sign of slowing. The fundamentals are already in place and the existing team is strong - what's missing is a merchandising leader to bring it all together, sharpen strategy, and drive the function forward with real commercial rigour. This is a genuine opportunity to shape a function from a position of strength, not build from scratch. You'll inherit a good