Trainee Merchandiser - Brands Licensing

Next Careers; Greater London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company in Greater London is seeking a Trainee Merchandiser to manage stock and collaborate with Buyers and Designers. Responsibilities include negotiating stock intake from suppliers, updating product systems, and analyzing sales data. Ideal candidates thrive in dynamic environments, possess strong analytical and communication skills, and are relationship builders. This role offers an exciting path to career advancement within merchandising.

Qualifications

• Thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizer capable of juggling multiple tasks.
• Excellent communicator and relationship builder.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and manage stock intake from various suppliers.
• Update product systems with delivery schedules.
• Forecast stock requirements based on sales analysis.
• Participate in product range selection meetings.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Relationship building

Organizational skills

Understanding of percentages

Job description

About the Role

Merchandising - a head for numbers but a heart for fashion!

• Do you love trends and talking to people all over the world?
• Do you thrive on transforming complex sales data and inventory figures into clear, actionable insights that drive product success?
• Are you passionate about analysis, trading, managing stock, and relationship development? We are looking for amazing people who can interpret data and use this talent to work with our Buyers and Designers to build and trade trend driven product ranges for our customers.

The scheme

You will start your 12 – 18 month training programme in our ‘Product’ licensing teams. With support from your team, you will learn the skills required to progress within our Merchandising function. Responsibility comes early and you will be looking after millions of pounds worth of stock from day one. You will receive regular feedback from your Merchandise team who will coach and develop you throughout the scheme, supporting you in reaching your goals. Once you are ready to take the next step you will be promoted to Assistant Merchandiser. Day to day you will be…

• Negotiating, ordering and managing the intake of stock from suppliers all over the world
• Updating our product systems with the correct delivery dates and shipment modes
• Reviewing historical and current sales to forecast what stock we need for the future
• Attend range building and selection meetings and use your knowledge to influence how future ranges look

It’s all about collaboration and great teamwork! You will be working alongside our creative Buyers and Designers using data to influence what our NEXT product ranges look like. You will learn to trade those ranges, reacting to what our customers are telling us they love, then working with our global supplier base to get the stock to our customers when they want it. Alongside this you will be closely managing stock levels in order to maximise sales and minimise our markdown risk, potentialising profitability. It’s fast paced, exciting, challenging and very rewarding!

About You

Are you the kind of person who thrives in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment? Do you excel at juggling a wide range of tasks while maintaining impeccable organisation? If so, you might be the perfect fit for our team. We’re looking for someone who is not just a great communicator but a relationship builder, someone who can effortlessly connect with both colleagues and clients. Your analytical skills are sharp; you can interpret data with ease and spot opportunities that others might miss. Numbers don’t intimidate you—in fact, you have a solid understanding of percentages and how they impact our goals. In our bustling workplace, your approachable nature and team spirit make you a go‑to person, fostering collaboration and positivity. You’re driven and decisive, always aiming to make a meaningful impact. If this sounds like you, then you’re exactly who we need to help take our team to the next level.

As part of your application, please include a cover letter detailing the below:

• Why should Next offer you a role as a Trainee Merchandiser?
• What skills and interests do you have that relate to the Trainee Merchandiser role?
• Why are you interested in joining Next?

At Next we embrace technology and innovation, but we want to see the real you! A generic AI response won’t help you stand out from the crowd and may hinder your application. We appreciate you might want to use Gen AI to help structure your responses, and check for grammar and spelling but the content needs to reflect your unique self, your passion and your understanding of the role.

Sponsorship

NEXT has assessed the role advertised and based on current UKVI criteria, the Merchandiser/Buyer role is not eligible for skilled worker sponsorship. If you hold a Visa that allows you to complete the training, NEXT will be unable to sponsor you at the conclusion of the training, and expects that you will have alternative Immigration status to take up the role.