Urban Outfitters Senior Assistant Merchandiser

URBN Urban Outfitters, Inc.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible start and finish times

Bring your dog to work

Employee Assistance program

Fully equipped gym and on-site fitness

Private Medical Insurance

Employee discount up to 40%

One paid volunteer/fundraising day

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

URBN Urban Outfitters, Inc. is seeking an experienced Assistant Merchandiser in London to support seasonal planning and trading with a strong focus on profitability and speed to market.

You will collaborate with buyers, planners and the Web team to optimize stock and margins across categories and drive in-season performance. The role requires commercial acumen, advanced Excel skills, and the ability to lead and develop the MAA team while building partnerships across Merchandising and Buying.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Strong understanding of retail systems.
• Experience with merchandising in a fashion or retail field.
• Ability to organize and prioritize workload to meet deadlines.
• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.
• Strong communication skills.
• Demonstrate logical analysis and problem solving.
• Ability to understand financial measurements and impact them.
• Build and maintain productive partnerships.
• Trading mentality; work at pace and drive results.
• Profit-focused; develop product areas for profitability.
• Team leadership; set goals and develop skills in the team.
• Impact & influence with senior management and merchandising teams.

Responsibilities

• Support Merchandiser with Seasonal Plans and re-forecasts for all categories from sales history and Brand Strategy.
• Assist in managing OTB; identify risks and opportunities to stay flexible.
• Oversee intake margins with Buying; align target margins with Senior Planner.
• Maintain weekly line cards; propose rebuy dates and volumes.
• Develop partnerships with buyers to understand vision and trends.
• Take accountability for in-season trading for assigned product areas.
• Monitor weekly intake targets; alert Senior Management to risks.
• Manage MD and Promotional planning to minimize MD and drive profitability.
• Follow a clear product sign-off process aligned with lead times.
• Ensure stock distribution supports store and product performance.
• Display customer-focused market and trend knowledge; monitor store performance.
• Ensure correct level of newness and mix of end use by timing.
• Collate seasonal price analysis and support regional pricing architecture.
• Work with suppliers to improve lead times, shipping costs, and communication.
• Oversee department allocations and train MAA’s on the allocation tool.
• Guide IAQ levels and monitor store tiers per option frameworks.
• Review web inventory and coordinate with Web team for DC stock.
• Lead and coach a team of MAA’s and ensure timely intake and allocation.
• Identify training needs within the MAA community and feed back to management.
• Build cross-functional relationships to align Commercial and Creative streams.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Retail systems

Merchandising experience

Time management

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Financial literacy

Stakeholder collaboration

Trading mentality

Leadership

Job description

About Us

Urban Outfitters started out as a single boutique in 1970s Philadelphia with creativity and uniqueness at its core. 50 years on, and over 60 stores across Europe later, we’ve become a destination for emerging design, unexpected styling, One-Of-A-Kind vintage and homeware that makes you want to hit the share button.

We speak to a social community of over 10 million forward-thinking individuals, bringing together a nostalgia for the past with an enthusiasm to shape the future. The UO community are culturally aware, they shape the music scene, they live a digitally native life and they wear style trends before anyone else. At our core, we empower our customers and staff to express themselves, unapologetically, living life in a way that's truly authentic to them.

We are always excited to bring new talent into the room, especially if you share our values:

Progressive — we move with the moodCreative — we champion limitless mindsInclusive — we open our platforms to all communitiesResponsible — we work to reduce our impact on the environmentCompassionate — we care for each other beyond the 9 to 5

Sound like you, why not join us?

Role Summary

This role is suitable for an experienced Assistant Merchandiser who is highly commercial with a strong trading mentality. The role, while primarily supporting the Merchandiser across a range of categories, will allow the right candidate the opportunity to take ownership for their own areas.

What You'll Be Doing

• Support Merchandiser with Seasonal Plans and re-forecasts for all categories driven from sales history and Brand Strategy


• Support Merchandiser in managing OTB - continually identify risks/ opportunities to maintain flexibility


• Oversee intake margin alongside Buying counterparts. Agree target margins with Senior Planner and ensure these are met


• Ensure line cards are maintained on a weekly basis; propose rebuy dates and volumes required


• Develop strong partnerships with buyers to understand their vision and direction, establish an understanding of customers and buying trends


• Take accountability for in-season trading for assigned product areas – analyze trading patterns and identify opportunity for repeats, work with Buying to optimize speed to market.


• Closely monitor intake on a weekly basis. Ensure intake targets are being met on all product areas and are in line with Brand targets. Highlight intake risk to Senior Management team


• Manage MD and Promotional planning for product areas – strive to minimize MD and drive profitability


• Work within a clear critical path to operate an effective/timely product sign off process, appropriate for product lead-time


• Ensure effective distribution of stock to potentialise store and product performance


• Display an in-depth, customer-focused knowledge of market and trends, as well as store performance


• Ensure that the correct level of newness is present, and that correct mix of end use is phased in at the appropriate time


• Collate Seasonal price analysis – support Merchandiser with developing Regional pricing architecture


• Work with key Suppliers to improve efficiencies in lead times, shipping costs and communication


• Oversee department allocations and ensure all MAA’s are fully trained and knowledgeable on using the allocation tool


• Guide on IAQ levels and monitor store tiers in line with option frameworks


• Review Web inventory. Work with Web team to maintain optimum DC stocks


• Manage a team of MAA’s ensuring the accurate and timely execution of intake and allocation.


• Be responsible for coaching and developing MAA’s


• Identify training and development needs within the MAA community and feedback to Management


• Build strong cross-functional relationships in order to align Commercial and Creative work streams

What You'll Need

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel


• Strong understanding of Retail systems


• Experience with merchandising in a fashion or retail field


• Ability to organize and prioritize workload to meet deadlines


• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities


• Strong communication skills


• Demonstrate logical analysis and positive problem solving skills


• Ability to analyse, present and communicate information in a manner that allows informed decision-making


• Ability to understand financial measurements and how to impact them


• Ability to build and maintain productive partnerships and demonstrate strong listening, oral and written communication skills


• Trading Mentality; ability to work at pace, challenge results and information to identify challenges, drive for results and track record of success.


• Profit Focused; skilled at finding opportunities to achieve profit in any situation, trading mentality to support and develop product areas


• Team Leadership; provides clear business goals for teams, supports and develops skills base


• Develops skills of the team; identifies individual training needs as well as encourages effective teamwork


• Impact & Influence; ability to present facts, opinions and proposals persuasively to colleagues, Senior Management Team and Merch Team

#UrbanEU #LI-GC1

The Perks

Work-life balance

• Flexible start and finish times


• Bring your dog to work

Wellbeing

• Employees Assistance program to support with mental, physical and financial health


• Fully equipped free gym and on‑site wellness room in Brick Lane and 50% discount of external gym memberships


• Private Medical Insurance

Employee Discount

• Up to 40% off at all URBN Brands

Community

• One paid day to either volunteer or fundraise for a charity of your choice

Travel

• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan

Continued Development

• We offer structured support within the business alongside continued learning and development

Equal Opportunity Statement

URBN is an Equal Opportunities Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We provide equal employment opportunities regardless of age, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, marital status, religion, race, or disability. We base all our employment decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs.