Assistant Manager/Manager - Merchandising

Ethos Watch; Gurugram District; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Ethos Watch in Gurugram is seeking a Category Manager to develop and execute strategies across luxury product lines, balancing core, seasonal, and innovative assortments. You will lead vendor negotiations, pricing, and promotional plans to maximize margin and customer experience.

The role requires strong analytical skills, 2+ years in luxury retail, and a graduate degree, with collaboration across merchandising, supply chain, marketing, and finance. On-site role in Haryana.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial & P&L management skills.
• Expertise in category planning & assortment management.
• Brand/vendor management & negotiation skills.
• Analytical, data-driven decision-making.
• Excellent collaboration & communication.
• Minimum graduation in a related field; luxury retail courses a plus.
• Minimum 2 years in luxury retail, fashion, or related industry.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned with business goals and customer needs; perform market analysis, trend spotting, and competitor benchmarking.
• Define and manage assortment strategy to maximize sales, margin, and customer experience; monitor SKU performance and recommend rationalization.
• Oversee product lifecycle from new introductions to end-of-life decisions; balance core, seasonal, and innovative lines.
• Build and maintain vendor and supplier relationships; negotiate costs, SLAs, and commercial terms; manage supplier performance, compliance, and quality.
• Create pricing and promotional strategies that protect brand positioning while optimizing profitability; collaborate with marketing on campaigns, discounts, and bundles; analyze ROI.
• Own category P&L and KPIs; deliver regular performance reports and corrective action plans.
• Use sales data, market research, and customer insights to drive decisions; identify assortment or supply-chain gaps and recommend improvements.
• Lead brand onboarding: due diligence, contract negotiation, and commercial setup; co-create exclusive launches and supplier-led promotions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain, store operations/ecommerce, marketing, and finance.
• Implement customer-centric merchandising and visual guidelines to enhance in-store and online experience; drive category innovation.

Skills

Commercial acumen

P&L management

Category planning

Assortment management

Vendor management

Negotiation

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Graduate degree in related field

Job description

Role & responsibilities:

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned with business goals and customer needs; perform market analysis, trend spotting, and competitor benchmarking.
• Define and manage assortment strategy (breadth, depth, product mix) to maximize sales, margin, and customer experience; monitor SKU performance and recommend rationalization.
• Oversee product lifecycle from new introductions to end-of-life decisions; balance core, seasonal, and innovative lines.
• Build and maintain vendor and supplier relationships; negotiate costs, SLAs, and commercial terms; manage supplier performance, compliance, and quality.
• Create pricing and promotional strategies that protect brand positioning while optimizing profitability; collaborate with marketing on campaigns, discounts, and bundles; analyze ROI.
• Own category P&L and KPIs (sell-through, GMROI, margin %, inventory turnover); deliver regular performance reports and corrective action plans.
• Use sales data, market research, and customer insights to drive decisions; identify assortment, pricing, or supply-chain gaps and recommend improvements.
• Lead brand onboarding: due diligence, contract negotiation, and commercial setup; co-create exclusive launches and supplier-led promotions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain (demand planning, replenishment), store operations/ecommerce (product placement, presentation), marketing (storytelling, merchandising guidelines), and finance (forecasting, budgeting).
• Implement customer-centric merchandising and visual guidelines to enhance in-store and online experience; drive category innovation to remain competitive.
• Plan and manage Open-To-Buy (OTB) to control inventory investment and ensure optimal stock levels across seasons; set monthly/seasonal OTB limits based on sales forecasts, sell-through rates, and promotional plans.
• Align OTB with assortment strategy by allocating buys across core, seasonal, and experimental SKUs to optimize turns, margin, and availability.

Preferred candidate profile:

• Strong commercial & P&L management skills
• Expertise in category planning & assortment management
• Brand/vendor management & negotiation skills
• Analytical, data-driven decision-making
• Excellent collaboration & communication
• Min Graduate degree any related field, luxury retail courses.
• Min 2 years of experience in Luxury retail, fashion, or a related industry.