Merchandising Manager

Asics Italia S.R.L.; Netherlands; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office gym access

Sports membership discount

Calm app access

Runkeeper Go premium

Wellness programme

Job summary

ASICS is seeking a Wholesale Merchandising Manager for the Northwest region, based at our EMEA headquarters in Hoofddorp. You will lead a team of at least three Merchandisers across the UK, Nordics and BeNeLux, setting assortment strategy and driving revenue.

You will partner with Demand Planning, Sales and Marketing to deliver seasonal ranges and optimize product flow. You will translate business strategy into actionable merchandising plans, travel as needed, and influence senior leadership

Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred; minimum Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration or equivalent.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in merchandising, buying, or commercial planning in a multi-channel, matrix-structured retail or brand environment.
• Affinity for sports, fashion, or sportswear is preferred; analytics-focused candidates from adjacent industries are considered.
• Proven track record of managing a geographically distributed team of direct reports in merchandising or commercial planning.

Responsibilities

• Team Management & Development: lead a team of minimum three Marketplace Merchandisers across the UK, Nordics, and BeNeLux; coach, empower, and develop the team; travel to markets regularly.
• Assortment Strategy & Line Development: translate business strategy into clear commercial assortment direction; collaborate with Demand Planning.
• Seasonal Range Planning: provide feedback on product line; build seasonal range plans; collaborate with Wholesale Sales and Planner.
• Systems, Process & S&OP: identify gaps, support S&OP processes, manage critical paths for assortment distribution, lead enterprise improvements.
• Business Analysis & Reporting: develop reporting suite; extract insights from performance data for senior leadership.
• Cross-Functional Bridge & Stakeholder Management: act as primary bridge between Regional Sales and EMEA Category; work with Marketing to coordinate wholesale strategies.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Numerical analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Structured, organized

Education

Bachelor’s or college degree in Merchandising, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Business Analytics, or equivalent

Job description

Be part of a movement that moves the world

At ASICS, we’re more than just a brand; we're a movement. A movement of movement, propelled by the belief that motion strengthens the body and uplifts the mind. Our name itself, an acronym for "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano" (a Sound Mind in a Sound Body), encapsulates this commitment. Since taking our first step in Japan in 1949, our journey has been about more than just reaching the finish lines or clocking the fastest times. It's about the joy of moving and it's open to all.

If you're inspired to move yourself and the world toward a brighter, more inclusive future, we're looking for you.

Here at ASICS, we welcome diversity in our people, their backgrounds and life experiences. So, you could be the right person for this role regardless of your age, nationality, religious beliefs, or gender identification.

Your role in our shared journey

Located at our EMEA headquarters in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam, you will be the strategic and operational backbone of the Northwest Wholesale Merchandising team. As Wholesale Merchandising Manager, you will lead a team of minimum three Merchandisers across the UK, Nordics, and BeNeLux markets, setting commercial assortment direction, coaching your team to grow and deliver independently, and acting as the critical bridge between Regional Sales and EMEA Category. You will translate business strategy into assortment decisions that drive revenue and translate market and consumer insights back into the product and category conversation. Reporting to Sophie Lory, Head of Marketplace Merchandising, this is a 100% wholesale role operating at large financial impact scale (€60M–€500M).

Few Merchandising Manager roles offer this breadth of commercial scope. At ASICS, you will own all categories across three markets and work as the right arm of two Sales Directors, giving you a 360-degree view of regional performance that simply does not exist in more segmented roles at larger brands. This is a fast-paced role that rewards structured, resilient professionals who communicate clearly, think commercially, and lead by empowering others. If that is how you work, the scope for impact here is significant.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Team Management & Development: manage, coach, motivate, and empower a team of minimum three Marketplace Merchandisers across the UK, Nordics, and BeNeLux markets; build strong working relationships with Category, Demand Planning, Sales, and Operations; safeguard priority-setting across the team so that issues are resolved timely and structurally; create an environment of accountability, continuous improvement, and growing team independence. Approximately half the team are not Hoofddorp-based — confident remote management and regular market travel (minimum once per season) are central to this role.
• Assortment Strategy & Line Development: consolidate business insights from previous seasons to guide future assortment strategies; adjust and adapt commercial expectations as the product line develops, raising risks and opportunities to the financials proactively; ensure marketing campaigns are effectively integrated into the assortment process; translate business strategy into clear commercial assortment direction and volumes in close collaboration with Demand Planning.
• Seasonal Range Planning: provide structured, market-relevant feedback on the EMEA and Market product line before seasonal finalisation; build seasonal range plans grounded in competitor analysis and market research; partner with the wholesale Sales team to develop assortments that meet customer and consumer needs; collaborate with the Planner on historical analysis and market trends; brief Category teams on consumer and product requirements for the Northwest markets.
• Systems, Process & S&OP: collaborate with other Merchandising Managers to identify gaps in Marketplace Merchandising processes and implement improvements; support the S&OP process to achieve accurate forecasting and ensure the product forecast framework is executed; develop and manage the critical path for product assortment distribution within ASICS; create and implement new projects with clear training, process documentation, and follow-up for consistency and success; act as an enterprise lead to drive improvements above and beyond the regional scope.
• Business Analysis & Reporting: ensure the team has a clear reporting suite that enables analysis of all seasonal product performance; develop a sharp understanding of ASICS systems and data flow to identify opportunities for improvement; extract rapid, commercially grounded insight from performance data to flag risks and opportunities to senior leadership before they become issues.
• Cross-Functional Bridge & Stakeholder Management: serve as the primary bridge between Regional Sales (two Sales Directors, Northwest) and EMEA Category; work with Marketing to coordinate strategies for the wholesale market; build and maintain relationships across functions to manage the flow and accuracy of data; manage external account relationships as required to support the wholesale marketplace channel.

You have the following skills and experience:

• Master’s degree preferred; minimum Bachelor’s or college degree in Merchandising, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Business Analytics, or equivalent.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in merchandising, buying, or commercial planning in a multi-channel, matrix-structured retail or brand environment.
• Affinity for sports, fashion, or sportswear is preferred; analytically strong candidates from adjacent industries (e.g. FMCG) are considered if you bring genuine product curiosity and learning agility.
• Proven track record of managing, coaching, and developing a geographically distributed team of direct reports in a merchandising or commercial planning context. This role leads a minimum of three Marketplace Merchandisers from day one, with the ability to travel regularly to these markets.
• Proven ability to build and present Merchandising strategies linked to financials at all organisational levels, from team to senior leadership.
• Highly numerate with advanced Excel skills; able to analyse data, identify trends, and extract sharp commercial insight rapidly and independently. Note: dashboard creation sits with the Merchandising team; the Manager’s strength is speed and quality of insight extraction.
• Strong cross-functional partnership and influencing skills; able to navigate and align Sales, Category, Finance, Operations, and Demand Planning without direct authority over most stakeholders.
• Clear, confident, and concise communicator (business-level English a must); able to simplify complex assortment strategy into a compelling narrative for mixed audiences; credible and composed in senior settings.
• Structured, organised, and resilient under pressure; manages complex planning cycles, critical paths, and multiple markets simultaneously without losing accuracy or follow-through.

Nice-to-haves:

• Dutch or Swedish language skills, given the Northwest market scope.

Life at ASICS

When you join ASICS, you become part of something special. Here, your voice matters, your growth and wellbeing are important. We believe in fostering an environment where every step forward is celebrated, where diversity fuels our journey, and inclusion strengthens individuals. And together and as individuals we can inspire more people to move for body and for mind.

Our commitment to your wellbeing

We're dedicated to ensuring that every team member experiences the joy and benefits of movement. To support your wellbeing, we offer:

• Access to office gym and sports membership discount.
• Exclusive 50% discount on ASICS gear.
• Unlimited access to the Calm app for better sleep and mental fitness.
• Complimentary premium subscription to our Runkeeper Go app.
• A comprehensive wellness programme consisting of exercise and educational sessions.
• Professional support and meditation classes are available through OpenUp Access.
• Working abroad for four weeks every year.
• Hybrid working model. Combine the flexibility of working from home with the dynamic energy of an office environment (50% miinimum office attendance weekly).