Senior Manager, Merchandising of Apparel & Accessories

VANS EMEA is looking for an exceptional Senior Merchandising Manager of Apparel & Accessories to join our Merchandising team based in Stabio, Switzerland.

Vans is the original action sports footwear company, rooted in authenticity and creativity. Founded in 1966, we have thrived on a legacy of impacting our greater community through four pillars: action sports, music, art, and street culture.

Let’s Talk About The Role

You as the Senior Merchandising Manager of Apparel & Accessories will drive toward our ambition to be the leading apparel brand representing progressive skate and youth culture.

You will own the strategic and executional merchandising and Go-to-Market deliverables of the Apparel & Accessories categories for the EMEA line while creating global influence, alignment, and partnership.

You will lead a team of Merchandisers to bring to life a market-relevant, profitable, and successful range that represents progressing youth culture forward. Your exceptional knowledge of the competitive landscape, taste-level, and passionate management style will inspire both internal teams, our customers, and our consumers.

How You Will Make a Difference

You will achieve this by:

1. LRP / Pre-season planning - Executes the global merchandising strategy through regional marketplace strategy. Ensures alignment with regional market dynamics and consumer preferences. Adapts and tailors global product assortments to meet regional needs while maintaining brand consistency and commercial success. Defines white space opportunities across wholesale and DTC in their respective category and marketplace responsibilities.
2. Seasonal strategy, line architecture & pricing - Develops and manages regional line architecture and curated assortment strategies against demand-driving attributes. Sets in-region pricing (with global guidelines). Balances mono-brand and multi-brand environments to align with brand and market objectives.
3. Market & Consumer Insights - Leads analysis of regional market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscape to inform product decisions and regional strategies. Provides insights and feedback to the global team to influence future product development and global strategy.
4. Product line - Provides feedback on prototypes based on consumer feedback and local needs.
5. Localization and Regional Relevance - Collaborates with global merchandising, design, marketing, and cross-functional teams to develop and execute a compelling seasonal product line reflecting regional nuances and consumer preferences, including SMU. Ensures regional product assortments align with global strategy while addressing local market demands and opportunities. Responsible for identifying, communicating, and driving regional relevance in SMU and other initiatives such as capsules, including assortment definition, segmentation, and customer-specific initiatives.
6. In-season management - Provides input on marketplace execution, manages capacity, and works with regional marketing and planning to meet financial targets. Makes final promo and markdown decisions within global guidelines.
7. Financial Accountability - Achieves and exceeds financial targets for the region, working closely with regional planning teams to meet revenue, margin, and sell-through goals.
8. Always on - Monitors consumer demand trends, using insights to shape planning and assortment decisions. Performs ad hoc reporting/analysis to support seasonal product decisions.
9. Team Leadership & Development - Manages and develops the merchant team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration. Ensures continuous development through training, mentoring, and performance management.
10. Cross-Functional Collaboration - Collaborates with regional and global teams to drive seasonal direction, product DNA, and regional filters. Partners with global product leaders and regional teams to create compelling product stories that resonate regionally and build brand loyalty.
11. Regional Reporting & Feedback - Provides regular updates on product performance, market trends, and consumer insights.

Skills For Success

You should be a seasoned merchandising leader with:

• The ability to drive results while empowering people and creating an inspiring team culture
• Experience leading multiple teams, providing coaching and development
• The capability to influence teams to achieve objectives
• Expertise in organizing the product development process to meet milestones and deliverables
• Capacity to manage teams and projects through complex and changing environments
• A strong understanding of Product & Merchandising systems, tools, and processes
• Previous retail buying and wholesale marketplace experience, with the ability to represent the region in global and external communications
• Strong merchandising acumen for driving MFP and product line choices
• Ability to build merchandising principles and partner with planning to develop best practices

What’s In It For You

We offer comprehensive benefits supporting mental, physical, and financial well-being, including:

• A supportive, feedback-based culture founded on respect and integrity
• An inclusive environment celebrating diversity
• Part of an iconic lifestyle brand across multiple countries
• On-site gym and well-being initiatives
• 50% discount on all VF brands
• Complimentary hot drinks in break areas

Free to Be, Inclusion & Diversity

We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging, respecting diversity, and enabling our associates to bring their authentic selves to work every day.

If you are interested in joining our team, we would love to hear from you!