Assistant Merchant

Victoria's Secret; Reynoldsburg (OH); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Victoria's Secret is seeking an Assistant Merchant to support assortment strategy and execution, acting as the SME across multiple retail topics. You will ensure accurate product detail, communicate with stores, and manage samples for current and upcoming seasons.

The role emphasizes turning customer insights into actionable recommendations, competitive awareness, and ongoing trend analysis to evolve the product offering.

Qualifications

• Ability to turn customer insight into actionable recommendations.
• Cross-functional collaboration and communication with stores and partners.
• Trend analysis and reporting across product categories.
• Understanding basic retail math and financial implications.
• Experience coordinating samples and seasonal needs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as SME on assortment strategy and execution.
• Drive accuracy of product detail and documentation, incl. MAT tool usage.
• Engage with stores weekly to gather feedback and insights.
• Own sample management and ranking for current and upcoming season.
• Support meeting prep with data, decks, and ad hoc analyses.

Skills

Assortment management

Customer insights

Competitive intelligence

Testing execution

Sample management

Tools

MAT tool

Job description

Description

Your Role:

The Assistant Merchant supports the category of business by serving as the Subject Matter Expert on various retail areas and topics, including, but not limited to, comprehensive systems management, customer intimacy, competitive intelligence, testing execution and product/sample management. The Assistant Merchant supports the strategy of the merchandise assortment through seamless execution.

Your Impact:

System Management & Execution

• Drive accuracy of product detail through excellent execution and management of assortment documentation and communication, with emphasis on MAT tool execution

Customer

• Demonstrate an ability to turn Customer insight into actionable recommendations as it relates to assortment strategy
• Be the voice of the customer through store visits/travel, market distortions, and new product launches
• Be in or communicating with stores on a weekly basis to gain customer feedback and business insights
• Understand the customer’s lifestyle by staying on top of trends, social media, and pop culture as it specifically relates to the customer
• Utilize customer insights to support the evolution of the product to continue to build an emotional connection with the customer
• Engage in competitive patterning (i.e., focus groups, share of drawer, campus visits, etc.) in order to understand the current competition/market trends and influence product strategy while making business recommendations

Product

• Demonstrate an ability to turn product insight into actionable recommendations as it relates to assortment strategy and influence the evolution of potential new categories to fill customers’ needs
• Own the management of samples for a particular category, inclusive of ranking current business and representing current season, collaborating with Sample Management partners to ensure accuracy of current and archived sample needs
• Assist in key meeting prep with sample availability, style & color ranking, deck preparation, and ad hoc requests and analysis, always staying agile and flexible
• Responsible for ongoing trend analysis and reporting, inclusive of competitive landscape & competitive patterning

Financial

• Learn the basic fundamentals of retail math, financial parameters and applications needed to drive category results
• Understand core financial reporting tools necessary to read and analyze business insights (i.e. Color report, placemats)
• Providing color and style level insights as to what is working and not working within the assortment
• Ranking product weekly based on sales performance
• Understanding and bringing attention to channel-specific selling nuances within the assortment
• Remain curious about category financials and performance while seeking to understand metrics in regards to product performance

Collaboration & Relationship-Building

• Cultivate and maintain strong cross-functional partnerships with clear and accurate communication while demonstrating company values
• Actively participate in weekly cross functional meetings and calls
• Relationship building by demonstrating corporate culture & values of inclusivity, open-mindedness, collaboration, and positive intent
• Lead and demonstrate company values of Love the Customer, Passion with Purpose, Better Together, DEI is Everything
• Consistently react with urgency while comprehending overall strategy

Talent

• Identify and regularly meet with an internal mentor
• Partner with leader to curate a career development plan and own the execution of actions
• Actively seek and take action on feedback from all levels to enable growth and development in role
• Mentor and guide intern talent