Associate Merchant

Crate & Barrel; Northbrook (IL); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Crate & Barrel is seeking an Associate Merchant to support the Merchant in product assortment, financial planning and vendor partnerships. The role is based at our Northbrook, IL office with on-site work Monday through Thursday and remote Fridays.

You will analyze sales, influence pricing strategies and build assortment plans to hit margin and turnover goals. Strong Excel skills, collaboration, and negotiation experience are essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• 3+ years retail merchandising experience, or education equivalent or related area.
• Bachelor's degree is required or equivalent education.

Responsibilities

• Makes recommendations to Merchant regarding product assortment, pricing and merchandising strategies reflecting goals based on trends and forecasts.
• Participates in final decision making by providing expert recommendations to Merchant regarding seasonal and core product mix for a given department.
• Analyzes sales information to identify opportunities to increase sales and margins.
• Negotiates product costs, terms, subsidy and VIR.
• Develops and maintains vendor partnerships by providing analytical metrics to Merchant and influencing supplier strategy.
• Builds and maintains assortment plans and SKU counts.
• Gathers information from partners to make strategic recommendations to Merchant.
• Leads product sequencing, layouts and copy edits and coordinates with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Financial acumen

Negotiation

Merchandising plans

Software proficiency

Communication

Collaboration

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

The Associate Merchant supports the Merchant in all aspects of product assortment, financial planning and vendor partnerships in accordance with the sales, margin, turnover and flow goals for the assigned product category.

This is an on-site position (Monday through Thursday) based out of our Northbrook, IL office with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

A day in the life as an Associate Merchant...

• Makes recommendations to Merchant regarding product assortment, pricing and merchandising strategies reflecting goals based on trends and forecasts.
• Participates in the final decision making process by providing expert recommendations to Merchant regarding seasonal and core product mix for a given department.
• Analyzes sales information in order to identify opportunities to increase sales and margins.
• Based on research and analysis, participates in recommending, setting and approving product-pricing strategies to achieve specific margin objectives and executes exit strategies as needed.
• Negotiates product costs, terms, subsidy and VIR
• Develops and maintains vendor partnerships by providing analytical metrics to Merchant, influencing the supplier management strategy to support overall department strategy and works to improve all aspects of supplier relationship.
• Builds and maintains assortment plans and SKU counts.
• Gathers and synthesizes information from partners to make strategic recommendations to Merchant
• Analyzes business trends and opportunities by identifying and maximizing key items via test strategies.
• Provides recommendations regarding short term buying plans and long term strategies.
• Conducts competitive intelligence and uses information to identify opportunities and challenges for in-season business and future seasons.
• Leads product sequencing, including layouts and copy edits and communication with cross-functional teams.

What you'll bring to the table...

• Possess an understanding of merchandising plans and processes
• Strong financial acumen and experience with negotiations
• Strong understanding of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Strong communication skills
• Highly collaborative
• Strong attention to detail

We'd love to hear from you if you have...

• 3+ years retail merchandising experience, or education equivalent or related area
• Bachelor's degree