Associate Merchant, VS Sport

Victoria's Secret; New York (NY); On-site; USD 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Victoria's Secret in New York seeks an Assistant Merchant who will support senior merchandising team, develop product plans for a specific category, and align with seasonal strategy for stores and digital channels.

You will analyze customer trends, product history, and competitive signals, turning insights into recommendations, while collaborating across functions to manage assortment, samples, and launches.

Responsibilities

• System Management & Execution: Accountable for accuracy of product detail through execution and management of assortment documentation and communication, with emphasis on MAT tool execution
• Customer: Turn customer insights into actionable recommendations for assortment strategy; be the voice of the customer through stores, travel, and product launches; stay connected with stores weekly for feedback and insights; understand customer lifestyle through trends, social media, and pop culture; lead competitive patterning to influence product strategy and actions

Job description

Description

Your Role:

The Associate Merchant is responsible for directly supporting senior merchandising team members & a category of business to develop product plans in accordance with the season’s strategy in a specific product category for the stores and digital channel. They may assume increased responsibility for merchandise category to deliver or exceed volume and profit goals. This position researches customer trends, product history, competitive intelligence, fashion trends, and analyzes sales.

Why You Belong Here:

At Victoria’s Secret & Co, you’ll join a world-leading specialty retail brand recognized globally for innovation and excellence in lingerie and fashion. You’ll work alongside industry leaders to set the standard for what a retail brand can achieve, placing customers at the center of everything we do to create products and experiences that bring them joy.

We believe everyone deserves a place where they truly belong. We celebrate individuality and know that your passion, experience, and unique perspective strengthen our team and business. Here, you’ll be empowered to perform, grow, and engage through unmatched opportunities to develop your skills, gain real-world experience, and learn from the best in the business.

Your Impact:

System Management & Execution

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

Customer

• Consistently 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
• Lead 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

• Consistently 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 customer’s needs
• Lead 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
• Support ideation and execution of a robust testing agenda to identify and unlock future growth opportunities

Financial

• Understand financial parameters and applications needed to drive category results
• Leverage and analyze core financial reporting tools necessary to read and provide business insights (i.e. color report, placemats)
• Providing style and collection level insights as to what is working and not working within the assortment and propose actions based on insights
• Understanding and bringing attention to channel-specific selling nuances within the assortment
• Remain curious about category financials and performance while seeking to understand and apply metrics in regards to product performance
• Partners with Merchandise Planning on seasonal category strategies

Collaboration & Relationship-Building

• Lead and demonstrate 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
• Responsible for driving own development plan in partnership with leader
• Actively seek and take action on feedback from all levels to enable growth and development in role
• Actively participates in the selection, on-boarding and development of Assistant Merchants
• May indirectly supervise and coach the Assistant Merchant to achieve performance objectives