Chief Merchandising & Growth Officer

Houchens Food Group, Inc.; Delafield (KY); On-site; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Houchens Food Group, Inc. seeks a Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer (CMO) to define and execute a customer-facing growth strategy across merchandising, pricing, promotions, brand, marketing, and engagement.

As an executive leader, the CMO unites customer insight, merchant instinct, brand storytelling, and data-driven decisions to deliver differentiated assortments and profitable growth across stores and digital channels.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in retail, consumer products, e-commerce, or a closely related customer-driven industry.
• Significant executive leadership experience overseeing merchandising, marketing, or broader commercial functions.
• Demonstrated success delivering profitable sales growth and improving performance at scale.
• Deep understanding of retail merchandising, assortment planning, pricing, promotions, inventory economics, and category management.
• Strong knowledge of modern brand and performance marketing, including digital acquisition, CRM, loyalty, personalization, and marketing measurement.
• Proven ability to use customer insights, analytics, and financial data while maintaining strong merchant and brand instincts.
• Experience leading large, cross-functional teams through transformation and change.
• Strong financial acumen with demonstrated understanding of retail P&L economics.
• Experience working effectively with COOs, Boards, executive teams, and external business partners.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead merchandising & commercial strategy aligned with brand positioning and financial objectives.
• Own assortment architecture, pricing, promotions, and lifecycle management.
• Develop disciplined merchandise planning balancing growth, margin, and inventory.
• Identify trends and translate into commercial opportunities.
• Partner with sourcing, supply chain, planning, operations, and finance to optimize inventory and margins.
• Build differentiated assortments across brands and private label.
• Define category roles, price points, and value propositions.
• Lead integrated marketing across brand, digital, CRM, loyalty, and local marketing.
• Develop an annual marketing calendar aligned with merchandising priorities and financial plans.
• Drive customer acquisition, retention, frequency, engagement, and lifetime value.
• Ensure measurable marketing ROI and program effectiveness.
• Lead customer segmentation, personalization, loyalty, and lifecycle marketing strategies.
• Ensure consistent brand messaging across all channels and stores.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic thinking

Data-driven decision making

Customer focus

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree (preferred)

Job description

Houchens Food Group, Inc. seeks a Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer (CMO) to define and execute a customer-facing growth strategy across merchandising, pricing, promotions, brand, marketing, and engagement.

As an executive leader, the CMO unites customer insight, merchant instinct, brand storytelling, and data-driven decisions to deliver differentiated assortments and profitable growth across stores and digital channels.