Director, Global Merchandising

Ask Athena; Mansfield (MA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Samsonite, a global leader in luggage and travel solutions, seeks a Director, Global Merchandising in Mansfield, MA. You will execute global product and assortment strategy across regions and channels, guiding SKU governance, lifecycle, and omnichannel experiences.

In this role you'll partner with regional teams and marketing, ecommerce, and product management, influence product development, and lead cross-functional initiatives to drive brand consistency and commercial performance while working

Qualifications

• Strong analytical skills and ability to translate data into merchandising actions.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional and regional stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable with senior leadership.
• Deep understanding of global merchandising, assortment strategy, and lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

• Execute global SKU governance including assortment strategy and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with regional teams and GMEO, Product Management, Planning, Sourcing, and Visual Merchandising to ensure cohesive omnichannel experiences.
• Lead governance of global assortment across channels (full-price, outlet, ecommerce) while preserving brand intent.
• Influence product development by synthesizing regional insights into actionable recommendations for Global and regional teams.
• Act as a change agent to improve speed, clarity, and execution discipline across global merchandising processes.

Skills

Analytical skills

Influence stakeholders

Communication

Global merchandising

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The Director, Global Merchandising plays a critical role in executing Samsonite’s global product and assortment strategy across regions and channels. Reporting to the Vice President, Global Product & Brand Strategy, this role is responsible for executing the VP’s vision on global product, brand, and lifecycle strategies into actionable merchandising and assortment frameworks that drive brand consistency, commercial performance, and operational efficiency worldwide.

This leader partners closely with regional merchandising teams, Global Marketing & Ecommerce (GMEO), Product Management, Planning, Sourcing, and Visual Merchandising to ensure cohesive assortments, disciplined SKU governance, and a strong omnichannel brand experience across full-price retail, outlet, and ecommerce channels.

The role operates as a key integrator within a decentralized organization—communicating the VP’s vision and global direction, enabling regional execution, and feeding market insights back into product and brand strategy. We work a hybrid schedule; 4 days on site, 1 day remote, weekly.

Global Merchandising & Assortment Strategy

• Manage execution of the global assortment strategy across regions, channels, and product categories in alignment with the global product lifecycle framework.
• Maintain global assortment and product architecture frameworks across channels (full-price retail, outlet, and ecommerce), enabling regional teams to tailor assortments while preserving global brand and commercial intent.
• Ensure assortments align with global brand positioning, customer needs, and channel strategies as defined in partnership with Global Marketing & Ecommerce.

Omnichannel Experience & Go-to-Market Alignment

• Partner with Global Marketing & Ecommerce to support seasonal go-to-market planning, ensuring assortments support global campaigns, brand storytelling, and coordinated product launches.
• Manage alignment across merchandising, marketing, ecommerce, visual merchandising, and retail partners to deliver a cohesive omnichannel brand experience.
• Support product flow and storytelling moments across channels to maximize product performance and brand impact.

SKU Governance, Lifecycle & Productivity

• Manage day-to-day global SKU governance including SKU rationalization, productivity analysis, and lifecycle management.
• Monitor and analyze SKU-level performance, margins, and inventory efficiency, escalating risks and opportunities to the VP as needed.
• Partner with regional Product Management and Planning teams to determine end-of-life strategies, manage SKU exits, and improve assortment efficiency across regions and channels

Product Development Influence & Market Insights

• Influence future product development by synthesizing regional sales performance, trend analysis, and consumer feedback into clear, actionable recommendations for the Global and regional Product teams.
• Analyze competitive landscape, consumer trends, and regional insights to identify opportunities and risks within the global assortment.
• Leverage regional market visits, store observations, consumer research, and external insights to inform global merchandising strategies and best-practice sharing.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Ways of Working

• Partner closely with regional merchandising leaders to ensure consistent adoption of global merchandising frameworks, calendars, and tools.
• Collaborate with Visual Merchandising partners to support global standards for assortment presentation, collection flow, and storytelling.
• Support global price architecture reviews in partnership with Product Management by contributing competitive benchmarks and assortment-level insights.
• Act as a change agent in evolving global merchandising processes to improve speed, clarity, and execution discipline.

Leadership & Influence

• Serve as a trusted thought partner to regional merchandising leaders, balancing global standards with regional relevance.
• Influence across a matrixed organization without direct authority, driving alignment across merchandising, marketing, planning, and commercial stakeholders.
• Partner and guide regional teams to build strategic merchandising capabilities and a continuous-improvement mindset.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in merchandising, product management, or assortment planning within retail, wholesale, or consumer goods environments.
• Demonstratedexperience working in global or multi-region, matrixed organizations.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into clear merchandising actions.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional and regional stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable working with senior leadership.
• Deep understanding of global merchandising, assortment strategy, and product lifecycle management.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• Experience partnering closely with marketing, ecommerce and brand teams.
• Strong systems and process mindset; experience implementing or operating global tools preferred.
• Prior experience in consumer durables or lifestyle brands strongly preferred.
• Position based in Mansfield, MA.

• Domestic travel: 10% / International travel: 40%