Director, Merchandising, Outlet Leathergoods

Tapestry (Coach/Kate Spade); New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Kate Spade New York in the United States is seeking a senior merchandising leader to develop and communicate the outlet handbag and small leather goods assortment strategy while balancing brand vision with commercial performance.

You will partner with Design, Product Development, GMP, and Business Units to create cohesive, trend-right product stories, lead a team, analyze weekly sales, and identify growth opportunities across global markets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years merchandising/buying experience focused on leathergoods.
• Minimum 4+ years people management experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead and communicate the merchandising product and assortment strategy for Outlet Handbags and Small Leathergoods.
• Create cohesive brand-right product assortments that drive business growth.
• Partner with Design and Product Development to build assortments that address brand strategies and customer needs.
• Collaborate with GMP and Business Units to influence objectives and opportunities globally.
• Manage the merchandising team to meet deliverables and support growth.
• Analyze weekly sales and provide global analysis to drive decisions.
• Stay updated on competitive landscape to identify future opportunities.
• Drive cross-functional synergy across total product strategy and execution.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Analytical

Communication

Presentation

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Since its launch in 1993 with a collection of six essential handbags, Kate Spade New York has always been colorful, bold, and optimistic. Today, it is a global lifestyle brand that designs extraordinary things for the everyday, delivering seasonal collections of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, home décor, and more. Known for its rich heritage and unique brand DNA, Kate Spade New York offers a distinctive point of view and celebrates communities of women around the globe who live their perfectly imperfect lifestyles.

Kate Spade New York is part of the Tapestry portfolio - a global house of brands committed to stretching what's possible.

A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive. Visit Our People page to learn more about Tapestry's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.

The successful individual will leverage their proficiency in Merchandising to...

• Develop, lead and communicate the merchandising product and assortment strategy for Outlet Handbags and Small Leathergoods

• Create relevant, cohesive and compelling brand-right product assortments that drive business, building newness while not excluding the needs of current customers

• Partner with Design and Product Development to build and execute an assortment that addresses brand strategies and customer needs. Drive communication of costing needs to maintain margin targets.

• Partner and build effective relationships with Global Merchandise Planning (GMP) and Business Units to effectively influence and drive objectives/customer needs and identify product opportunities globally.

• Actively partner with merchandising peers to ensure synergy across the total product strategy and execution.

• Analyze sales on a weekly basis to gain comprehensive understanding of the state of the business and make recommendations to drive business growth. Provide global analysis that drives decisions and overall strategy

• Identify product opportunities through regular hind-sighting that incorporates consumer research, business feedback and sales performance analysis and trends.

• Maintain an in-depth and up to date awareness of the competitive landscape through store visits, on-line review, events, markets, and other means to identify opportunities for future growth and opportunities for the category.

• Maintain updated knowledge of key competitor distribution and pricing strategies.

• Manage team to meet key deliverables, while successfully supporting their growth and development.

The accomplished individual will possess...

• Excellent product sensibility and conceptual ability with on-trend vision, balancing high taste level and data points with gut instinct

• Demonstrated experience partnering closely with internal Design teams to translate brand vision, customer insights, and business objectives into compelling product assortments and category strategies.

• Previous experience owning product assortment and development

• Comprehensive understanding of retail math and financial acumen

• Strong analytical, communication, and presentation skills

• Experience driving process improvements

• Ability to take initiative, ownership and accountability for business

• An exceptional communicator up, down and across the organization

• Strong sense of teamwork and ability to multi-task

• Strong leadership and managerial skills with ability to motivate, develop a team and influence partners

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered

• 10+ years merchandising/buying experience with a focus on Leathergoods

• Minimum 4+ years people management experience

#LI-HYBRID

#LI-DC1

Our Competencies for All Employees

• Courage : Doesn't hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and "actionable" positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.

• Creativity : Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.

• Customer Focus : Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.

• Dealing with Ambiguity : Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn't upset when things are up in the air; doesn't have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.

• Drive for Results : Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of