Merchandise Assistant

The Lacoste Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The Lacoste Group is seeking a Merchandise Assistant to support Women’s Merchandising and Planning across retail, wholesale, and digital channels. You will assist with sales reporting, inventory analysis, purchase orders, assortment maintenance, and market trend tracking to drive the Women’s business.

Candidates should be highly organized, analytical, detail-oriented, and passionate about fashion and consumer trends.

Job description

At the crossroads of fashion and sport, Lacoste creates and liberates movement. Both universal and timeless, the brand transcends cultures and generations, elevating the crocodile as a rally sign.

Working at Lacoste is belonging to a community of 8,500 employees on the move to build the future. Committed to making equal opportunities a reality and to revealing potential, the company brings together talents from all walks of life, embracing their differences. Lacoste is one of the inspiring brands driven by passionate people within the MF Brands Group, alongside Aigle, Gant and Tecnifibre (http://mf-brands.com/).

SUMMARY

The Merchandise Assistant supports the Women's Merchandising and Planning teams in executing seasonal product strategies, managing assortment and inventory performance, and driving business growth across retail, wholesale, and digital channels. This role provides analytical and operational support through sales reporting, inventory analysis, purchase order management, assortment maintenance, and market trend tracking for the Women's business. The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, detail-oriented, and passionate about fashion, consumer trends, and merchandising. This position offers a strong foundation for career growth within merchandise planning, buying, and product merchandising.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Merchandise & Buying Support

• Assist in the development and execution of seasonal assortments and merchandise strategies.
• Support line reviews, product presentations, assortment planning, and seasonal market preparations.
• Maintain product information, pricing, cost, and assortment data within merchandising systems.
• Coordinate sample management for meetings, product reviews, photography, and marketing initiatives.
• Monitor industry trends, competitive activity, consumer demand, and emerging product opportunities.

Planning & Inventory Analysis

• Support merchandise planning activities by translating seasonal plans into SKU-level reporting and analysis.
• Analyze sales performance, inventory levels, sell-through, stock-to-sales ratios, and replenishment opportunities.
• Prepare recurring business reports, including style selling, category performance, size analysis, inventory recaps, and weekly business summaries.
• Assist with inventory forecasting and identify potential risks, shortages, and opportunities.
• Partner with Planning teams to support inventory optimization and allocation decisions.

Reporting & Data Management

• Create, maintain, and distribute weekly, monthly, and seasonal merchandising reports.
• Ensure accuracy of product, sales, inventory, and purchase order data. Support management of order books, planning tools, and historical business reporting.
• Monitor key business metrics and provide actionable insights to support decision-making.
• Perform size curve analysis and recommend opportunities to improve assortment productivity.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Merchandising, Planning, Allocation, Retail, Wholesale, Digital, Marketing, and Visual Merchandising teams to support business objectives.
• Assist with product launches, promotional initiatives, and seasonal business reviews.
• Communicate business findings and recommendations clearly to internal stakeholders.
• Support additional merchandising and planning projects as assigned.

Women's Specific Responsibilities

• Support the development and execution of seasonal Women's assortments across apparel, footwear, and accessories.
• Analyze women's sales performance, inventory productivity, size selling, and customer purchasing trends to identify opportunities and risks.
• Assist in preparing seasonal market meetings, assortment reviews, product presentations, and line adoption analyses for the Women's business.
• Partner with Planning to monitor inventory levels, replenishment opportunities, and size-scale recommendations for Women's product categories.
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Planning, Retail, Wholesale, Digital, Marketing, and Visual Merchandising teams to support Women's product launches and promotional initiatives.
• Track emerging women's fashion trends, competitive activity, and consumer insights to support assortment recommendations and merchandising decisions.

Merchandise & Buying Support

• Assist in the development and execution of seasonal assortments and merchandise strategies.
• Support line reviews, product presentations, assortment planning, and seasonal market preparations.
• Maintain product information, pricing, cost, and assortment data within merchandising systems.
• Coordinate sample management for meetings, product reviews, photography, and marketing initiatives.
• Monitor industry trends, competitive activity, consumer demand, and emerging product opportunities.

Planning & Inventory Analysis

• Support merchandise planning activities by translating seasonal plans into SKU-level reporting and analysis.

• Analyze sales performance, inventory levels, sell-through, stock-to-sales ratios, and replenishment opportunities.
• Prepare recurring business reports, including style selling, category performance, size analysis, inventory recaps, and weekly business summaries.
• Assist with inventory forecasting and identify potential risks, shortages, and opportunities.
• Partner with Planning teams to support inventory optimization and allocation decisions.

Reporting & Data Management

• Create, maintain, and distribute weekly, monthly, and seasonal merchandising reports.
• Ensure accuracy of product, sales, inventory, and purchase order data.
• Support management of order books, planning tools, and historical business reporting.
• Monitor key business metrics and provide actionable insights to support decision-making.
• Perform size curve analysis and recommend opportunities to improve assortment productivity.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Merchandising, Planning, Allocation, Retail, Wholesale, Digital, Marketing, and Visual Merchandising teams to support business objectives.
• Assist with product launches, promotional initiatives, and seasonal business reviews.
• Communicate business findings and recommendations clearly to internal stakeholders.
• Support additional merchandising and planning projects as assigned.