Merchandising Assistant

Crate and Barrel; Northbrook (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Crate and Barrel is seeking a Merchandiser to support the Merchant team with vendor partnerships and ongoing product category management. The role focuses on developing and maintaining assortments, SKU counts and cross-functional execution to meet sales and margin goals.

The ideal candidate brings strong detail orientation, excellent communication skills, and experience in merchandising. On-site in Northbrook, IL with potential remote flexibility on Fridays is expected.

Qualifications

• BA/BS preferred.
• Previous merchandising experience preferred.
• Strong written and oral communication across all levels of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Support Merchant team through vendor partnership and communication.
• Support Merchant team in building and maintaining assortment plans and SKU counts.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to execute assortment strategies.
• Work with Catalog/Marketing to execute in-season product assortment.
• Communicate promotional details to all cross-functional partners.
• Provide SKU/assortment information to Merchandise Operations for input.
• Develop recommendations for product assortment strategies to improve margins; execute exit strategies as needed.
• Conduct competitive intelligence to identify opportunities and challenges for in-season and future seasons.
• Assist in negotiating product costs, terms, and shipping/return issues.
• Investigate and handle field and/or store issues as they arise.

Skills

Detail oriented

Communication

Team player

Excel

Merch planning

Education

Bachelor's degree (BA/BS)

Job description

Overview

Supports Divisional Merchant/Sr. Merchant and Merchant teams in developing and managing the product assortments, vendor partnerships and ongoing product category business. Works with cross-functional partners to execute the product assortment strategy in accordance with the sales, margin and turnover goals for the assigned product category.

Location: On-site Monday through Thursday at our Northbrook, IL office with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

Responsibilities

• Support Merchant team through vendor partnership and communication
• Support Merchant team in building and maintaining assortment plans and SKU counts
• Support Merchant team by working with cross-functional partners to execute assortment strategies
• Work with Catalog/Marketing team to execute in-season product assortment
• Communicate promotional details to all cross-functional partners
• Provide SKU/assortment information to Merchandise Operations for input
• Develop recommendations for product assortment strategies, based on targeted research and analysis, to achieve specific margin objectives. Execute exit strategies as needed
• Conduct competitive intelligence and use information to identify opportunities and challenges for in-season business and future seasons
• Support Merchant teams with negotiating product costs, terms, and shipping/return issues
• Support Merchant teams by investigating and handling field and/or store issues

What you’ll bring to the table

• Strong detail orientation, organized, ability to multi-task
• Strong oral and written communication skills sufficient to communicate credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization
• Team player with a focus on collaboration
• Proficient learner of planning and Merchant systems
• Microsoft Office proficiency, including Microsoft Excel

We’d love to hear from you if you have

• BA/BS preferred
• Previous experience in merchandising and/or related experience preferred