Merchandising & Inventory Strategist

Brobston Group; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Vision, Dental

Retirement

Paid Time Away

Life Insurance

Job summary

Nordstrom is seeking an assistant buyer with an analytical mindset and a customer-first approach to drive merchandising decisions. The role works across functions to understand customer needs, market dynamics, and seasonal strategies.

Responsibilities include partnering with planners, negotiating exclusive offerings, and guiding inventory and markdown decisions to maximize department performance. Proficiency in MS Office and strong communication are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising or equivalent work experience.
• Experience in retail merchandising, planning or analysis.
• Experience supporting a high-sales-volume category (high SKU count, heavy seasonality, high revenue).
• Experience in a relevant merchandise category.
• Demonstrated understanding of retail and the service environment of Nordstrom.
• Proficiency in MS Office suite.
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication and strong interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop an understanding of the needs, wants and expectations of the customer.
• Build an understanding of the market and competitors in their category.
• Establish a clear understanding of the seasonal department merchandise strategy.
• Partner with assistant buy planner on market preparation.
• Contribute to negotiations of exclusive offerings, terms, pricing, vendor funded markdowns, return-to-vendor agreements, drop-ship programs, co-op, etc.
• Function as liaison to online and/or stores as assigned; including effective communication of the selling agenda.
• Contribute to inventory management in season; including driving markdowns and exit strategy.
• Be a student of the business regarding effective analysis and decision making to improve department performance.
• Collaborate with, and respond with a sense of urgency to regional merchandisers regarding customer needs.
• Partner with assistant buy planner to improve the depth and precision of location-level inventory content.
• Participate in business reviews to develop greater understanding of how specific actions impact overall department results.

Skills

MS Office

Strong communication

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Merchandising or equivalent work experience

Tools

MS Office suite

Job description

Nordstrom is seeking an assistant buyer with an analytical mindset and a customer-first approach to drive merchandising decisions. The role works across functions to understand customer needs, market dynamics, and seasonal strategies.

Responsibilities include partnering with planners, negotiating exclusive offerings, and guiding inventory and markdown decisions to maximize department performance. Proficiency in MS Office and strong communication are essential.