Merchant

Cos Bar Retail; United States; Remote; USD 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

COS BAR is seeking a commercially driven Merchant to support the development and execution of its merchandising strategy across a curated portfolio of luxury beauty brands. This role is responsible for managing brand relationships, developing compelling assortments, analyzing business performance, and identifying opportunities to drive sales, profitability, and category growth.

The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of luxury beauty, a keen eye for product and brand curation, and the

Qualifications

• 3-7+ years of merchandising, buying, or category management experience in luxury or prestige beauty.
• Strong understanding of luxury beauty, including skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and developing product assortments.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Proficiency in Excel and merchandising or retail reporting systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of luxury beauty brands across skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare.
• Develop and maintain assortments reflecting COS BAR customer, brand positioning, and business objectives.
• Identify new brands, product launches, and trends to support category growth.
• Evaluate assortment productivity and make recommendations to optimize brands and products.
• Identify category and product whitespace opportunities.
• Analyze sales, margin, sell-through, inventory, and SKU productivity across brands and categories.
• Partner with Planning to support forecasting, inventory management, and assortment optimization.
• Monitor product performance and recommend opportunities to improve assortment efficiency and profitability.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with brand partners and vendors.
• Collaborate with Digital and Retail teams to optimize product presentation, navigation, search, and discovery.
• Ensure assortments are cohesive and compelling across stores and e-commerce.

Skills

Merchandising

Buying

Category management

Analytical skills

Excel

Tools

Merchandising reporting systems

Job description

COS BAR is seeking a commercially driven Merchant to support the development and execution of its merchandising strategy across a curated portfolio of luxury beauty brands. This role is responsible for managing brand relationships, developing compelling assortments, analyzing business performance, and identifying opportunities to drive sales, profitability, and category growth.

The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of luxury beauty, a keen eye for product and brand curation, and the analytical skills to translate business insights into actionable merchandising strategies.

• 70k Annually and up depending on experience

Key Responsibilities

Brand & Assortment Management

• Manage a portfolio of luxury beauty brands across skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare.
• Develop and maintain assortments that reflect the COS BAR customer, brand positioning, and business objectives.
• Identify new brands, product launches, and emerging trends that support category growth.
• Evaluate assortment productivity and make recommendations to grow, maintain, or decline brands and products.
• Identify category and product white space opportunities.

Business Analysis & Performance

• Analyze sales, margin, sell-through, inventory, and SKU productivity across brands and categories.
• Identify business trends, opportunities, and risks, translating insights into actionable recommendations.
• Partner with Planning to support forecasting, inventory management, and assortment optimization.
• Monitor product performance and recommend opportunities to improve assortment efficiency and profitability.

Vendor & Brand Relationships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with brand partners and vendors.
• Partner with brands on assortment planning, product launches, promotional opportunities, exclusives, and marketing support.
• Support negotiations around margins, terms, and business opportunities.
• Conduct regular business reviews and communicate performance expectations and opportunities.
• Maintain accurate and consistent product information, including category, product type, benefits, ingredients, formulation, shade, scent family, and size.
• Partner with Digital and E-commerce teams to optimize product presentation, navigation, search, and discovery.
• Ensure assortments are cohesive and compelling across physical stores and e-commerce.

Visual Merchandising & Store Presentation

• Support visual merchandising initiatives that elevate brand presentation and the customer experience.
• Partner with Retail Operations, Marketing, and brand partners on product placement, launches, seasonal floor sets, and in-store activations.
• Ensure product presentation aligns with brand standards and COS BAR's overall positioning.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Planning, Marketing, Digital, Finance, and Retail Operations to execute merchandising priorities.
• Collaborate on seasonal initiatives, new brand introductions, promotional strategies, and inventory opportunities.
• Support the continued evolution of the COS BAR merchandising strategy.

Qualifications

• 3-7+ years of merchandising, buying, or category management experience, ideally within luxury or prestige beauty, specialty retail, or a multi-brand environment.
• Strong understanding of the beauty landscape, including skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and developing product assortments.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret sales, margin, inventory, and product performance.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Proficiency in Excel and merchandising or retail reporting systems.
• A passion for luxury beauty, product discovery, and the COS BAR customer.