VP, Divisional Merchandise Manager (Tops)

Maurices; Duluth (MN); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

401k matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Maurices Incorporated seeks a VP, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Tops, to lead the Tops merchandising vision and performance across omni-channel operations. The role requires deep product expertise, strong fashion instinct, and a clear aesthetic perspective to create differentiated, customer-led assortments.

You will drive strategy, manage a large team, and collaborate across Design, Sourcing, Planning, Marketing, and Stores to achieve growth, profitability, and inventory goals, while aligning

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Business, Fashion, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive merchandising experience, including leadership in specialty/fashion retail.
• Experience owning and growing large, high-volume categories or businesses.
• Significant experience leading large teams and developing leaders.

Responsibilities

• Own the divisional strategy and financial performance for Tops.
• Lead merchandising team to translate insights into seasonal concepts and assortments.
• Partner with Design and Sourcing to influence product development from concept to execution.
• Drive category strategies across the Tops portfolio and balance innovation with core volumes.
• Lead, develop, and inspire a large merchandising organization.

Skills

Product eye

Fashion sense

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Brand Overview

At maurices, we’re all about feel-good fashion for real life. We’re committed to our service with style promise and to offering affordable fashion that takes women from workday to weekend—and all of life’s adventures in between. With inclusive sizing from 0–24, maurices is known for versatile styles across key categories like denim, dresses, tops, and more. We’ve been doing this since 1931, and today you’ll find us in over 800 communities across North America and online at maurices.com. At maurices, it’s more than clothes - it’s where fun, friendship and fashion come together! We believe in putting People First — and that starts with you. We’re a collaborative team that leads with kindness, values authenticity, stays curious, and moves with agility. We work smart, have fun, and support one another in a generously flexible environment that empowers you to thrive both personally and professionally. We’re headquartered in the heart of Duluth, Minnesota overlooking the beautiful shores of Lake Superior. Our original hometown offers the perfect blend of natural beauty, four-season adventure, and a vibrant college town atmosphere.

Position Overview

Role Purpose The VP, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Tops is a senior omni-channel merchandising leader responsible for driving the vision, strategy, and performance of the Tops business. This leader is a product expert with an exceptional eye, strong fashion instinct, and clear aesthetic point of view, with the ability to translate customer insights, market trends, and business performance into compelling assortments that differentiate maurices. The DMM leads a large, high-performing merchandising organization and is accountable for developing talent, driving key categories, and delivering both long-term growth and in-season results. This role requires a strong merchant who can balance art and science, combining product intuition and trend leadership with financial acumen, customer insights, and disciplined execution. As a senior leader, the DMM is a brand ambassador and influential cross-functional partner who builds alignment across Merchandising, Planning & Allocation, Product Management & Sourcing, Marketing, and other key functions.

Key Responsibilities

Product & Merchandising Leadership

• • Own the overall product vision and merchandising strategy for Tops, ensuring assortments are compelling, differentiated, customer-led, and aligned to the maurices brand.
• • Serve as the product authority for the division, bringing deep expertise in tops, fashion, trend, color, silhouette, fabrication, fit, and key item development.
• • Bring a strong aesthetic point of view and exceptional eye for product, continually raising the bar for assortment quality, newness, relevance, and presentation.
• • Lead the merchandising team in translating customer insights, market intelligence, competitive trends, and business performance into seasonal concepts and assortments.
• • Identify and capitalize on emerging trends and category opportunities while maintaining a clear understanding of what is right for the maurices customer.
• • Drive category strategies across the Tops portfolio, identifying where to grow, maintain, evolve, or reposition the business.
• • Partner closely with Design and Sourcing to influence product development from concept through execution, ensuring product delivers against both the creative vision and financial objectives.
• • Balance innovation and fashion newness with proven volume drivers and core businesses.

Business & Strategy

• • Own the divisional strategy and financial performance, delivering sales, margin, inventory, and profitability goals.
• • Develop short- and long-term strategies that position the Tops business for sustainable growth.
• • Lead the team in managing the in-season business, quickly identifying opportunities and taking decisive action to maximize sales, margin, and inventory productivity.
• • Use data, customer insights, competitive intelligence, and merchant instinct to make thoughtful decisions while maintaining a strong point of view.
• • Anticipate shifts in the customer, marketplace, and business and proactively adjust product and category strategies.
• • Maintain an enterprise perspective, understanding how decisions within Tops impact the broader assortment, customer experience, and company.

People Leadership

• • Lead, inspire, and develop a large merchandising organization, creating clarity around vision, priorities, expectations, and accountability.
• • Build a strong merchant bench by developing product expertise, business acumen, decision-making capability, and leadership skills across the team.
• • Set a high bar for product and performance while creating an environment where teams are empowered to challenge, innovate, and act.
• • Effectively lead through leaders, setting clear objectives and ensuring appropriate delegation and ownership throughout the organization.
• • Identify and develop successors and high-potential talent for key merchandising roles.
• • Foster a culture that is customer-focused, collaborative, curious, agile, and accountable.

Organizational Leadership

• • Lead with integrity and a People First mindset, modeling maurices' values and leadership expectations.
• • Serve as a trusted voice on product and customer strategy, influencing decisions beyond the Tops division.
• • Build strong partnerships across Merchandising, Planning & Allocation, Product Management & Sourcing, Marketing, and Stores to deliver a cohesive customer experience.
• • Balance divisional needs with broader company priorities and enterprise goals.
• • Influence the future direction of maurices by bringing forward ideas, opportunities, and a clear perspective on the customer, product, and competitive landscape.

Education/Skills and Experience Requirements

Education

• • Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Business, Fashion, or a related field preferred.

Experience

• • 10+ years of progressive merchandising experience, including significant leadership experience with a successful specialty, fashion, or apparel retailer.
• • Deep experience merchandising tops or closely related women’s apparel categories strongly preferred.
• • Demonstrated success owning and growing large, high-volume categories or businesses.
• • Significant experience leading large teams and developing leaders, with a track record of building strong merchant talent and succession pipelines.
• • Proven success developing customer-led assortments and translating trends into commercially successful product.
• • Experience managing complex businesses across multiple channels strongly preferred.

Skills

• • Exceptional product eye and strong fashion aesthetic, with the ability to distinguish great product from good product.
• • Deep understanding of the women’s apparel and tops market, including trends, silhouettes, fabrications, color, outfitting, pricing, and competitive dynamics.
• • Strong merchant instinct combined with outstanding analytical and financial acumen.
• • Ability to articulate a clear product vision and inspire teams and cross-functional partners around it.
• • Strong understanding of the customer and ability to translate customer needs into commercially successful assortments.
• • Proven ability to lead large, complex teams through change and evolving business priorities.
• • Strong talent developer with the ability to coach both established and emerging leaders.
• • Highly influential and collaborative, with exceptional communication and relationship-building skills.
• • Strategic thinker who can move fluidly between enterprise strategy, category strategy, and product-level decisions.
• • Decisive, agile, and comfortable making informed decisions in a fast-moving retail environment.
• • Ability to travel as needed.

Location

Corporate Office-maurices-Duluth, MN 55802

Position Type and Pay

Position Type: Regular/Full time Pay Range: Annual Salary: $175,000.00 - $220,000.00 This position is eligible for an annual incentive compensation based on company performance.

How We Work

Our Smart Work program pairs the best of in‑person collaboration with the flexibility to work remotely, guided by business needs and the nature of each role. Corporate associates work at least three days a week in our offices, with teams setting core days to brainstorm, build relationships, and move work forward. The goal is simple: help you do your best work, stay connected to your team, and maintain healthy work‑life balance.

What We Offer

We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support your health, financial security, and work-life balance. Full-time associates are eligible for a suite of benefits. Choice of three medical plans, including a PPO plan or High-Deductible plans. High-Deductible plans offer the option of a Health Savings Account, with employer contribution. Additional benefits include Dental, and Vision coverage, Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare and Dependent Care), Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity coverage, Voluntary Life, Spouse, and Child Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability coverage. maurices provides, at no cost to our associates, Basic Life Insurance and Short-Term Disability coverage, access to our Wellbeing platform with Personify Health, and an Employee Assistance Program available for associates and their families. After 6 months of employment, you may be eligible for our 401(k), which offers an immediately vested Safe Harbor matching contribution. maurices supports continued education with our Tuition Assistance program, available after 1 year of employment. Associates also have access to PTO benefits, including vacation (with accrual or flexible options based on role), annual sick time awards, holiday pay, and two weeks of New Parent Leave for birth, adoption, or foster placement. We offer continuous opportunities for learning, connection building through Associate Resource Groups and for our Duluth based associates, free access to a state-of-the-art onsite Fitness Facility.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company is committed to hiring and developing the most qualified people at all levels. It is our policy in all personnel actions to ensure that all associates and potential associates are evaluated on the basis of qualifications and ability without regard to sex (including pregnancy), race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability that can reasonably be accommodated without undue hardship, genetic information, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected classification under federal, state, or local law. We do not discriminate in any of our employment policies and practices. All associates are expected to follow these principles in all relationships with other associates, applicants, or others with whom we do business. maurices is a women's apparel retailer that celebrates feel good fashion for real life. Established in 1931, maurices is known for its friendly service, trusted stylists, and for being guided by its greater purpose of making a positive difference in the lives of women who are the heart of its hometowns. In 2022, maurices introduced evsie, an apparel brand for tween girls, with an invitation to style with all their heart. maurices currently operates more than 900 stores in communities across North America with an evsie style shop available in 150 maurices stores and counting! Discover even more fashion at maurices.com.