VP, DMM, Fine & Fashion Jewelry

SAKS & CO; Texas; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Exemplar Luxury Group, a luxury retailer, seeks a Vice President of DMM to lead merchandising strategy for designated divisions and translate broader strategies into category-specific plans across channels.

The role requires coordinating with Buying, Planning, Stores, Marketing and Digital to drive cohesive product assortments, pricing, promotions, and profitability. Strong leadership and 10+ years in retail merchandising are essential, with Dallas proximity preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail Management, or related field.
• 10+ years of retail merchandising, buying, and brand partnership management, with leadership experience.
• Strong leadership and ability to inspire and align teams.
• Extensive experience in brand negotiations, vendor management, and turning strategies into actionable plans.
• Deep understanding of retail merchandising, buying, and planning processes.
• Dallas strongly preferred based on proximity to Jewelry Operations team.
• Strong financial acumen with pricing, promotions, and markdown decision experience.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the SVP, GMM Leader to translate strategies into actionable category-specific plans and align with financial objectives.
• Orchestrate execution of merchandise strategies with Buying, Planning, Stores, Marketing and Digital for cohesive assortments across channels.
• Work with Buyers to ensure product assortment matches category strategies and customer demand.
• Coordinate with Jewelry Operations for intake, repairs, certificates, and data alignment for special orders and trunk shows.
• Ensure product assortment and activation plans align with market trends and customer demands.
• Analyze product performance to optimize assortment strategies and drive profitability.
• Develop replenishment strategies and improve case line productivity.
• Collaborate with Accounts Payable on asset, consignment, drop ship and cash advance models.
• Support vendor negotiations and top-to-top meetings to secure favorable terms.
• Lead styling and merchandising for key jewelry publications and launches.
• Work with Buying and Planning to define pre-season and in-season roadmaps and pricing decisions.
• Identify exclusive launches with brands and ensure strategic alignment across departments.

Skills

Leadership

Brand negotiations

Merchandising strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail Management, or related field

Job description

WHO WE ARE:

Exemplar Luxury Group, formerly Saks Global, is the luxury collective uniting coveted brands with unrivaled customer experiences across Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Driven by a relentless devotion to our customers and powered by our talented colleagues, we offer expertly curated product assortments, unparalleled service and personalized experiences across our integrated retail model. Through strong partnerships with the world's most desired luxury brands and deep customer relationships enhanced by data-rich insights, Exemplar Luxury Group is committed to setting the standard of excellence for luxury retail.

Job Description:

YOU WILL BE

The Vice President, DMM will play a crucial leadership role in developing and executing the merchandise strategy for designated divisions/categories. This position is responsible for translating broader merchandising and divisional strategies into category-specific plans, leading the execution of these strategies, and aligning product assortment with the company's strategic goals as well as local market nuances.The VP, DMM will drive collaboration across Buying, Planning, and cross-pillar teams such as Stores, Marketing and Digital, ensuring that all strategies are executed effectively to achieve financial goals. With a strong focus on client obsession, brand partner negotiations, distribution, activation, pricing, promotions, and markdown decisions, this leader will guide the business towards achieving growth and profitability. This role is highly integrated into Stores organization and requires quick response to in-the-moment pricing accommodation discussions.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Collaborate with the SVP, GMM Leader to translate broader merchandising and divisional strategies into actionable category-specific strategies and tactics, ensuring alignment with the company's vision and financial objectives
• Orchestrate the execution of merchandise strategies by partnering closely with Buying, Planning, Stores, and cross-pillar teams, including Marketing and Digital, to drive cohesive product assortments and seamless execution across all channels
• Work directly with Buyers and their teams to ensure product assortment is fully aligned with category strategies and that the right products are available to meet customer demand
• Work directly with the Jewelry Operations team to ensure smooth in-take of high value merchandise, repairs processing, box & certificate management, data alignment to support special orders & trunk shows and overall safe and accurate merchandise management; Jewelry Operations interacts heavily with stores, brands and merchants
• Ensure the product assortment and activation plan aligns with market trends, customer demands, and category strategies
• Continuously analyze product performance to optimize assortment strategies and drive profitable growth
• Focus on development of plans to drive case line productivity
• Develop productive replenishment strategies
• Ability to work with Accounts Payable to manage asset, consignment, drop ship and cash advance models
• Support the SVP, GMM Leader in vendor negotiations, 'world of' discussions, and top-to-top meetings, contributing to the development of strong partnerships and favorable terms that align with business goals
• Strong merchant to lead styling and merchandising for semi-annual, jewelry dedicated NM Bejeweled Book and annual Saks Fine jewelry Book
• Collaborate with the Head Of Buying Leaders, and Planning Leads to define and execute the pre-season and in-season roadmap, ensuring strategies and plans are aligned with financial targets and timelines.
• Work with Buying and Planning teams to determine final pricing, promotional strategies, and markdown decisions, ensuring consistency with category strategies while optimizing profitability and margin
• Work with brands to identify exclusive leads and launches
• Lead, inspire, and align buying teams around a shared vision and strategic direction, driving collaboration across functions to meet company objectives and deliver exceptional business results

WHAT YOU WILL BRING

Required Qualifications (Minimum Requirements):

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail Management, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in retail merchandising, buying, and brand partnership management, with a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and driving strategic initiatives at a senior level
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire, align, and lead teams to achieve business objectives
• Extensive experience in brand negotiations, vendor management, and translating broader strategies into actionable plans
• Deep understanding of retail merchandising, buying, and planning processes
• Dallas strongly preferred based on proximity to Jewelry Operations team
• Strong financial acumen, with experience in managing pricing, promotions, and markdown decisions
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while managing multiple priorities effectively