A Merchandise Manager plays a pivotal role in the retail industry by ensuring that products are effectively promoted and sold. They are responsible for developing merchandising strategies that increase sales and enhance the customer shopping experience.
This role involves keen market insight, product analysis, and collaboration with various departments. If you are looking to create a well-defined job description for a Merchandise Manager position, you'll want to outline the critical responsibilities, necessary qualifications, and skills that candidates should possess.
This guide will provide you with a valuable template to attract the right talent in a competitive market.
The Merchandise Manager is responsible for a variety of tasks that contribute to effective product placement and sales optimization. Key responsibilities include: 1.
Developing merchandising strategies aligned with company goals. 2.
Analyzing sales data to forecast inventory needs and make purchasing decisions. 3.
Collaborating with marketing and sales teams to create promotional campaigns. 4.
Ensuring effective product displays to enhance the shopper's experience. 5.
Monitoring market trends to identify new opportunities and risks. 6.
Building strong relationships with vendors and suppliers.
To effectively fulfill the role of Merchandise Manager, candidates should meet the following qualifications:
- •Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.
- •Extensive experience in retail or merchandising roles, typically 3-5 years.
- •Strong analytical skills with a focus on data interpretation.
- •Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
- •Proficiency in inventory management software and Microsoft Office Suite.
- •Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects.
Successful Merchandise Managers should possess a diverse skill set that includes:
- •Strong analytical capabilities to assess market trends and sales performance.
- •Creative thinking for merchandising strategies and displays.
- •Negotiation skills for dealing with suppliers and vendors.
- •A solid understanding of customer behavior and retail trends.
- •Leadership qualities to guide teams and motivate staff.
Career advancement opportunities for a Merchandise Manager include roles such as Senior Merchandise Manager, Director of Merchandising, or Retail Operations Manager. Continuous education and staying updated with industry trends will enhance career prospects significantly.
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Key Responsibilities
1.
- •Monitor 500+ SKUs across channels each morning using POS and inventory reports. Adjust open-to-buy and reorder quantities to hit a weekly in-stock target of 95%. This prevents lost sales and reduces emergency air-freight costs.
2.
- •Track daily sales vs. plan and monthly gross margin. Identify underperforming lines (bottom 20%) and propose markdowns, promotions, or delist decisions to protect a target gross margin of 48%. This keeps profitability on track.
3.
- •Produce weekly forecasts with 90% accuracy target using historical sales, seasonality, and promotion calendars. Set replenishment triggers to cut stockouts by at least 20% year-over-year.
4.
- •Build quarterly promotion plans tied to revenue goals (e.g., 15% lift per campaign). Test 3–4 price elasticity scenarios per campaign and measure ROI within 30 days to refine future tactics.
5.
- •Lead quarterly buy meetings with top 10 vendors to secure improved terms (aim for 5–10% lower landed cost or extended payment terms). Link buys to sell-through targets to reduce excess stock by 25%.
6.
- •Create planograms and online merchandising rules for seasonal windows; audit 20 stores per quarter or sample 10% of e-commerce listings to ensure consistent presentation and conversion rates.
7.
- •Coach a team of 3–6 merchandisers, set weekly goals, and run biweekly reviews with marketing, planning, and operations to resolve SKU-level issues quickly.
Actionable takeaway: Prioritize daily inventory accuracy, weekly forecast updates, and monthly margin reviews to protect sales and profit while reducing excess stock.
Required Qualifications
Technical skills
- •Excel and data analysis: Advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, macros). Use these daily to analyze sell-through, calculate open-to-buy, and build weekly forecasts.
- •Business intelligence: Experience with Tableau or Power BI to create dashboards that track KPIs (sales, margin, stock turns). Useful for weekly stakeholder reporting.
- •Merchandising systems: Familiarity with ERP/POS/OMS tools (e.g., NetSuite, JDA, Lightspeed). Required for accurate order entry and inventory reconciliation.
Soft skills
- •Decision-making under pressure: Make SKU-level calls during stock shortages—decide between transfer, expedited reorder, or temporary promotion.
- •Negotiation: Secure vendor concessions (price, freight, terms) to improve margins by 3–7% on key buys.
- •Communication and collaboration: Present plans to marketing and operations and lead weekly cross-functional meetings.
Education / certifications
- •Bachelor’s degree in business, retail merchandising, supply chain, or related field (required).
- •Certified in retail analytics or supply chain (nice-to-have), e.g., APICS CPIM or a data analytics bootcamp certificate.
Experience requirements
- •4–7 years in retail or consumer goods merchandising (required), with P&L exposure and demonstrated impact (e.g., improved sell-through by 10–30%).
- •Category or channel ownership experience (e.g., womenswear, electronics, e-commerce) preferred.
- •Leadership: Managed a small merchandising team (3+ direct reports) or led cross-functional project delivery.
Actionable takeaway: Hire candidates with the technical tools to run weekly forecasts, the negotiation skills to protect margins, and proven experience delivering measurable merchandising results.