Director of Merchandising; Americas (Sports Marketing/Retail)

Director of Merchandising; Americas (Sports Marketing/Retail)

The Director, Merchandising Americas will be responsible for our overall product strategy in Canada and South/Central America covering men's, women's and youth apparel; outdoor product; and accessories. The Merchandising Director will oversee and synergize the product function, leveraging the in-line product offerings and adding SMU's as appropriate to create the best product mix for these diverse markets. The position will focus on building a team of product and market experts based both in-country and at headquarters. This team will own the product engine and will be responsible for driving positive results across all the categories. A successful candidate will work closely with the VP to develop/execute a unique and powerful plan focused against creating top line results and driving bottom line efficiency.

Specific responsibilities will include, but not be limited to the following:

Define future opportunities and develop comprehensive business plans to maximize revenue potential for our company as the progressive Global Athletic Brand of the next generation.

Budget for and build the team that will make our brand the best athletic brand in the world both on field/court and off.

Drive product launch strategy, interact with sales, manufacturing, and creative marketing to define these requirements, and coordinate required interaction.

Manage product calendar including turn times and catalogue. Refine and sharpen this model.

Develop product requirements and communicate product vision for ongoing releases and new product opportunities.

Establish processes for management of product requirements throughout product lifecycle.

Determine and budget against strategic forecast.

Analyze competitive landscape and user segmentation to develop a strong product roadmap.

Develop business plan including range plan, line plan, margin targets and creative briefing.

Manage and monitor product demand and inventory levels. Work closely with sales operations to maintain sound forecasting and healthy inventory levels.

Work closely with the design and development teams providing strong judgment and direction when making feature/functionality/schedule trade-offs.

Translate customer needs and technology directions into product definitions.

Responsible for educating the sales force on new product technology or function.

Manage the complete product life cycle. Provide direction and coordination within the AMERICAS team for the delivery of current and future product releases.

Develop marketing materials in conjunction with creative marketing and communications including detailed competitive positioning and analysis.

Work close with creative marketing to develop POP, POS and advertising opportunities.

Write clearly understood documents targeted at various audiences (R&D, engineering, customers, analysts, press, management) as well as making presentations to large/small groups.

Deconstruct complex problems and drives the product team to arrive at effective and actionable solutions.

Professional Experience / Qualifications

Given the fact that this is a new role for the Company, it will be absolutely critical that the Merchandising Director work cross-functionally throughout our company to build a collaborative, supportive operating environment. We need a consensus builder and an owner to move the needle where we haven't before.

The Merchandising Director will be strategic and filled with intellectual curiosity with a minimum of 8-10 years of experience in increasingly senior product management positions. The individual will likely have deep experience in a well-regarded consumer products company, and a deep professional/personal involvement and/or relationship with performance apparel. Regardless of background, the Director of Merchandising will have demonstrated his/her ability to act as a change agent and entrepreneur, which will be evident through a proven track record of business results and market share growth.

The successful candidate will be a highly experienced leader who makes a strong personal presentation. The candidate must be able to create and communicate a clear, inspiring vision and translate that vision into a practical, results-focused action plan. Conversely, the successful candidate must also be able to define, construct, drive and build successful process and best practices.

Education

An undergraduate degree is required. A post-graduate business degree is preferred.