SeniorMerchandiser WehaveanexcitingopportunityforaSeniorMerchandisingworkingintheMorleysStoresGroupheadofficebasedinWimbledon.ItisafulltimepositionreportingtotheHeadofMerchandising. MorleysDepartmentStoresGroupisanindependent,privately-owneddepartmentstoregroupthatoperates7storesprincipallyinGreaterLondonandNewbury,andanEcommerceplatformforourflagshipstoreinWimbledon.Ourstoresareattheheartoflocalcommunitiesandhavecenturiesofheritage,brandtrustandloyalty-allkeytothevalueswebringtolifein-storeandthroughourcommunications. RoleOverview TheSeniorMerchandiserisresponsibleforleadingthecommercialplanningstrategyacrossdesignatedproductcategories,managing,andoptimisingproductrangestodrivesales,maximiseprofitability,andcontrolstockacrossa£100mdepartmentstoregroup. Thisroledrivessales,profit,stockoptimisationthrougheffectiveplanning,forecasting,tradingandinventory,thisrolecombinescommercialanalysis,strategicplanning,andcross-functionalcollaborationtoensuretherightproductsareavailableattherighttime,intherightquantitiesacrossour7-storeportfolio. KeyResponsibilities Planning&Trading Developanddeliverseasonalandannualmerchandisefinancialplansalignedwithbusinessstrategy,companysalesandmargintargets DriveforecastingaccuracyandmanageOTB(OpentoBuy)processesandbudgetsandstocklevelstoensureeffectiveinventorycontrol Drivesales,profitandstockperformanceacrossmultiplelocationsanddigitalchannelswhereapplicable Monitorweeklysales,stock,andmarginperformance,identifyingrisksandopportunities Re-forecastsalesandintakebasedonperformancetrendsandmarketconditions Analysehistoricalperformance,markettrendsandcustomerbehaviourtoidentifycommercialopportunitiesandrisks Range&StockManagement Owninseasontradingperformanceandproactivelyreacttoweeklytradeperformance Managestockallocation(RROs)andintakeflowtooptimiseproductavailabilityacrossallcategories,increasesell-throughandminimisemarkdownandimprovestockproductivity Ensureeffectivereplenishmentandallocationstrategiesareinplaceacrossallstores. Identifyunderperformingcategories,brandsorstoresandworkwithbuyingteamtoimplementrecoveryactions Overseestockturn,sell-throughrates,andagedstockmanagement Leadmarkdownandpromotionalstrategiestodriverevenueandclearstockefficiently CommercialAnalysis Analysehistoricalperformance,markettrendsandcustomerbehaviourtoidentifycommercialopportunitiesandrisks. Partnercloselywiththebuyingteamstobuildcommerciallybalancedassortmentsandcategorystrategies Provideactionableinsightstobuyingandseniorleadershipteams Usedatatoinfluencerangeplanning,pricingarchitecture,promotionalactivityandmarkdowndecisions SatelliteDepartmentrelationships WorkcloselywithBuyerstounderstandrangebuilding PartnerwithFinance,Marketing,andStoreOperationsteamstoalignontradingplans TeamLeadership Manage,coachanddevelopJuniorMerchandisersandBuyingAdministrators Setclearobjectivesandperformanceexpectationsfortheteam,providecoachingtoimproveteamperformance Buildmerchandisingcapabilitythroughtrainingandmentoring Encourageacollaborative,commerciallyfocusedandsolution-orientedteam Ensurestrongaccuracy,paceandattentiontodetailacrossallmerchandisingprocesses KeySkills&Experience Provenexperienceinmerchandisingwithinfashion,home,beautyretail(departmentstoreenvironmentpreferred) Strongcommercialacumenwithatrackrecordofdrivingsalesandmargin AdvancedanalyticalskillswithproficiencyinExcel Experiencemanagingbudgetsandstockvolumes. Excellentplanning,organisation,andprioritisationskills KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs) Salesandmarginperformance Stockturntarget2.3to2.5 Markdownpercentageofsales Budget&Forecastaccuracy OTBmanagement PersonalAttributes Highlyanalyticalwithstrongattentiontodetail. Commerciallydrivenandcustomerfocused Strategicthinkerwithstrongtradinginstincts Highlyorganisedanddetailoriented Resilientandadaptableinafast-pacedenvironment Proactiveproblemsolverwithstrongdecision-makingcapabilityandresultsfocused. Collaborativeteamplayerwithleadershipcapability Desirable Experienceina£100msalesturnover. Knowledgeofdepartmentstoretrading. Experiencewithmerchandisingsoftware(e.g.SAP/BYD,Futura)