Assistant Manager, Trade Marketing (Dept. Stores)

About the Role

Managing Department Stores (Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Holt Renfrew, BlueMercury, Cosbar, FSS).

• Assist with leading execution of trade marketing strategies for Department Stores in close collaboration with Commercial Account leads, focusing on sales-driven activations.
• Manage retailer partnerships to develop and implement strategic promotions, ensuring optimal sell-through and strong ROI.
• Optimize sampling programs with a focus on driving conversion and maximizing product trial effectiveness.
• Develop trade marketing materials for retailer meetings and internal stakeholder presentations (e.g., Field Asset Packages, activation plans, retailer marketing decks).
• Track business performance, measuring campaign success and leveraging retail insights to refine strategies for NPD and Core launches.
• Analyze consumer shopping trends to identify category gaps and develop recommendations that drive commercial success and product innovation.
• Support new product development with retailer-specific insights, ensuring launches align with the Department Store market demands and competitive positioning.

Retailer Co-Op Media

• Partner with retailers to optimize co-op advertising investments that drive conversion and sell-through.
• Ensure alignment between brand campaigns and retailer promotional strategies to maximize impact.
• Track performance metrics and ROI of co-op media placements to refine future investments.

VM Briefs (Visual Merchandising Briefs)

• Develop trade-focused visual merchandising strategies to enhance in-store product visibility and conversion.
• Optimize promotional displays and fixtures to align with the Department Store's seasonal priorities and retail goals.
• Collaborate with VM teams to ensure trade marketing activations are seamlessly integrated into store environments.

Sampling Strategy / Management

• Design retailer-specific sampling programs tailored to drive trial and conversion within Department stores and Pure Play channels.
• Manage sampling distribution, ensuring optimal placement and alignment with promotional calendars.
• Track sampling effectiveness, leveraging retailer insights to optimize future strategies.

Market Meetings

• Assist with leading trade marketing discussions in market meetings, ensuring alignment between brand activations and retailer sales strategies.
• Assist with presenting business performance insights, category trends, and trade-driven marketing initiatives to key stakeholders.
• Partner with Commercial teams to refine retailer marketing strategies based on feedback and competitive insights.

Who You Will Work With

Reports to Director, National Accounts (Dept. Stores).

Requirements

• 2+ years of related Marketing experience with beauty industry experience preferred.
• Takes pride in being best in class, cutting edge all the while being an awesome team player.
• Self-starter and highly motivated; capable of working independently, yet collaboratively, within an entrepreneurial founder-led brand.
• Is resilient to change and thrives in an extremely fast-paced environment.
• Thorough knowledge of market/consumer trends.
• Strategic thinking with demonstrated business acumen and ability to develop recommendations based on data.
• Ability to influence others, gaining support and buy-in towards a desired outcome.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and results-oriented with a strong ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong project management skills—candidate must be comfortable taking on new challenges and roles to support a lean and growing team.

Benefits

• Base Salary Range - $80,000-90,000.
• Generous staff discount to use on all products.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Commuter Benefits (Pre-tax).
• Flex Spending Account (FSA).
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• 401(k) with Company match.
• Paid Time Off.
• Birthday PTO.