Associate Vendor Manager

Vendor Relationship Management

• Own relationships with a portion of our 3P vendor-base, collaborating with vendor sales counterparts on a regular basis, sourcing strategic selection and intervening on operations issues as needed.

Assortment Planning and Product Set-up

• Reviews all vendor product proposals and selects products that will best serve our curation strategy. Product set-up activities are conducted in collaboration with our offshore team, with whom the AVM will collaborate extensively, as well as various other cross-functional partners.

Analyzing the Business

• Contributes to Weekly Business Reviews (WBR), deep diving week-over-week, year-over-year, and seasonal changes to the business, ultimately providing recommendations on how to "change the news" and deliver stronger results.

Promotions Sourcing

• Sources funding from vendors to support Ashley's various promotional events and ensures that all agreed upon vendor support is collected in a timely manner.

Vendor Negotiations

• Owes contract negotiations with vendors, including establishing initial marketing, damage and payment terms at vendor set-up, and ongoing agreement maintenance and renegotiation as the business matures.

Trend and Seasonal Support

• Supports our overarching trend and seasonal strategy, including staying on top of trends in the home furnishings industry through research and regular competitive shopping analysis (both in person and online).

What You Need

• 3-5 years of experience in a vendor management, category management, merchandising or retail buyer role (required)
• E-commerce experience (preferred)
• Bachelor's Degree in business administration, merchandising, marketing or a related field (preferred)
• Strong attention to detail
• A high level of comfort synthesizing distinct analyses and data sources into actionable business insights
• Excellent written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and an enthusiasm for working in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment
• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, including Microsoft Excel