Director, Merchandising - Women's

About the role

Rhone is seeking its first Director, Merchandising - Women's to lead the assortment strategy, line planning, and commercial performance of the brand's growing Women's business. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of the Women's assortment and drive sustainable growth.

Responsibilities

• Gritty : Tenaciously build a comprehensive merchandising strategy across all Women’s product categories. Identify and capitalize on market white space, executing against financial KPIs while protecting the long-term Brand expression.
• Responsible : Own the Go-To-Market (GTM) calendar and long-term Category and Franchise Roadmaps. Deeply understand the women's customer to curate assortments that feel tailor-made for her.
• Excellence : Drive SKU rationalization and ongoing productivity, balancing topline revenue goals with margin and inventory profitability. Lead weekly business reporting and quarterly hindsight reviews to inform proactive grow/maintain/decline strategies.
• Authentic : Take true ownership of your impact by partnering closely with the Planning team on buy depth and Open-to-Buy (OTB) maintenance. Make tough, accountable calls on what stays and what gets cut, and recommend agile chase opportunities as sales trends actualize.
• Team Centered: Channel a Compete to Complete mindset by partnering seamlessly with Design, Ecom, Retail, and Wholesale. Ensure the product shows up flawlessly in each channel, optimizing presentation and launch cadence, while maintaining a unified, Brand-first mentality.

What You'll Do In Your First 30/60/90 Days

• First 30 Days: Immerse yourself in the Rhone brand, deeply understand our female customer profile, and build foundational, cross-functional relationships rooted in an authentic community with Design, Production, and Planning.
• First 60 Days: Take full ownership of the current GTM calendar, evaluate the existing product architecture, and identify immediate SKU productivity and chase/cut opportunities with an eye for innovation and agility.
• First 90 Days: Present your comprehensive long-term merchandising strategy and franchise roadmap to senior leadership, establishing clear growth targets and market positioning for the upcoming seasons.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of merchandising experience with a strong focus on Women's apparel, ideally within the activewear, athletic wear, or performance lifestyle sectors.
• A confident leader and team builder with a history of developing emerging talent and fostering Strength in Numbers through a commitment to team success and cross-functional unity.
• Highly adaptable and resilient; comfortable with ambiguity that allows you to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving retail environment.
• Strategic mindset capable of managing complexity across product lines, seasonal cycles, and omni-channel environments (Direct-to-Consumer, Retail, Wholesale).
• Familiarity with industry-standard merchandising tools, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software, and advanced Excel modeling.
• Excellent communication skills with a proven track record of translating data-driven insights into actionable recommendations.