Senior Merchant, 3rd Party & Collaborations

About the role

The Senior Merchant, 3rd Party & Collaborations supports the AVP in building the strategy and execution of Victoria’s Secret 3rd Party Wholesale and Collaborations categories. This role involves comprehensive management of existing third-party brands, successful recruitment & onboarding of new brands, and overseeing merchandising strategy and execution of product collaborations with external brands.

Responsibilities

• Lead and demonstrate strong cross-functional and external brand partnerships with clear and accurate communication
• Lead and influence solutions-based thinking, conflict resolution and productive dialogue in cross-functional and external brand meetings
• Demonstrate ability to layer strategic thinking and business ownership on top of business execution
• Build and maintain strong partnerships by building rapport and communicating effectively with cross-functional partners & third-party brand partners
• Establish and maintain effective channel of communication
• Possess category/business knowledge to gain internal buy-in
• Plan and lead cross-functional team meetings and calls
• Regularly share customer insights and business recommendations in cross functional forums as well as with brand partners, as appropriate
• Execute the seasonal financial plan into a product assortment while preserving brand position and brand image
• Continuously refine product offering based on market trends, customer appetite, and broader VS-brand goals
• Accountable for key meeting prep with style & color ranking, deck preparation, and ad hoc requests and analysis, always staying agile and flexible
• Responsible for ongoing trend analysis and reporting, inclusive of competitive landscape & competitive patterning
• Drive development of a testing agenda to identify and unlock future growth opportunities
• Facilitate brand-to-brand communication
• Manage product strategy and execution
• Support key meetings through deck preparation and completion of ad hoc requests, always staying agile and flexible
• Align seasonal strategy and action plan for all third-party brands; influence growth/maintain/decline for each brand and category
• Deliver comprehensive analysis of third-party business every Monday and provide recommendations to optimize sales and inventory turn
• Partner with Leader on overarching collaborations strategy and influence partner recommendations, assortment strategies, and brand synergy rationale
• Gain alignment from merchant leaders and influence overarching takeaways for Monday Merchant Meetings and promotional recommendations for Tuesday Alignment Meetings
• Advocate for digital and social marketing support for third party. Utilize knowledge of assortment, inventory ownership, and upcoming launches to influence inclusion of third-party products in marketing messages
• Coordinate, schedule, and attend seasonal market appointments and trade shows as necessary to support multiple wholesale market calendars across intimates, apparel, and swim
• Develop the line plan for ongoing/anchor third party brands, including volume, margin, style/choice count, and category penetration consistent with financial goals
• Possess financial accountability for category sales, growth, and margin
• Ensure price-value relationship is in line with customer expectation
• Understand product trends and historical data at the category level to manage in-season opportunities
• Understand and leverage historical data to ensure business is compared appropriately to last year
• Develop and leverage attributes of a successful new brand launch and make recommendations accordingly for continuity or exit
• Analyze, interpret and report financial results on a weekly basis to influence business strategy
• Be the expert of store/regional performance by analyzing size and market trends and making appropriate recommendations
• Negotiate financial terms with wholesale partners, including margin agreements and shipping terms, as well as understand and support royalty negotiations with potential collaborative partners

Requirements

Your Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising, Business Administration or relevant area
• Minimum 7-9 years of experience in merchandising or wholesale, and 2+ years of management experience
• Strong understanding of vertically integrated retail operations
• High intelligence with a true entrepreneurial risk mentality, strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
• Acute sense of brand and customer intimacy
• Acute eye for product and trend with proven talent to envision and interpret fashion trends
• Proficient in conflict management and problem-solving
• Exceptional ability to bridge and enhance cooperative working relationships
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize
• Demonstrated ability in communication, presentation, negotiating and influencing skills
• Ability to lead and inspire with unquestionable integrity and trust
• Systems and computer proficiency (MS Office, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel)

Qualifications

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws. Please see links: California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, Philadelphia Fair Chance Law, San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance An equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate in hiring or terms and conditions of employment because of an individual’s race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status or any other protected category recognized by state, federal or local laws. We only hire individuals authorized for employment in the United States.