Director - Merchandising

Job Summary: 

The Director, Merchandising applies their analytical skills and business expertise to take ownership and drive growth and profitability for their category(s) while articulating a clear strategy and long-term vision that aligns with company objectives. As a department leader, they are responsible for developing and executing strategies as it relates to product, pricing, promotions, high level negotiations and vendor relations. This includes optimization of key, high volume brands, identifying cost saving opportunities and defining category focus & opportunities while fostering continued growth. Developing strategies and programs that differentiate iHerb from key competitors will be imperative, beyond branded assortments.In addition, they will be responsible for hiring, managing and developing Merchants and creating a cohesive, efficient and forward-thinking team. The role directly partners with Senior Management and Executives.  This role is the sixth step in the progression of the Merchandising team's buying structure, and is responsible for making high level merchandising decisions for strategic, top tier accounts.

Job Expectations: 

• Cultivate, direct and support leading edge Merchandising team focused on key categories; enabling them to further develop and grow assigned category with tools for success

• Work closely with Senior Management, Executives and team to develop and implement business strategies for your category(s) and the department's short and long-term growth objectives. 

• Lead your team to strategically negotiate with vendors to secure exceptional everyday pricing, marketing & promotional budgets, special opportunity buys, growth incentives including rebates and accruals, delivery, and payment terms for strategic, top tier accounts.

• Develop, establish, and analyze strategies for key category metrics (KPIs) to drive solutions for category performance, new and existing brands, new products, pricing, gross margin, promotions, and product life cycle while seeking opportunities for improvement

• Create strategies that differentiate iHerb from key competitors beyond branded assortments and price.  

• Align Global and regional Merchandising strategies to capitalize on complementary assortments.

• Partner with our regional teams, legal, tax, supply chain and IM&P to unlock vendor relationships and sales in key markets beyond North America.

• Build and maintain an overall vendor base which creates and sustains a competitive advantage and appropriate product assortment for the aligned category role.

• Establish an action plan to capitalize on category and product innovation, industry trends,  global markets, competitor offerings, consumer trends, and ways to differentiate our offering to exceed customer expectations.

• Foster relationships with strategic, top volume, highly visible existing/new vendors to drive sales, product innovation, margin growth, promotional support and maintain regular and consistent communication to ensure a clear understanding of short/long-term goals and capabilities

• Development and execution of contracts related to suppliers and products

• Approve onboarding of new product/brands and drive open to buy process to ensure timely addition to market

• Manage category gross profit and contribution margin to ensure desired mark-ups, margin and seek strategic pricing opportunities

• Partner with the Inventory Management and Planning leadership team on ensuring stock position, financial prudence, promotion support, and ensuring suppliers provide optimum product flow for a positive customer experience

• Partner on strategies to improve supply chain efficiencies and ensure cost-cutting measures are in place as relates to Merchandising for greater company profitability

• Develop and manage brand, product and category short/long-term promotional activities that are profitable and highly effective in conjunction with suppliers, buyers and Marketing team

• Develop and optimize data/reports to enable in-depth analysis of category successes/challenges

• Comply with company policies and procedures, including safety, business ethics, and standards of conduct

The duties and responsibilities described above may provide only a partial description of this position. This is not an exhaustive list of all aspects of the job.  Other duties and responsibilities not outlined in this document may be added as necessary or desirable, with or without notice.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

   Required:

• Ability to implement, prioritize and coordinate multiple team projects within the company and motivate team to achieve objectives

• Intellectually curious, energetic self-starter that is highly resourceful with a can-do attitude and solid decision-making skills

• Strong data analysis and pricing strategy background  

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Confidence to manage up, secure buy-in from executive leadership, and navigate challenging situations

• Excellent organizational, investigative and problem-solving skills

• Ability to identify processes needing improvement, and to recommend and implement improvements 

• Strong negotiation skills, influencing abilities and relationship management

• Entrepreneurial mindset and positive leader that is a mentor and team player/developer/builder and collaborator with strong interpersonal skills and long term vision 

Equipment Knowledge: 

• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

• Experience with Google Business Suite (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms) preferred

• WMS, EDI, SAP, Asana, Tableau experience a plus

Experience Requirements:

Generally requires a minimum of twelve (12) years of progressive experience in Merchandising with extensive experience in an e-commerce environment, preferably in a strategic setting in a mid to large size global organization.

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