VP Merchandising Outlet

Location: Hingham, Massachusetts US

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This position is no longer open.

Job Number: 6265

Position Title: VP Merchandising

External Description:

Basic Purpose: 

The Vice President of Merchandising is responsible for developing, initiating and leading the Talbots merchandising strategies to drive revenue growth and deliver greater market share for the Outlet business. The VP, Merchandising, is a highly effective collaborative partner and inspiring leader who communicates effectively with the team and with key functional leaders, linking the merchandising department to the production, planning, marketing & CRM departments to drive profitability. 

 

Principal Accountabilities:  

  1. Serves as the key merchandising leader for the Outlet channel. Responsible for driving overall merchandising assortment strategy to deliver “customer right” product at a value, resulting in top-line growth and bottom line profitability.  Position is integral to all strategic growth discussions, including the definition and execution of the three year merchandising plan that supports the overall company’s three-year growth initiatives.
  2. Partners with VP of Product Development and SVP, Design to develop and implement a compelling and unique seasonal product assortment to align with the company’s vision. Applies strategic and analytical thinking in creating a product roadmap that supports the continued growth of Talbots’ multi-channel expansion.
  3. Manage the merchandising calendar in adherence to product development and merchandising process and catalog production cycle.
  4. Maintains a pulse on the competition to ensure company’s relevance in the marketplace and to identify new areas of opportunity for growth.
  5. Develops in-depth knowledge of the customer, anticipating her demands and determining what is “next” by closely following their consumer behavior patterns and aspirations, influences and relationship to the brand.
  6. Responsible for researching and monitoring fashion trends (color, fabrication, texture, trim, wash, silhouette, styling, construction). Condenses this information into an overall seasonal development strategy and effectively drives product creation that differentiates Talbots Outlet from its full price channels as well as its competition.
  7. Provides visionary leadership to the merchandising department. Hires, reviews, and modifies the department staff as necessary to assure qualitative and quantitative goals are being met.
  8. Collaborates with cross-functional business partners to develop strategies for customer acquisition and loyalty, which enhances Talbots brand and results in increased store sales and online growth, ensuring product strategies marry up to how the customer wants to shop today in a value based channel setting.
  9. Partners with marketing and digital teams to develop seasonal strategies and promotions.
  10. Key partner with visual and stores teams to ensure the look and feel of stores is consistent with merchandising direction.
  11. Serves as a brand champion with the utmost respect for the authenticity of the brand and a positive contributor to the Talbots culture of collaboration and communication.

 

 

Internal and External Relationships:

 

External:

 

Internal:

  • Director, Planning
  • Merchandise Managers
  • Merchants , Merchants, Associate Merch, Assistant Merchants,

 

Education/Experience/Knowledge:

 

  • Proven leader with 10+ years of experience as a successful Merchant; possess professional maturity, industry credibility and a proven track record of success achieving growth and overseeing brand development.
  • Possess a relentless focus and passion for the product and customer with the ability to surprise and delight by exceeding expectations and continuous improvement.   
  • Proactive and anticipatory merchant who considers customer preferences while balancing the overall brand aesthetic and achievement of the desired financial objectives.
  • Possess the necessary experience, versatility and agility needed to navigate a complex multi-size intensive environment with monthly product flow into the stores.
  • Highly collaborative partner and inspiring leader who can communicate effectively with the team and key functional leaders, linking merchandising to the production, planning, marketing, & CRM departments to drive profitability. 
  • Brings best-in-class merchandising discipline and well-rounded merchandising acumen including functional experience in assortment planning, buying, product development, trend, pricing, and lifecycle management.
  • Possesses strong management skills, demonstrated by the ability to identify, motivate and retain a talented team.
  • Strong merchant leader who balances financial acumen, excellent analytical skills, strategic thinking and problem solving skills with creativity and passion for product and a commercial eye.
  • Brings maturity, wisdom and a collaborative orientation to the role. Communicates his/her vision in an effective manner.  Viewed as credible and skillful in terms of his/her ability to influence the functional teams as well as the executive committee. 

 

 

Key Competencies Desired for Success:

Performance Orientation and Winning Attitude: Passionate about winning and working in an organization that is focused on the “team win” verses their “own win”.  Comfortable with a “Talbots First” operating mentality.  Identifies with and strives hard to enable the business to achieve challenging and stretching performance targets, which go significantly beyond previous levels.  Personally identifies with the strategic brand vision and takes pride in shared success.  Employs data-based decision making balanced with strong levels of intuitiveness and sound judgment.  Well organized and rigorous in prioritization of issues and opportunities

 

Pragmatic Strategist with an Eye for Detail and Execution: The successful individual operates effectively in both strategic and tactical worlds.  This individual is as comfortable articulating the vision and mission of the overall business as he/she is in evaluating the performance of last week's key items and challenging the ownership and sell through.  This individual builds strategies based on an attention, understanding and awareness for detail and bias for action.

 

Collaborative Operating Style: Proactive communicator with a keen sense of how to deeply connect with people and build trust.  This highly effective leader handles differences openly, candidly and constructively with the best interest of the organization in mind, while actively seeking input from others and creating an atmosphere where ideas and information are easily exchanged.  Well-developed influencing and consensus-building skills.

 

Inspiring Interpersonal Effectiveness: Has the ability to make the complex simple. The ideal candidate has high integrity, adaptability and flexibility and is able to quickly establish rapport and maintains productive relationships with subordinates, superiors and peers.  

 

Player/Coach Style of Leadership: A true team player, coach and mentor focused on the success of others more than himself/herself.  A confident, yet supportive leader with high standards of performance and the ability to inspire others to perform at their best.

 

Character and Personal Attributes:

  • Confident, mature leader with low-ego and humility
  • Respectful change-agent
  • Fast paced and detail-oriented
  • Appropriately demanding yet nurturing
  • High energy, roll-up-the sleeves mentality
  • Optimistic entrepreneurial spirit
  • Passionate about the customer and the company – particularly the value customer
  • Emotionally invested in the company vision

 

 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel assigned to this job.

 

 

City:

State:

Community / Marketing Title: VP Merchandising Outlet

Company Profile:

Talbots is a leading omni-channel specialty retailer of women's clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company is known for modern classic style that's both timeless and timely, fine quality craftsmanship and gracious service. At Talbots relationships are the key to our business, we hire individuals who bring new ideas to the table, understand smart risk taking and  can enhance an already thriving culture.  With a commitment to offer modern classic style for every body type, through a  full range of sizes, inclusive to every woman in your life.

EEO Employer Verbiage:

Talbots is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from diverse candidates. Hiring decisions are based upon a candidate's qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration and are made without regard to race, sex, national origin, color, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, religion, or any other category protected by applicable law. Talbots is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for job applicants with disabilities. If you require an accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position you are seeking or to participate in the application process please contact recruiting@talbots.com. Talbots will make reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified applicants or employees, unless such accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the operations of the Company’s business.

PositionType_Description: Full Time

Location_formattedLocationLong: Hingham, Massachusetts US

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