Junior Merchandiser – Apparel Full Time

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally. We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Role Overview:

To lead the team to deliver all channel Sales, Markdown, Stock, Intake and Profit Plans

Key Duties/Responsibilities:

Strategy (5%):

• Review Previous Seasons and produce SWOT Analysis with supporting information.
• Alongside the Merchandiser and Buyer create the strategy for the department and present

Plan (25%):

• Create category level product mix using history, SWOT and SMT Plan.
• With Senior Merchandiser formulate the space and grading plan for store distribution.
• Ensure that the WSSI is updated with the buy plan and the KPI’s are signed off with the Senior Merchandiser.
• Attend key selection meetings with the Senior merchandiser and Buyer
• Build the Range plan
• Build Layout plans in conjunction with buying and VM.
• Ensure that scheduling and Ideals are in place for your area of responsibility
• Manage the Stock seasonality within the WSSI.

Stock (15%):

• Overview the ratios for all buys in conjunction with Assistant Merchandiser
• Ensure that the Buy matches the plan Buy
• Establish working relationships with Supplier Base
• Manage the order books both in season and preseason to ensure that the most accurate information is always in the system.
• Manage Intake at category and line level

Trade (45%):

• Reviews’ weekly trading performance and achieved KPI’s, identifying Issues and the course of action in preparation for the weekly trading meetings and submit to the senior merchandiser.
• Propose and agree actions to recover risk and maximise opportunities with the Senior Merchandiser and Buyer at category and line level.
• Monthly – Capture all agreed actions in the monthly forecast reviews
• Work up the forecast from category/Season level to Buyer Group
• Meet and gain approval: Incorporating
• Forecasting any sales variance to plan
• Creation of OTB’s
• Management of commitments – On time delivery, rebuys cancellations
• Markdown proposals
• Provide Retail with Rack List/Hit List through Merchandise Assistants.
• Manage the range plan in Season reflecting any changes
• Manage Line cards
• Visit and understand the store base on a regular basis. Create action plans to Optimise Store performance communicating to the retail Team anything that may impact store performance.
• Manage the store option plans to ensure each store has the optimum amount of stock and neither too full or lacking key lines.
• Establish collaborative working relationships within Team and across functions.

Behavioural:

• Delivering Excellence Working at a consistently high standard & with enthusiasm. you work to deliver a high quality service to meet personal and team expectations.
• Responsibility (Delivers results) Take ownership of your work and use your initiative to deliver. Take responsibility for your own actions & decisions
• Team Work You work with others to reach a common goal; sharing information, supporting colleagues and searching out expertise and solutions from relevant stakeholders.
• Leadership You lead by example through your behaviours and professional approach to work; inspiring your colleagues and driving for results.
• Communication You communicate clearly and concisely, ensuring that the message is understood by all.

Skills/Experience/Knowledge Needed:

• Experience within a similar role is essential
• Experience within a sports/fashion retailer is advantageous
• Highly numerate and strong commercial focus

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work. Thank you for your time #JD