PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANISATION:

Responsible for maximising the sales, profitability & brand equity of the GCC organisation by building and leading the merchandising strategy for the market.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Shape and lead the GCC Merchandising strategy for Own retail & franchise channels in partnership with HUB.
• Deliver financial targets including Net sales, Sell through, standard margin, IDL inventory for the cluster.
• Own, lead and implement the buying and range management and GTM strategy for all categories with HUB & local CTC team direction.
• Accountable for executing the pre-season planning defined in collaboration with HUB and the end to end category responsibility (including range planning, forecasting, including handover to Demand Planning)
• Maximize new & in season business opportunities by understanding and executing on respective channel potentials
• Constantly monitor Industry developments in their category and cascade intelligence to the organisation.
• Interface with key stakeholders including Marketing, Visual Merchandising (VM), Store Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Logistics
• Drive innovation across the function in terms of process automation and optimisation to improve availability across channels
• Focus & own the development of team members
• Provide fact-based category input and feedback for internal/external stakeholders.
• Execute the continuous improvement of all merchandising systems and tools to suit world class merchandising practise.
• Market visits as needed and advised by the business (expected ratio office/travel is 80%/20%).
• Role model the leadership framework and ONE EM mindset.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• HUB Merch Director, BU Directors (category merchandising), CTC (Concept-to-Consumer), , Director Franchise, Director eCOM& Business Development.
• Marketing activation Own Retail Stores.
• Sr Retail Director GCC
• Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Procurement and Logistics team
• Finance/Controlling

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Leadership and influencing skills
• Role model for collaboration, confidence & creativity
• Passion for product & retail
• Detailed knowledge of Merchandising, ranging, forecasting & budget planning.
• Ability to work effectively within a team environment and under pressure
• Strong analytical and communication skills
• Strong trading mindset, with an entrepreneurial flair to maximize business opportunities.
• Fluent in English and other language(s) is an advantage

REQUISITE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• University degree, ideally in business with marketing and sales focus- MBA a plus
• Total of 8 years experience with minimum 5+ years’ leadership / directorial / head of dept experience of core buying &merchandising function preferably in a retail organization, with broad-based experience working with fashion franchises, vertical and multichannel retailers. Experience working with a Sporting Goods retailer is preferred.
• Functional awareness of store operations, Visual Merchandising, Marketing Activation, Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Logistics
• Experienced in working with internal stakeholders and external agencies to establish efficient and scalable processes
• Experienced in working cross-functional within international organization