Assistant Merchandiser

at  OKA

Founded over 20 years ago by three entrepreneurialwomen with a passion for beautiful, practical and comfortable homes, OKA ismore than a furniture and homeware retailer: it is a love affair with livingwell.
We inspire people to confidently create a homethat reflects their personality, a space where nothing should be too preciousor perfect to be enjoyed with family and friends. British-born, today wehave 13 stores across the UK, an establishedInterior Design and Trade business, a mail-order service and a thrivingwebsite.
We are currently looking to recruit a full-time Assistant Merchandiserto support our Merchandise team, based at our office in Didcot, Oxfordshire.
We operate a hybrid working model: three or more days from theoffice, the remainder of the week from home.

ABOUT US

We know the best work is done by people who enjoy their jobs, sowe create a fun and nurturing environment where everyone feels valued and isable to thrive. We are looking for an agile and proactive AssistantMerchandiser with a positive attitude and entrepreneurial spirit who can helpus nurture this company culture.
Reporting directly to the Merchandiser, the Assistant Merchandiseris responsible for supporting the planning and trading of the product ranges,to achieve maximum sales and profit growth whilst keeping within agreed stockand cost targets.

• Awareness of the OKAbrand and where it sits in the UK markets
• Understand our customer profile& segments
• Demonstrateunderstanding of competitors ranges and use this information to makerecommendations
• Track competitor productranges, pricing and promotional tactics
• Have a clearunderstanding of our channels and their varying requirements
• Minimise alldepartmental costs where possible (incl. raw materials)
• Build and maintainstrong relationships across the wider business
• Lead the made to orderprocess and production management ensuring timely escalation of any challenges
• Provide exceptionalinternal and external customer service throughout all touchpoints of the MTOprocess, end customer, manufacturer and internal departments
• Role-modelling our Company Values and Behaviours

Planning & Analysis

• Understand departmentalstrategy and how that fits into the OKA strategic pillars
• Contribute to thedevelopment of the departmental strategy
• Understand departmentalbudgets & targets
• In line with theMerchandising team, provide pre-season planning and analysis to help supportthe financial budgeting and forecasting process by channel
• Work with the Merch& PD team to review sales history, analyse winners and losers, anticipatefuture trends and understand performance
• Identify gaps in therange and make recommendations
• Collate information andanalysis prior to range review meetings to provide insight to Merchandising& Product Development Team
• Update range plans toensure accurate and up to date information at all times to share with the widerbusiness
• Planning sales forecastsin line with department strategy, using wssi and linecard forecasting tools
• Order forecasting inline with OTB
• Contribute to pre-seasonallocation plans, working alongside VM, & MAA within the parameters set bythe Merchandiser
• Provide regular andrelevant feedback regarding product/inventory issues and opportunities withinthe range
• Understand departmentpricing architecture (entry/mid/exit) and provide analysis based on market
• Ad hoc analysis asrequired by the business

Intake Management

• Work with supply chain& ACS team to plan efficient movement of stock and control costs, to keepstock in right place at the right time
• Negotiate and liaisewith the supply base
• Review critical path toensure delivery on time for launch & raise issues where necessary
• Work closely withProduct Development to ensure all new products are following the specifiedcritical path to launch on time
• Review stock andinventory position and make recommendations to pull forward/push back intake
• Co-ordinate intake ofmade to order components/materials to ensure availability for customer orders

Trading

Assist in all aspects of trading the department, to include:

• Running and updatingMonday morning reports, & subsequent analysis
• Setting up,maintaining/updating the linecards and proposing actions to JM & MM
• Ad hoc analysis as andwhen required by wider business
• Monitor performance andmake recommendations on how to exploit/improve
• Participate in storevisits and provide feedback to the team
• Support channels withpulling relevant data and analysis
• Work closely with MAA toensure stock is in the right place, in the right quantity at the right time
• Work closely withEcommerce and Marketing team to ensure that newsletters/emails are commerciallyviable and promoting the products that will drive interest and sales
• Maintain communicationwith retail team & allocation team to ensure any potential issues areresolved
• Assist with preparingand setting up markdown proposals across the key sale periods, as well aspromotional activity and exclusion lists
• Work proactively toprovide the wider business with accurate and up to date information at alltimes

Departmental Admin

• Use appropriate ITsystems and software packages to drive delivery of the critical path
• Work with the rest ofthe Merchandising team to ensure all products are attributed correctly
• Work with Supply Chainand Product Development team to ensure system accuracy and credibility
• Assist the wider teamwith accurate data management to ensure complete accuracy
• Manage the keyadministration activities of the dept
• Maintain up to dateinformation on all areas including pricing, seasonality and attributes
• Provide accurate widerbusiness facing documentation