KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• BU Director and Category Managers (Category Merchandising)
• Omnichannel Activation and Visual Merchandising
• Retail Back Office and Retail Stores
• Retail HUB
• Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Logistics teams
• Finance and Controlling
• Global Merchandising Teams

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Exceptional leadership and influencing capabilities
• In-depth knowledge of merchandising, range planning, forecasting, and budgeting
• Strong analytical and communication skills
• Collaborative team player, capable of working effectively under pressure
• Proficiency in range segmentation and merchandising strategies, including eCommerce channels
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong commercial acumen to leverage business opportunities
• Fluency in English required; additional languages advantageous

REQUISITE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• University degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or related fields; MBA preferred
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience, with at least 5 years in senior leadership/directorial roles in merchandising/buying within retail environments
• Proven experience in fashion franchises and vertical/multichannel retail; Sporting Goods retail experience is highly desirable
• Essential experience managing multi-store operations and eCommerce platforms
• Broad understanding of store operations, Visual Merchandising, Marketing Activation, HR, Finance, Supply Chain, and Logistics
• Demonstrated success working with internal stakeholders and external agencies to develop efficient, scalable processes
• Experience effectively collaborating across international, cross-functional teams

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANISATION:

Lead and optimize the sales, profitability, and brand equity within our Emerging Markets organisation by developing and executing a strategic merchandising plan.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• New leadership layer to shape and lead the Pacific Merchandising strategy for both Concept and Value store channels, a growing network of +50 stores.
• Deliver key financial targets including Net Sales, Sell-through, Standard Margin, Inventory (IDL), and Operating Margin.
• Drive the pre-season planning and Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy for all categories in alignment with the Emerging Markets Business Unit (EM BU) and Concept-to-Consumer (CTC) team.
• Oversee end-to-end category management, including Open-To-Buy (OTB), pre-season product planning, option planning, range planning, and forecasting.
• Maximize both pre-season and in-season business opportunities by effectively understanding channel potentials.
• Continuously monitor industry trends, providing strategic insights and intelligence across the organization.
• Collaborate effectively with key internal stakeholders, including Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics.
• Lead innovation and continuous improvement initiatives, enhancing process automation and product availability across channels.
• Provide actionable, data-driven category insights to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure best-in-class merchandising practices by optimizing systems, tools, and processes.
• Maintain optimal Weeks of Stock (WOS) across all retail locations.
• Conduct market visits as required (office/travel ratio approximately 80%/20%).
• Demonstrate leadership consistent with our leadership framework and foster a unified ONE EM team mindset.