Merchandising Industrial Placement

at  N Brown Group Plc

WE’RE RECRUITING FOR OUR 2025 MERCHANDISING INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENT STUDENTS TO JOIN OUR RETAIL TEAM

We are looking for passionate placement students to join various Merchandising teams across Fashion and Home for a 12-month period from September 2025, fulfilling an Admin Assistant position.
At N Brown Group, merchandising means having the right stock in the right place at the right time. Our teams are responsible for estimating the amount of product we will sell and work closely with buying teams to produce statistical analysis that will drive the shape of our product ranges. Our Merchandisers continually make decisions; they decide how many items to buy, place orders with suppliers and progress orders to meet agreed delivery dates. They react to trends in sales, and other variables, to effectively trade the stock throughout the season and will monitor progress regularly to provide accurate reporting information to the business.

WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WILL YOU HAVE?

We’re looking for current students on a related degree level (or equivalent) course such as Fashion Merchandising, Business, Economics, Mathematics or Psychology, who are able to commit to a full-time placement of 12 months.
You’ll be a confident user of Microsoft Office, ideally with previous experience working with MS Excel to create reports and tables. You’ll be highly analytical with strong mathematical ability and be comfortable analysing data and processing complex numerical information to highlight trends or issues and recommend appropriate actions. We’re also looking for excellent written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail, along with the ability to manage and prioritise a busy workload.
A true passion and drive for a career in retail and the ability to demonstrate a sound understanding of the role of a Merchandising function within a business is essential. Previous retail experience would be advantageous.

N BROWN – WHO WE ARE AND WHY WORK FOR US?

At N Brown, we’re committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment that values equality for all. Our vision is that by ‘championing inclusion, we’ll become the most loved and trusted fashion retailer’. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging are, therefore, at the heart of our culture.
We’re a forward-thinking digital retailer with a financial services proposition to be proud of. We’re customer-obsessed, serving them through three core brands: JD Williams, Simply Be, and Jacamo. We’re experienced, with over 160 years of trading under our belt. We’re inclusive, as we believe in fashion without boundaries; and we’re sustainable, striving to make as little impact on the planet as possible.
In May 2024 we were delighted to be named one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024. We work hard to create a happy and inclusive culture for everyone and we’re so proud to have made this list - as voted for by our very own colleagues!

WHAT WILL YOU DO AS A MERCHANDISING INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENT AT N BROWN?

• Managing commitment date and intake to help maximise stock availability across all channels.
• Ensuring that we hit availability requirements through managing stocks into the business and protecting stocks for key timings for Campaigns, Paper launches, PR coverage, as well as managing flow styles to maintain customer expectations.
• Identifying through analysis of data, trends and adjustments that need to be made to the stock position.
• Review the sizing performance monthly and adjust according to the trends, flagging any major shifts.
• Regular raising of new PO’s and communicating across the supply base any amends or adjustments.
• Working closely with suppliers and logistics to chase in intake on key styles/volume drivers and ensuring all deliveries meet the expected delivery window.
• Regular communication and ensuring that a balanced, commercial relationship is maintained.
• Participating in regular team reviews to ensure deadlines and targets are met.
• Weekly review of the departmental critical path alongside the buying, design and QA team, feeding back any key actions to the supply base and flagging any concerns to the managers.
• Helping to deliver the trading plan for the season to ensure optimum stock availability for all channels.
• Reviewing and reacting to performance and working closely with the supply base to minimise risk and potentialise opportunities.
• Managing stocks through adding styles to promotion to ensure we clear through stocks within the selling window.
• Discuss any pricing opportunities vs. competition and any opportunity to drive more profitable sales.
• Utilising the in-house data tools to review the department performance of the Best and Worst styles/categories, themes/trends within the product, colour & sizing performance, etc to support the planning process and work collaboratively with the Buying, Merch, Design and QA teams to build the departmental strategy.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU APPLY TO A ROLE AT N BROWN?

As soon as we receive your application, we’ll send you an email to let you know. We always aim to come back to you as soon as possible with an update and we really appreciate you taking the time to apply for a role with us. Good luck!

• Applications will close on Friday 15th November
• If your application is successful, then you will be invited to a face-to-face assessment centre. This will be in early December and following this, you will be notified of the outcome within 2 weeks.