Vice President of Merchandising

Who We Are

Wine Enthusiast Companies is the ultimate source of innovation and information around wine. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, the family-owned company is composed of Wine Enthusiast Commerce and Wine Enthusiast Media. Wine Enthusiast Shop provides premium wine-lifestyle products, reaching millions of consumers globally via direct mail, an e-commerce site, and a business-to-business division. Wine Enthusiast magazine is an award-winning print publication and online resource that showcases wine news, food trends, and more than 25,000 ratings and reviews annually. Wine Enthusiast events include the annual premier Wine Star Awards gala. In 2024, the company launched a travel division, which includes the Tasting Room Directory and Cork+Compass Travel. Together, Wine Enthusiast Companies is the indisputable hub for everything wine. We bring wine to life.

Your Role in Our Journey

Wine Enthusiast Companies, the leading full-service provider of innovative products for the wine lifestyle, is creating a new role of Vice President of Merchandising, and seeking a design visionary to lead our strategy to new heights.

As our VP of Merchandising, you will have an eye for quality and style, while listening to the needs of our consumer. Reporting directly to the President, you will play a critical role in defining and implementing the product roadmap, fostering innovation, and ensuring alignment with the company's strategic objectives. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact and shape the future of our products in a fast-paced and collaborative environment. A love of wine and the lifestyle around it is essential for the role. You must be an approachable leader, capable of setting a strategy while collaborating well across Marketing, Finance, Operations, Customer and Content. You love helping to tell a legacy brand story. Product is at the heart of Wine Enthusiast and you’ll make it your career goal to underline that, while building on the foundation of our 44+ year strong family business. 

Your primary focus will be on steering the ship of product development, enhancing our Accessories line while also maintaining an emphasis on Wine Cellars, Racking, Furniture, and Accessories.

What You'll Be Uncorking

Key Responsibilities:

• Setting a vision for product array and assortment while leading our merchants by vertical with an unwavering focus on product design.
• Managing the product lifecycle from concept to launch, including go-to-market strategies, pricing, and positioning.
• Leading a team of product category managers to deliver high-quality products on time and within budget.
• Creating sales goals by product and holding the team accountable to how those goals help us meet overall Revenue goals
• Cultivate relationships with manufacturing sources and explore new partnerships as needed to fuel our product innovation.
• Overseeing packaging design and QA with the Creative and Operations teams.
• Conducting consistent competitive research on market trends, identifying gaps and ensuring we are best-of-breed
• Being the Voice of the Customer, steadfastly focused on quality control and tracking opportunity areas by item.
• Creative Team Management
• • Oversee and direct the Commerce Creative team, driving visual storytelling across all brand touch points. Provide leadership in photo art direction, print catalog production, and digital asset creation to ensure consistent, premium brand presentation that elevates product perception and drives consumer engagement.

The Perfect Blend (What You Bring to the Table)

Qualifications:

• Product Design Prowess: Over 5 years of experience in industrial design, product design, and development, or manufacturing.
• E-commerce Acumen: Extensive experience in multi-channel direct-to-consumer commerce businesses, with a proven track record of driving top and bottom-line results.
• Leadership Excellence: Demonstrated ability to inspire and motivate teams toward ambitious goals, coupled with strong negotiation skills and a customer-centric mindset.
• Communication Mastery: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex ideas with clarity and conviction.
• Analytical Savvy: Strong financial and technical analytical skills, coupled with a resourceful, hands-on approach and meticulous attention to detail.
• Collaborative Spirit: Proven ability to cultivate strong cross-functional relationships and work collaboratively across diverse teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in refrigeration or electronics manufacturing
• Familiarity with EOS (Enterprise Operating System)
• Netsuite experience

This role reports to the President, Wine Enthusiast Commerce

This position offers a flexible hybrid schedule, requiring employees to be onsite at our Valhalla, NY headquarters a minimum of twice per week, with Tuesday and Thursday designated as a required in-office day.

Our Commitment to You

Unlimited PTO, Full Medical, Dental and Vision benefits, 401(K) Match, FSA, Flexible Work Environment, Onsite Gym, Pet Discount Plans, Employee Discount, optional Wine Tasting Class participation, Flexible Schedule, Dynamic and Collaborative work culture.

Our Core Values

JOY

We recognize that our business is not just about numbers, but also about people. As a family business, we honor the importance of our employees’ home lives. We encourage fun, discovery, adventure and health for our teams.

EMPATHY

We support our employees with patience and understanding, recognizing that work hours represent a substantial percentage of one’s time. We encourage a diverse mindset that helps us better reflect the evolving wine culture.

TRANSPARENCY

Communication and integrity are the cornerstones of our relationships with each other and our customers. We speak openly about our achievements and challenges, with the goal of helping each other grow.

PASSION

We’re not just a company; we’re a community. Our job is to enhance the lives of others, making the wine industry and all its offerings accessible and enjoyable. Delighting and educating our consumers is at the core of everything we do.

INNOVATION

We value those who think outside the box to elevate the company. We celebrate change, appreciating that a nimble culture attracts talent and motivates team members to push the envelope and build our business for the future.

COLLABORATION

We believe in the power of working together, sharing ideas, and leveraging our collective talents to achieve our goals. We mentor those we lead and surround ourselves with people who drive us to do more than our personal best.

Our Commitment to Inclusion & Equity

At Wine Enthusiast, we are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status. As part of our commitment to fair hiring practices, we have adopted "ban the box" policies to provide individuals with criminal records a fair chance at employment. We consider all applicants on their merits and qualifications, considering their ability to perform the job.

Our family-owned company was born from a passion to bring a fine wine experience to the everyday. We believe wine is best shared with others and brings people together. In 2021, Adam and Sybil's daughters Erika Strum Silberstein and Jacqueline Strum were named co-presidents and continue to lead the mission of bringing wine to life. The second generation works together with the collective team to create new and better ways for everyone to explore and enjoy the exciting world of wine, including low-alcohol wines, non-alcohol wines, spirits, and beyond! We hope you’ll join us with a glass in hand.