Kids & Baby Apparel Merchant

Kids & Baby Apparel Merchant Bass Pro Shops · Springfield, MO · On-site

The Opportunity

This isn't a replenishment role. It isn't a spreadsheet job. It's a brand-building role for a merchant who obsesses over product, knows the kids customer cold, and believes that great assortments tell a story.

We're building something meaningful inside one of America's most iconic retail brands — a kids and baby apparel business that reflects the same quality, intention, and brand conviction that Bass Pro Shops brings to everything it does. We need a merchant who's done this before and wants to own it.

What You'll Do

You'll lead the full product cycle for Kids and Baby — from brand strategy and trend identification through product development, assortment architecture, pricing, and in-season management. You'll develop proprietary product that looks and feels like it belongs in the best specialty kids retailers in the country, and you'll partner cross-functionally with design, PD, planning, marketing, and creative to bring it to life across retail, digital, and catalog.

You'll also own the financial performance of your business. That means building and managing your OTB in close partnership with Merchandise Planning, developing category financial plans that support overall company goals, and making sharp in-season decisions on inventory, markdowns, and promotional activity to maximize productivity and profitability. The best merchants here are as comfortable in a financial review as they are in a product line review — and they move fluidly between both.

This role has real authority. You'll set the vision, build the assortment, negotiate with vendors, and own the results.

Who You Are

    •    A merchant first. You think in terms of customer, product, and brand before you think in terms of spreadsheets — but you can read a financial plan as fluently as you can read a trend board

    •    You grew up in specialty — Children's Place, Gap Kids, Carter's, or similar — and you know what it means to build a kids brand with real point of view

    •    You can move from big-picture brand strategy to SKU-level detail without losing altitude

    •    You have strong instincts for trend, color, and fit — and the analytical chops to back your decisions with data

    •    You've developed proprietary product and understand the full development cycle from concept to floor

    •    You understand OTB management, open-to-buy discipline, and how to partner with planning to build a financially sound assortment

    •    You lead with conviction, collaborate naturally, and make your team better

Experience 5+ years in apparel merchandising, ideally with kids or baby specialty experience

Why Bass Pro

Bass Pro Shops reaches millions of families across hundreds of locations and a growing digital business. The kids and baby category is a strategic priority with real investment behind it — and this merchant will have a direct seat at the table in shaping what it becomes.

Springfield, MO is home to our Basecamp headquarters — one of the most unique retail environments in the world. This is a full-time, on-site role.

Independent judgement

Develops strategic direction, goals, plans, and policies for an area of responsibility. Sets broad objectives and is accountable for overall results in respective area of responsibility. Authority to make independent decisions on matters of significance. Requires high degree of independent judgment and problem solving of complex problems.

Bass Pro Shops is an equal opportunity employer.  Hiring decisions are administered without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Reasonable Accommodations

Qualified individuals with known disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please visit your nearest location or contact us at [email protected].