*This is an onsite position based at our corporate HQ in Portland, Oregon.
The Director, Apparel Merchandising, United States will lead the Columbia Sportswear Brand US Apparel Merchandising team in the continued development and growth of Columbia Sportswear across wholesale, and DTC (including retail + ecommerce) channels. This instrumental leadership role will be directly accountable for creating merchandising strategies for US Apparel focused on delivering consumer-right assortments across the marketplace matrix balancing brand heat initiatives with volume driving items.
As a key leader within the Merchandising leadership team, you will support the go-to-market process leading the product handover to sales. You will build strong partnerships with channel leaders to effectively influence, define, and implement segmentation strategies necessary to maximize revenue and profitability. You will work each season to improve forecast accuracy and SKU productivity. Using this market-based information, sales performance and consumer knowledge, this leader will influence and adopt a channel relevant product mix and assortments covering key price points.
HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
As a key member of the Merchandising Leadership team, you will work closely with product creation leadership to inform and influence future line direction and areas of investment
You will partner with multiple business stakeholders to develop best practices to improve communication, operational efficiency, process, tools and sustain seamless working relationships
Ensure proper merchandising resources are employed to execute against brand strategy
Lead the creation of US apparel merchandising strategies, both seasonal and long term– including line pricing, product flow, product segmentation and product differentiation across all categories. Pre-line seasonally with strategic accounts through presentation of key stories, directed assortments and initiatives
Lead the development of market & consumer relevant seasonal Brand aligned product assortments for your markets, leveraging history, market knowledge, trend assessment and financial risk and reward
Manage the seasonal product adoption & assortments for your markets (from concept to sales meeting) to ensure seasonal financial targets and style count targets are met
Partner with Global product and other Category Merch teams on short- and long-term directional vision. Work to align your growth goals and consumer trends with broader Columbia objectives
Coordination, communication and alignment of product assortments and pricing across distribution channels (branded retail, wholesale, eCommerce wholesale and .com)
A strong leader, mentor, and expert in leading business analytical workstreams and teams
A product expert, able to achieve sales targets and adjust product assortment as needed
Effective at working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders and influencing senior leadership
A strong communicator, including written, verbal, and presentation skills
MBA and/or Bachelor’s degree in business or related discipline
Minimum of 8 years product or apparel merchandising experience in the sportswear, outdoor or action sports industry, specifically focused on the US market
8+ years team development and management experience
Solid business management skills with demonstrated financial acumen
Strong understanding of the consumer, retail environment and competitive marketplace in the US
Highly proficient in MS Word, Excel, Power Point
Demonstrated ability to develop strategic plans to meet or realign regional revenue & gross margin targets
Must be a leader, communicator, listener, analytical thinker, presenter with an apparel merchandising skill set and business management expertise
#LI-AD1
#Hybrid
#Onsite
This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities, but constitutes a general definition of the position’s scope and function in the company.
Columbia Sportswear is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. The Know Your Rights poster is available here: https://www.eeoc.gov/poster The pay transparency policy is available here: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OFCCP/pdf/pay-transp_%20English_formattedESQA508c.pdf Columbia Sportswear is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please notify your recruiter.At Columbia Sportswear Company, we’re proud to offer regular full-time employees a benefits package that includes a variety of services and products to help make your life and work more rewarding. Our benefit programs contribute to overall employee well-being by aligning those programs with the fundamental elements of well-being: physical, social/emotional, financial, career and community. Benefits that can protect your family’s financial future and help you save money through our 401k plan plus a generous company match. Columbia offers medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, and an assortment of voluntary benefit offerings (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal services). In addition, Columbia offers EAP + which is free and confidential 24/7/365 counseling services. We have extensive wellness benefits, employee discounts and a generous time off program available.
