Assistant Merchandiser (Fashion)

We are looking for an Assistant Merchandiser to join Team OB in our Support Office.

As an Assistant Merchandiser at OB, you will support your Merchandiser to work in collaboration with the Buying team to range plan, forecast and trade your department or product area. You will maximise sales and profitability and through your understanding of the company vision and strategy, deliver the OB brand values working cross functionally across Buying, Design and Merchandising.

As part of a dynamic Merchandising team, your role will also be to provide support and lead as an example to the MAAs. You will support and assist the wider team in providing sales analysis and administrative support in addition to independently managing a WSSI managing opportunity and risk.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo. We offer hybrid working with a split of 3 days in the office and 2 days home working per week, and are open to having conversations about working flexibly.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB Assistant Merchandiser will:

• Set up and manage monthly reforecasting for your category WSSI with support from the Merchandiser

• Manage projections and repeat line buys through weekly trade meetings and propose ways to minimise risk for the department

• Make frequent suggestions for improved forecasting – e.g looking at rates of sale and apply this to future range planning

• Work with the Merchandiser and Buying team to integrate lessons learnt from the previous season into new department strategies

• Assist in constructing the optimum range for the target market by balancing price architecture and category

• Create data packs and present in trade & sign off meetings

• Plan intake to deliver new options as appropriate to keep newness flowing through the business considering space & layout requirements with support from Merchandiser

• Use the WSSI to inform trade and stock management decisions weekly through updates of stock levels, sales, intake and monthly reforecasts

• Makes decisions regarding risks and opportunities to put forward proposals for improvements to Merchandiser

• Identify lines for markdown and mark-up activity as well as forecast markdown spend and evaluate profit implications of markdown activity

• Assist in planning promotions, when necessary, in order to improve stock position and minimise markdown

• Monitor critical path dates and maintain an accurate delivery schedule liaising with the Buying team, Merchandiser and Logistics team

• Make suggestions on phasing of launch, grading and peak intake to help manage the distribution of stock

• Suggest and implement process amendments to help with departmental efficiency and reporting

• Conduct regular visits to stores, identifying opportunities and threats, and making recommendations for process improvements in support of business objectives

• Represent the Fashion Merch team to the wider business within set Ambassador roles e.g. Web, Stores, Markdown and Marketplace

Bonas Benefits:

• Generous employee discount up to 50% off all OB products

• Free access to our 24 hour employee assistance programme with Care First – offering financial, emotional and vocational support

• Flexible holiday – 30 days (including bank holidays) – increasing to 35 days with length of service

• Annual discretionary profit related bonus scheme

• Free membership for our Westfield Health Cash Plan or Private Medical

• Auto-enrolment into our pension plan

• Free access to our onsite gym

• Cycle to work scheme

• Refer a Friend incentive

• Quarterly free lunch

• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Voice network and EDI team

• Mental Health First Aider support

• Education and support through 360L eLearning platform

What we look for:

• Previous experience at minimum Senior Merchandising Admin Assistant or Assistant Merchandiser level

• Retail experience and genuine interest in the industry

• Knowledge of internal databases / NetSuite and NSPB would be advantageous

• IT Literate with Intermediate / Advanced Microsoft Office skills – Word / Excel and PowerPoint

• Analytical and numerical skills, having attention to detail

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Have good organisational skills and effective time management

• Team player and have collaborative approach

• Motivated and able to work well to tight deadlines

• Initiative, decisiveness and effective problem-solving skills

• Proactive forward thinker and resilience, being agile and open to change

• Strong leadership skills ability to coordinate actions to meet deadlines

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: https://www.oliverbonas.com/meet-the-team/diversity