We are looking for a Senior Assistant Merchandiser for clothing accessories on a 12 month maternity cover contract.
As a Senior Assistant Merchandiser at OB you will support the Senior Merchandiser, assisting in planning and trading of the department to maximise sales and profitability.
Running your own department under the guidance of the senior merch, you will be responsible for the day to day management and trading, and guide the Senior Merchandising Admin. You will also work closely with the Ecom team as the accessories teams looks after the website for fashion.
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 Senior Assistant Merchandiser will:
- Contribute to departments seasonal strategy and work with the Merchandiser and Buying team to integrate key lessons learnt – ability to present Lessons learnt / range to HODS.
- Assist in constructing the optimum range for the target market by balancing price architecture and category; Whilst always building the range focus on maximising profit
- Plan intake to deliver new options as appropriate to keep newness flowing through the business
- Considers space layout requirements to deliver correct number of stock options
- Contribute to the development and review of the department critical path, use key dates to ensure deadlines are met
- Assist in the planning of the overall intake and stock levels to minimise stockholding but maximise sales opportunities.
- Able to present sign offs confidently to HOD, directors and colleagues
- Update and reforecast the WSSI
- Manage projections and repeat line buys and propose ways to minimise risk for the department
- Make frequent suggestions for improved forecasting – eg looking at rates of sales and applies to range planning
- Pick up on trends, generate action plans and present to proposals to Merchandiser
- Identify ways to improve sales at store level
- Makes decisions regarding risks and opportunities on a daily basis and puts forward proposals for significant changes
- Identify lines for markdown and mark-up activity as well as forecast markdown spend and evaluate profit implications of markdown activity
- Identify opportunities for sales driving promotions and propose ideas and plans
- Manage the distribution of stock to stores
- Manage stock into the Warehouse constantly reviewing best process practice and make suggestions for improvement
- Maintain and accurate delivery schedule liaising with the Buying and Merchandising teams
- Identify stores visit opportunities considering issues that arise at store level
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
- 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 throughout Looop eLearning platform
What we look for:
- Experience working at Assistant Merchandiser level
- Ideally have a background in accessories or fashion merchandising
- Excel, general Microsoft
- WSSI management
- Confident and effective communicator
- Self-motivated with a “can do” attitude
- Strong analytical skills
- Ability to plan and organise an ever changing workload
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