We are looking for a Senior Branch Merchandiser to join Team OB in our Support Office.

As a Senior Branch Merchandiser at OB you will deliver the retail strategy for all product areas, maximising sales and profitability. Working closely with wider areas of the business as well as product merchandising teams, to deliver business strategy alongside trading calendar. You will lead on space planning, critical path, deliveries & trading of the retail channel, taking a store-centred approach.

You will have a strong passion and vision for Oliver Bonas and be looking for innovative ways to help maximise retail sales & profitability.

This role involves regular travel across our store portfolio, with a willingness to visit locations nationwide

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.

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 Branch Merchandiser will:

Work with the VM team to accurately record and analyse store space and fixture performance.
Propose and implement changes to space, grading, and fixturing to maximise sales and profitability.
Ensure optimal product mix in each store through collaboration with product merchandising teams.
Manage operational changes to store layouts between peak and non-peak seasons.
Drive new store openings strategy by providing data-driven insights, grading & space planning, and allocation strategy to ensure smooth & accurate process.
Evaluate and optimise delivery schedules in collaboration with logistics, retail and operations teams.
Manage Critical path for cross departmental activities, such as new product launches, delivery planning & seasonal space changes
Decision making with the end user, the customer, in mind
Review and challenge product teams on their retail forecasts and WSSI plans.
Contribute retail channel insight and action plans for cross departmental meetings
Maintain a strong awareness of retail & product strategies, trading climate & emerging challenges, responding to issues proactively & effectively
Proactively monitor and review the sales & stock forecast and putting actions in place to mitigate against any availability issues or sales gaps.
Attend retail trade meetings to gather insights and implement necessary merchandising actions.
Provide analysis & insights for store targets to support achieving the business forecast
Monitor stock levels across all stores, identifying gaps and ensuring stock supports sales targets while considering the impact on sustainability & the environment.
Create agility between product merch teams and use influence to fill gaps in stock to support sales for stores.
React to markdown stock levels as well as customer appetite, and direct retail & VM teams on store focus
Focus on highest contributing EBITDA stores to ensure actions have the most effective impact
Support the Head of Merchandising in delivering company and departmental strategies.
Drive the strategic agenda for the branch merchandising department, whilst also aligning & collaborating with senior retail & VM teams

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 – 33 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:

Proven experience at Senior Merchandiser level, preferably within Branch Merchandising.
Genuine passion for OB product categories.
Effective communicator with the ability to present to senior management.
Strong leadership skills, fostering collaboration across departments.
Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to take calculated risks and drive improvements.
Self-motivated with a “can do” attitude and attention to details.
Innovative and able to challenge existing ways of working to better the business.
Strong analytical and numerical skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office in particular, Excel.
Adaptability and ability to manage workload in a fast-paced environment.
Commercial awareness and ability to drive sales and profitability.

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