Merchandising Specialist

Purpose and Objective of this position:
Responsible for assisting the Merchandising Manager in developing and managing the category/department strategy, vendor relations, private and exclusive product development, retail price management, promotional planning and achievement of the financial objectives. .
Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:
*Category responsibilities may include:
• Beauty – Cosmetics and Fragrances
• Liquor, Tobacco, Wine
• Local Destinations – Food/Candy, Souvenirs, and Ready-to-Wear
• Boutiques – brand specific
• Fashion – brand specific
• Responsible for specific category/department product assortments using market trend analysis information as well as managing sales, margins, and mix.
• Develop and grow specific private label strategy to maximize profit margins and ROI.
• Manage the proper execution of the Beauty and luxury brand merchandise strategy. Work closely with the corporate team in Korea to ensure strategy alignment and appropriate execution.
• Business partner that works closely with the store operations team and other departments to drive overall category/department profitability.
Key areas of responsibility include:
• Assisting in contract negotiations
• Category specific inventory management
• Mix management
• Category specific sales planning and forecasting, including Open-to-Buy.
• Gross margin/gross margin dollar planning including seasonal clearance and exit strategy for non-performing brands
• Promotional planning
• Vendor relations
• Supply chain management
• Partner with Support teams (Human Resources, Finance, Logistics, and IT) and ensure compliance to company policies/procedures, including reports and requested information.
• Adhere to all policies/procedures in compliance with Vietnam Customs rules and regulations.
Other Job Functions or Accountabilities:
Sku database maintenance
Merchant reports to analyze business trends Special projects and duties as assigned