Job Details
About Kendra Scott:
We are a fun, talented and driven team dedicated to providing our customers with gorgeous products and a WOW! experience. Family, fashion and philanthropy are at the core of our company and though we move at a very fast pace, we are committed to maintaining a family-oriented work environment and giving back to our community. A passion for great design, dedication to innovation and a strong social media presence are our building blocks for creating a unique and engaging lifestyle brand across all channels, including retail stores, wholesale accounts and e-commerce. Our headquarters are located in the heart of Austin, Texas, and we embrace the unique vibe and energy of our hometown as an inspiration for our brand and company culture.
Position Overview:
The Director of Merchandising for Wedding is a critical member of the Merchandising team and reports to the VP of MPA. This is an exempt, salaried position whose primary responsibility is to develop merchandising product strategies and assortment plans for our disruptive wedding category, resulting in exciting and timely product assortments that will maximize sales, profits and support overall brand positioning. The Director of Merchandising is responsible for the success of their business and is expected to use their knowledge of current business in conjunction with the awareness of competition and their fashion intuition to direct assortments.
The Merchandiser in this role will be responsible for leading our wedding division, disrupting the industry while staying true to the Kendra Scott essence. As the go-to merchant for this entirely new category, you will own the vision and strategy, steering the wedding vertical to new heights. We are looking for someone with a dynamic approach, knowledge of the wedding industry, ready to challenge traditional norms and innovate within the wedding space. This merchant will possess a passion for creating memorable product to support both wedding and lifestyle milestones, navigate an exciting new brand chapter while upholding our KS DNA.
This product line will span several categories including, but not limited to, Jewelry, Apparel, Accessories, Home and gifting, and other Lifestyle categories.
Responsibilities:
Product & Calendar Planning
- Build innovative wedding & lifestyle milestone assortments, which foot-back to key dates, to disrupt the wedding industry through driving sales, profit and overall brand positioning.
- Charter new category waters through introduction of new products and vendor partners to make Kendra Scott Wedding every bride s go-to brand.
- Determine selling strategies, pricing strategies, selling periods, product lifecycles, brand positioning and channel distribution for applicable categories and channels
- Communicate and distribute all critical merchandising information to key functional areas and within the merchandising department on a timely basis
Cross-Functional Partnership & Leadership
- Lead the Wedding category with a clear product vision and strategic plan to disrupt the industry
- Develop line plans and collaborate with CFT s to effectively build wedding centered assortments that achieve sales, long term brand goals, effective buys, and accessible allocation strategies.
- Partner with Channel heads to determine powerful omni strategy
- Build a best-in-class, disruptive omni wedding experience through partnership with retail, visual merchandising and marketing leaders.
- Ensure product initiatives and priorities are seamlessly executed through e-commerce and in-store presentations and strategies
- Stand up the brand through clear, 360-degree communication with CFTs on aligned priorities and deadlines
Financial Metrics & Reporting
- Partner with Finance leadership to create a strong and profitable brand P&L
- Partner with the Planning team to establish a plan to hit financial expectations
- Monitor and report on product and category performance to identify risks and opportunities
- Formally hindsight product performance, communicate clear takeaways, and establish actionable next steps from learnings
- Ensure IMU% targets are met and provide creative solutions for meeting and exceeding financial goals
Industry & Customer Expertise
- Focus on developing customer intimacy skills through regular store visits and competitive shopping; apply findings to merchandising and execution strategies.
- Guides assortment and launch decision-making based on industry insight and customer analysis; expert in owned programs and corresponding industry landscape
- Conducts comprehensive competitive research and analysis; present findings to applicable teams
Our Ideal Candidate will have:
- Experience in a merchandising, buying or planning role within the Wedding Industry
- Bachelor s degree or equivalent experience, B.S. in Retail Merchandising preferred
- A proven ability to execute with consistent delivery and reprioritize based on evolving business needs
- Champion for product, brand, and customer in all cross-functional initiatives and plans
- Strong financial acumen
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and accurate
- Elevated communication and presentation skills; ability to influence multiple levels of the company
- A strong ability to build cross-functional partnerships and work collaboratively
- Desire to work in a fast-paced environment
- A growth mindset: desire to learn, grow, and embrace new ideas
- A shared appreciation for our 3 core values of Family, Fashion and Philanthropy