VP of retail Buying and Merchandising

Department: Merchandising

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Los Angeles HQ

Reporting To: Dawn vitale

Compensation: $270,000 - $310,000 / year

Description

SKIMS is a solutions-oriented brand creating the next generation of underwear, loungewear, shapewear, and essentials. We are setting new standards by delivering technically innovative, comfort-driven products with elevated design for everybody.

At the intersection of culture, innovation, and commerce, SKIMS is a global brand redefining modern apparel. Our teams are built on creativity, collaboration, and operational excellence, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive, high-performance environment where ambitious, curious, and values-driven individuals can do the best work of their careers.

As we continue to scale globally, our HQ teams play a critical role in shaping strategy, building world-class infrastructure, and driving sustainable growth across markets.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Retail Buying & Merchandising will lead SKIMS’ global retail buying strategy, owning the commercial performance of our owned stores and future retail expansion. This role is responsible for building a best-in-class retail assortment that balances fashion, core essentials, and innovation—while maximizing profitability, inventory productivity, and customer relevance. 

As a senior commercial leader, this role partners closely with Product Development, Planning, Retail Operations, Marketing, and Supply Chain to ensure SKIMS’ retail assortment is tightly aligned to brand vision, customer demand, and financial targets. The VP will build and scale a high-performing buying organization capable of supporting rapid global growth. 

Key Responsibilities

Retail Buying & Assortment Strategy 

• Own end-to-end retail buying strategy across all SKIMS owned stores and future retail formats. 
• Develop seasonal and long-range retail assortment strategies tied to long range category goals, retail expansion initiatives, and financial growth and optimization. 
• Drive clear segmentation strategy and build line brief, price architecture, and flow cadence married to buy distortion that unlocks accelerated growth and reflects customer demand, store clustering, and regional nuances. 
• Partner with Global Merchandising and Digital to land, align influence product launches and unlock omni opportunities. 

Commercial Performance & Inventory Ownership 

• Own retail sales, margin, inventory productivity, and sell-through performance. 
• Partner with Planning to set OTB, depth, and receipt flow strategies aligned to growth targets. 
• Actively manage in-season product performance, reacting to demand signals and optimizing inventory placement. 
• Lead markdown, exit, and risk mitigation strategies while protecting brand equity. 

Cross-Functional Leadership 

• Align with Retail Operations, ensuring assortments strategies deliver against productivity goals, store experience and execution expectationsn tied to results and consumer journey. 
• Collaborate with Marketing and Visual on launches, floorsets, and merchandising moments to ensure End-to-End key initiatives and product activations. 
• Partner with Supply Chain to ensure buy plans are operationally executable and scalable. 
• Align closely with Wholesale and DTC leadership to ensure a cohesive omnichannel strategy. 

Global Expansion & Store Growth 

• Support new store openings and international expansion with tailored buying strategies. 
• Develop regional assortment strategies that reflect local customer behavior while maintaining global brand consistency. 
• Ensure retail buying frameworks scale effectively as the store fleet grows. 

Leadership & Team Development 

• Build, lead, and mentor a world-class retail buying organization. 
• Establish clear roles, decision rights, and accountability across categories and regions. 
• Foster a high-performance culture grounded in data, creativity, collaboration, and ownership. 

 

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• 12+ years of experience in retail buying and merchandising, with significant leadership experience at the VP or Senior Director level 
• Proven track record leading buying for a high-growth, brand-led retail business. 
• Deep understanding of apparel retail, including fit-driven and essentials categories. 
• Strong commercial acumen with experience owning large OTBs