Vans: Merchandiser, Women's and Kid's Footwear Strategic Accounts

Now that you’ve found the job description, what’s next?

Vans is the original brand rooted in the authentic lifestyle of skateboarding. We are driven by our mission to inspire and empower everyone to live “Off The Wall” – embracing the youthful spirit of freedom, non-conformity, and relentless progression. Yesterday’s “Off The Wall” moment is today’s new normal, and at Vans, we believe in constantly outdoing ourselves. Together with our communities across the globe, our vision is to push culture forward because we believe that the pursuit of progression never ends. We are constantly inspired by the future generation of positive catalysts within our community.  

So, before we get to the job details, take a minute to learn a little more about us – our values and our culture. If you can see yourself working side-by-side with a team of people who think and live “Off the Wall,” Vans just may be the place for you.

To learn more about our values and our culture, visit Vans Careers or www.vans.com.

What will you do?

A day in the life of a Merchandiser, Women's and Kid's Footwear Strategic Accounts, at Vans looks a little like this.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Wholesale, our Merchandiser is responsible for driving the total business for their respective Category in the Wholesale channel in the Americas. The Merchandiser is responsible for strategic assortment planning, sell-in to account teams, partnership with internal Wholesale teams, and being a marketplace expert for their particular region. This person will lead effective partnerships with Wholesale teams, external Account teams, Planning, and Marketing to deliver “right product, right stores, right time.”

Let’s break down that day-in-the-life a bit more.

• Partner with Senior Manager to develop and manage regional line architecture and assortment strategies for the Wholesale business, inclusive of franchise and life cycle management.
• Create curated Wholesale assortments that will enable regional commercial execution and align to brand and marketing objectives.
• Partner with Senior Manager to craft and execute marketplace strategy for Wholesale that connects to the long-term merchandise financial plans as well as brand and marketing strategies.
• Support Senior Manager in preparing for and presenting at seasonal GTM milestones, including to external account teams. Gain alignment on strategy and assortment execution from key regional stakeholders through relevant data analysis, strong influencing, and effective communication skills.  Ensure curated assortments come to life in wholesale accounts.
• Effective in-season management of marketplace strategy.  Work with Regional Planning counterparts to deliver financial targets and make final promotion and markdown decisions in alignment with global guidelines.
• Constantly monitor consumer demand trends, using insights to shape planning and assortment decisions.  Execute ad-hoc reporting and analysis to support seasonal product assortment decision-making.
• Support team with impactful recaps and performance driving takeaways in all settings.

What do you need to succeed?

We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundation skills you’ll need to succeed and excel. Additionally, while formal education in a related field is great to have, we are most interested in your 5-8 years of experience and professional achievements. 

The foundation skills you will need in this position are:

• 5-8 years’ experience in retail in a merchant or buying role
• Bachelor’s degree qualified (Business, commerce preferred)
• Experience working with external or wholesale accounts highly desirable
• Mastery of retail mathematics and Open to Buy
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret multiple data points across numerous channels and market segments
• Proven ability to work with and lead a cross functional team
• Excellent sense of style and color trends
• Excellent communication skills - interpersonal, written and verbal
• Entrepreneurship – an ability to make decisions and take calculated risks
• Focus on creating an extraordinary customer experience
• Organizational and time management skills
• Strong knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel and Outlook)
• Self-awareness, with a desire for constant self-improvement (goal –oriented)
• Travel for this role is expected - up to 10%.
• Location requirement: ideal candidate will reside within Southern California region and be in office in Costa Mesa, CA, 3-