Merchandise Manager - Apparel & Specialty Apparel
Colony Brands, Inc.

Job Description

We are looking for a friendly and dynamic Merchandise Manager to oversee our apparel and specialty apparel categories. In this entrepreneurial role, you will have the chance to make a positive impact on the customer experience and contribute to the profitability of our family-owned company. If you enjoy the challenges of retail and merchandising and love collaborating with others, this position may be a great fit for you!
What You'll Do:
As a Merchandise Manager, you'll be involved in developing and managing various merchandising and product development activities to support our portfolio of brands. You'll work closely with divisional and brand leaders to ensure our product lines are both profitable and aligned with our brand values.
In addition, you'll:
• Drive Entrepreneurial Strategies: Develop merchandise assortments for multiple brands based on sales data and market trends that align with brand strategies, demonstrating innovative thinking and a proactive mindset.
• Oversee Product Development: Manage the product development process from concept to launch, ensuring that our apparel meets customer expectations and brand standards.
• Collaborate with Teams: Share product ideas with divisional leaders and work collaboratively across departments to address category needs in apparel.
• Optimize Financial Performance: Collaborate with the sourcing team to build products that meet customer expectations and satisfy brand KPIs, using your strong financial acumen to ensure profitability.
• Conduct Market Research: Stay in tune with consumer needs by managing research on market trends and competitor offerings, helping to identify new opportunities.
• Partner Across Functions: Collaborate with teams in marketing, e-commerce, creative services, sourcing, and planning to ensure that our category execution is seamless and meets business objectives.
• Engage in Strategic Conversations: Participate in discussions that shape our business strategy, applying your understanding of the apparel market to drive effective solutions.

Qualifications

To succeed in this role, you should have experience in direct mail order, retail, or internet sales. We're looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, strong organizational skills, and financial savvy, along with solid merchandise management experience. Ideally, you'll have a bachelor's degree in business administration, retail consumer science, marketing, or a related field.
In addition, we are seeking:
• A creative thinker who can develop merchandising strategies and bring apparel products to life.
• 5+ years of merchandising, marketing, financial, and general business knowledge, particularly in the apparel sector.
• Strong research and analytical skills to identify business opportunities.
• The ability to collaborate effectively with various cross-functional partners.
• A proactive approach to planning, with an ability to think ahead over a 1 to 5-year horizon.
• Great organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and projects.
• A demonstrated ability to lead teams and achieve positive results through collaboration.
• A solid understanding of integrated business processes and how they connect.
• We value collaboration and believe that it often happens best in-person. All members of the Merchandising team are required to work onsite at our Monroe, WI Design Center.

If you're excited about using your skills to make a meaningful impact in our apparel division, we'd love to hear from you!

About Us

Colony Brands, Inc. is one of North America's largest, multi-channel, direct-marketing companies. The company maintains an extensive portfolio of affiliates, brands, and products ranging from cheese and petit fours to apparel and kitchen appliances, while maintaining its roots as a private, customer-centric business based in Monroe, WI. We're financially sound, yet our success is not just defined by our profits; it's about living our Core Values, giving our employees the opportunity for growth and providing a better place to live and work! To that end, Colony Brands generously supports the communities we work in and offer many benefits and programs that support the well-being of our employees.

Benefits Details

Colony Brands is not just about growing our profits - We are about giving our employees the opportunity for growth and providing a better place to live and work. We also offer our employees many great rewards in addition to monetary compensation: