Boardriders:
Quiksilver Regional Brand Lead/Chief Merchant Job in Huntington Beach, CA

COMPANY OVERVIEW:                                                                   
Boardriders, Inc., is the world’s leading action sports and lifestyle company that designs, produces and distributes branded apparel, footwear and accessories for Boardriders around the world. The Company’s apparel and footwear brands, represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people who are inspired by a passion for outdoor action sports. The Company’s Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, DC Shoes, RVCA, Element, VonZipper, Xcel, Kustom and Palmers brands have authentic roots and heritage in surf, snow and skate. With approximately 10,000 team members globally, the Company’s products are sold in more than 110 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, skate shops, snow shops, its proprietary Boardriders stores and other Company-owned retail stores, select department stores and through various e- commerce channels.
SUMMARY
The Quiksilver Regional Brand Lead/Chief Merchant role is responsible for leading the development, alignment, and execution of the regional 3 year omni channel sale, merchandising & go to market strategy aligned to the global & regional business plans.  A deeply rooted understanding of the action sports/lifestyle market, the broader youth lifestyle market,  and the outdoor lifestyle market is required coupled with exceptional people management, strong operational process skills, and the abilty to seamlessly work across a matrixed cross functional organization.
The regional brand lead/chief merchant will be accountable for the management of the regional line plan  including assorting & segmenting by channel & consumer the right product, at the right price, to the right customer, in the right volumes at the right time across the omni channel network. This critical position will work in conjunction with the regional president, sales channel directors, PD&S teams, while directly reporting to the global brand general manager. Regional designers, merchants and the regional marketing lead will be direct reports.  This role is responsible for creating a culture that motivates the team to execute with clear accountability. 
PURPOSE OF POSITION / KPIs:
Attends the Global Strategy Meeting; participates & contributes to the Seasonal Strategy direction providing regional insights, trend and product strategy
Develop a 3 year regional omni channel strategy and sales plan aligned to brand strategy with clear KPI’s.
Drives the regional direction of M&D across the region and categories aligning to the Global Product & Marketing strategies ensuring the Global Brand Voice and strategic intent is kept intact across all channels
Report monthly financial performance revenue to global GM
Developing and executing balanced line plan architecture that meets consumer trends/needs – driving growth, margin expansion, profitability and strategic focus (best at / win at) across the region and categories by delivering results that hit established brand KPIs
Provide input into the global line ensuring it meets regional product needs thru clear, objective and consumer focused feedback to further enhance the development of the seasonal line
Effective communication with internal cross functional teams / external sales / global C.O.E product teams / key DTC partners as well as all global partners.
Ability to stay within required time action calendars required
Management responsibility across regional design and development, identifying and developing internal talent
 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:
SEASONAL STRATEGY
Drives the overall assortment direction of the brand across all categories in the region (Apparel/Swim/Accessories/Snow/Tech/Footwear/Womens) upholding the global product and marketing strategy delivering segmented product strategies that capture market-share across key channels across the region
Aligns to the up front merchandising strategy including assortment, sales planning, pricing/margin and distribution regionally
PRE-SEASON ACTIVITY
Owns the full hindsight evaluation process providing a clear seasonal performance for all categories all channels summarized by the seasonal go forward strategy and GMD by channel delivering regional insights (market intelligence, competitive overview, wholesale performance, retail feedback and marketing needs)
Develops regional assortment plans, including breadth, depth, and price-point targets as well as including overdevelopment targets and channel strategies defined by the Brand Manager and the Global Merchant
Briefs-in Regional specific styles into the global C.O.E Merchants & Design team
Presents Regional assortment that align with guardrails and approval process to the global teams at key milestone meetings
Drives the regional merchants in key meetings to provide feedback at key meetings in a collaborative manner
Supports requests for design changes / adds / drops with financial metrics and consumer focused market knowledge
Owns the Regional Line Adopt meeting driving the channel teams to deliver adoptions that uphold the brand intent while driving a commercial range to meet all channel needs and global KPIs
Leads the Regional projection review process to ensure adherence to targets, signs off on channel assortments and partners with Regional Merch Planning to optimize projections and buy execution
Ensures product development is in accordance with the line plan, margin target & production calendar
Defines the regional SMU needs and ensures SMU strategy is followed and SMU development adheres to established guardrails
Reviews and approves all style level margins for all regional styles and SMU
Aligns to the regional SMU targets supported by analytics provided by the regional merchandise planning team
Communicate regional sourcing needs based on volume, technique, fabrication, speed, and cost.
IN SEASON ACTIVITY
Drives the Seasonal Sales meeting in partnership with the Regional Marketing Lead ensuring the key product stories are launched to all channels aligning to seasonal strategy and consumer targets
Work closely with sales and retail teams to ensure that assortments and styles are placed and merchandised according to strategy, ensuring expanded market-share / brand positioning.
Partners with channel leaders to ensure all seasonal marketing events and promotions are properly executed globally or regionally.
Ensures regional chase and fast track product development needs are met for each channel, aligned with other regional fast track needs
Review KPIs and metrics on weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual results for concurrent seasons across both sell-in and sell-out periods
OTHER
Drive processes alignment to ensure discipline & accountability to calendars, milestones and budgets.
Has an in-depth knowledge of market, trends, innovation, competition and product.
Acts as a problem solver and leader of change across the organization
Create and lead a best in class team to reach their full potential.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE / SKILLS / EDUCATION:
Bachelor’s Degree, Business administration or Retail Merchandising preferred
10+ years’ experience in Apparel / Footwear product (buying, selling, merchandising, developing)
Ability to develop and execute regional product strategy that is consistent with the brand values and design aesthetic
Knowledge of product development calendar timelines / deliverables
Must be able to multi task and work in fast paced environment
Must be proactive with a solution/result oriented attitude
Must have excellent verbal and written communication and follow through skills
Must be highly organized and detailed oriented
A proven leader with a track record of achieving positive financial results and building best in class teams
Manages relationships and diversity, with strong negotiation and influencing skills
Blends strategic skills with operational and tactic