Columbia Sportswear, Inc.:
Sr Merchandising Manager - Men's Job in Burlington, VT

Overview of prAna:

From the first days designing clothing in a garage, prAnas initial vision to connect yoga and climbing to mindful living has captivated thousands. Its ensured that prAna clothing and gear are made with intention - that every detail from trim and linings to hangtags is carefully designed to enhance our lives today while still considering the needs of tomorrow.Since 1992, this vision has been at the root of prAnas relationships with customers and retailers. And, it has helped the company to foster a community of active, free spirited customers that share its values.

Today, the brand has evolved beyond our rock climbing and yoga roots to include lifestyle and performance clothing. The clothing is designed at prAna with style and versatility in mind. prAna is deeply committed to mitigating the impact they have on the environment in manufacturing and selling its clothing and that all products are made in safe and fair working conditions.

Each year,prAna welcomes increasingly more people to the prAna way of life througha multi-channel strategy including their own branded stores, a fast-growing direct ecommerce business, catalogs and an established wholesale distribution of over 1,400 retailers across the US, Canada, and Europe.

prAna wasacquired by Columbia Sportswear Company (CSC) in June 2014 and is part of the family of brands in the CSC portfolio, including Columbia, Mountain Hardwear and Sorel.prAna is headquartered in Carlsbad, California and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company.

Overview of the Position:

The Senior Merchandise Manager is the visionary to lead product creation of our Men's product offer, with a proactive spirit and entrepreneurial attitude that constantly seeks opportunities to drive prAna growth and the market forward. He/she is results-driven and market savvy, with an eye on the evolving target consumer, mindset, and shopping trends to clearly articulate where opportunities lie in all channels (Direct to Consumer + Wholesale).

The SMM provides input into the development of product business strategies that support key initiatives, both seasonally and long term, and constantly evolves lineplanning architecture with a strong gut instinct. This role leads and guides cross-functional partners with a high-energy spirit, inspiring the broader team to be customer focused, innovative and responsive to opportunity.

Key Accountabilities:
The following represents key outcomes the position is expected to achieve:
Men's Product line that achieves increased Omni Channel sales and growth plans (Direct to Consumer + Wholesale) through effective line planning and balanced risk (Product Line, Category, Style, Color, Size)
Effectively develop conclusions and make business strategy recommendations to Senior Management to further develop the Men's business, on short & long term basis.
Meets or exceeds target margin and productivity metrics, contributing to efficiency goals
Effectively utilizes systems, tools, and methodology to make informed decisions and drive merchandise plan execution
Calendar deliverables are consistently met, with cross-functional alignment
Fosters solid, collaborative working relationships across Design, Product Development, Inventory Planning and Sales through clear communication and ability to streamline & simplify complex subject matter.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Multi-Channel Analysis + Data Management:
Prepare reports and analyze historical performance across multiple channels and seasons at the divisional, category, class, color and size level
Solicit critical and constructive feedback from sales teams, key accounts and direct consumers to decipher wins, challenges, and future opportunities
Conduct SWOT analysis seasonally and present findings to key stakeholders
Consistently interpret performance results with ease, synthesize with consumer + market trends to recommend shifts and effectively plan future merchandising initiatives; fluidly communicate to partner teams
Achieve increased style/sku productivity metrics while optimizing, not limiting product offer, divisional/product line sales revenue and growth initiatives
Conduct ongoing consumer based market research and competitive landscape benchmarking via NPD (quarterly), travel to retail stores, and prepare visual reference guides and reports where applicable
Develop initial forecasts at Style, Category, Product Line level; partner with Inventory Planning to develop seasonal consensus
Manage pricing strategy at divisional, product line, and category level to meet seasonal margin targets; communicate goals to Design/Development teams and drive improvement

Assortment Planning:
Propose comprehensive seasonal Product Line strategies that leverage success, drive volume, identify new opportunity, manage risk and protect current businesses; gain approval from DPLM and effectively communicate to internal cross functional teams (Design, Product Development, Sales, Inventory Planning)
Create and incorporate visual line architecture blueprint (Slot Plan) for seasonal kickoffs and enhanced cross-functional understanding
Drive cohesive color merchandising balance across Division, collaborate with Design partners
Collaborate with Internal Sales Managers + Senior DTC Merchandise Manager to ensure seasonal assortments meet specific channel needs, facilitate SMU as needed

Go-To-Market, Sell In:
Present at all divisional preline meetings, line reviews, and sales meetings; travel seasonally where applicable
Lead seasonal sell-in asset creation, including wholesale Workbook, Key Account catalogs, photoshoots


Education and Experience Qualifications
Bachelors degree in Marketing, Business, Fashion or Retail Merchandising preferred
Must have 5-8 years of experience in Mens Buying, Merchandising, Product Line Management
Proven track record developing assortments, managing P&L's and meeting/exceeding financial targets
Consumer knowledge through direct experience in prAna categories

Technical Knowledge and Skills
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suites, Adobe Creative Suites and other PLM programs
Knowledge and experience in apparel design/development and costing
Highly proficient with Excel, reporting, and pivot tables
Strong mathematical and analytic skills; able to prepare and interpret complex reports and information

Key Competencies
Passionate, curious and driven to dig into, analyze and pressure test numbers to find/convey the merchandising story they tell, be it positive or negative results.

Self-Leadership/Self-Directed
Demonstrates an ability to take action and responsibility for personal success and failure; influences events and achieves specific goals; originates actions and works effectively with little supervision, direction, or precedent; initiates process improvements; utilizes self-leadership techniques to communicate with manager and seek and obtain the needed leadership style in order to be effective and engaged in position

Detail Oriented
Demonstrates an ability to pay close attention to the details of a document/project; demonstrates a thorough approach to daily tasks

Problem Solving
Demonstrates an ability to gather data, analyze data, recommend solutions and follow through on results; ability to researc