Senior Merchandiser - Marks & Spencer - Regional Head Office

Job description / Role

Senior Merchandiser - Marks & Spencer - Regional Head Office

We have an exciting opportunity to working in Marks & Spencer's Merchandising team. Working as the Senior Merchandiser, you will have up to five Merchandisers reporting into you. Your role will be to ensure the whole buying process from budgeting through to pricing and allocation is completed according to the business strategy, utilizing all available data and market analysis, in order to maximise sales/profit and minimise waste.

On a day to day basis you will be responsible for the following:

Budget Planning/Sale
- Conduct a review of new ranges available; assess suitability for local markets, using historical sales figures, experience, and fashion trends. To formulate yearly/season buying budgets intended for all buying groups/ locations for submission to the Merchandise Manager for approval. Closely monitor sales performance of all lines against targets, actively chase stocks, and drive sales in stores. Identify problem products including broken ranges, poor sellers and provide strategies to ensure they are cleared within the relevant season; this would incorporate their eventual inclusion in the end of season Sale activity.

Retail Buying/WSSI
- To work in close collaboration with the Merchandising Manager to initiate new areas/seasons in a timely manner to secure launches and availability. Maintain an active understanding of RPF concept and option/space in order to plan and build department ranges within their area of responsibility. A key accountability is to provide and sustain the right products in the right quantity, inclusive of size balance in stores at all times. This will be achieved via the IRC process basing decisions on historical data and current trends, with particular attention to peak trading periods and local culture/ laws (food buying), in order to maximise sales/profit and minimise waste/COR. The orders changed should reflect the OTB requirements highlighted on the WSSI to achieve the stock cover targets.

Margins and Pricing
- To ensure that pricing is established in line with company pricing policy, taking into consideration estimated bottom line results against competition prices. Maintain regular pricing reviews through out the financial year and amending prices as necessary changes when required, in order to achieve margin targets. Each seasons margin by product group must be signed off prior to launch to include UK and IBO products.

Logistics
- Maintain proactive working relationships with the warehouse liaising on a regular basis updating on best sellers, tentative intakes and dispatches to meet a seasons and years stock cover targets. Forecast and calculate inventory levels, manage stocks, based on sales reviews and WSSI, determining markdown action as appropriate.

Communication
- Provide reports to the Merchandise Manager as requested inclusive of updates to the UK. Sustain aflow of information to stores and the Merchandising team on various business activities/developments(promotions, sale planning and store openings). Actively liaise with all areas of the business (Marketing Manager/ Visual Merchandising Manager/ Store Manager/Account Department), supporting services (Warehouse, Logistics) and UK with regards to Marketing plans, dcor, feedback on products, availability and orders, so to ensure various planned activities tally with available products.

Team Leadership
- To achieve the departments objectives by proactively motivating and developing the Merchandise team this will require coaching mentoring and training to ensure they achieve and preserve international best practice standards.

Administration
- Periodically input buying data on the system, entering products, quantities, prices and generating Ad-Hoc Reports with 100% accuracy in order to ensure no errors happen and avoid unnecessary related costs.

Project Management
- Conduct various projects as and when required, doing feasibility studies, planning and implementing, ensuring that deadlines and requirements are met and standards are maintained. In order to support the achievement of the overall company objectives. These projects will be incorporated into the individual yearly objectives, and may include new stores/region store opening, space reporting, pricing process and budget process for all product areas, logistic planning and the sale process.

Requirements

- Graduate(fashion related or general)
- Minimum 4 years merchandising experience
- Knowledge of the local market preferable
- Analytical skills
- Written and Oral presentation skills
- Previous Buying experience
- Advanced MS Office- Specifically Excel
- Previously managed a budget of over AED400m

About the Company

Established in the 1930's, the Al-Futtaim Group initially operated as a trading enterprise. Rapid development throughout the 1940's and 50's saw it establish itself regionally as an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation, positioning itself one of the leading business houses in the lower Gulf region. Today, it operates collectively over 40 companies bearing the Al-Futtaim name, dominates many market segments in the UAE, and has expanded its sphere of operation to include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

The Group comprises a diverse range of strategically positioned operating subsidiaries and associate companies, structured to give the Al-Futtaim Group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition while keeping pace with the ever-evolving global business scenario. The Groups continued investment in world-class systems technology is clear evidence of its commitment to maintain leading edge performance and service delivery.

The success of the Al-Futtaim Group can be attributed to a business approach that combines the ability to change with the traditional values of integrity, service and social responsibility that define its core business philosophy. This, linked with the Groups belief in decentralisation, gives the heads of the operating companies a high degree of functional autonomy and authority, providing the Group with essential flexibility, and individual employees a clearly defined work culture and sense of responsibility.