Director, Merchandising - Footwear

As the Director, Merchandising - Footwear, you lead the Footwear Merchandising team to support in the creation, development, and execution of a holistic global footwear line plan that grows the brand, and delivers best in class sales, inventory, and margin results. You translate our design vision into compelling, consumer-centric product framework plans, realized through product development and merchandising execution. You build bridges within your team and across functions to ensure the Go to Market (GTM) plan is realized, guiding the representation of our product experience through all channels.

This role is based out of our Portland office and is expected to be performed on site.

 

The Global Merchandising team supports the overall design creative direction, while driving company sales, gross margin, and inventory productivity goals in both our vertical and wholesale channels. We partner closely with our Design and Development teams to lead the creation of future seasonal line plans, and with our Merchandise Planning and Allocations (MP&A) teams to maximize in-season sales performance, and our Commercial teams to realize the big picture in our product vision and plans.

If you were in the Director, Merchandising - Footwear role now, here are some of the core activities you would be responsible for:

• Developing and driving the footwear merchandising strategy; planning for both long term glide path, seasonal line plans and monthly flow to all channels
• Establishing and nurturing a sense of team and community around footwear across functions
• Realizing the footwear creative vision within a 5-year line plan, and driving seasonal line plans to market
• Leading a team of merchants and associate merchants to execute both in-season and towards future seasons, while developing a bench of talent for continued growth
• Conducting global research to maintain expert knowledge of the footwear market
• Providing strategic insights regularly; identifying additional product assortment or business growth opportunities
• Visiting our stores regularly to analyze performance and measure efforts versus realized actions to inform future strategies
• Leading the GTM process and advising on GTM tools for best-in-class market and consumer (guest) impact
• Bringing our creative and merchandising vision to life for our guests, partnering with Brand, Product Creative and Commercial teams, to support the growth of Arc'teryx as a leading footwear brand
• Travelling from our Portland office to our North Vancouver office as required

Here are some of the things you could be working on in the future:

• Working cross-functionally to evolve our in-store merchandising and storytelling approach
• Exploring new areas for category expansion, building the business case, and driving to scale
• Collaborating with regional Merchandising teams to test new concepts in single markets

Are you our next Director, Merchandising - Footwear?

• You have 10+ years' experience in outdoor or performance footwear merchandising, with global, DTC-led brands
• You have expertise in driving strategy, line planning and line architecture
• You have a proven track record in developing and leading the execution of a multi-year business strategy
• You are an influential leader; , possessing high emotional intelligence, with the ability to drive alignment across diverse cross-functional groups at all levels of the business
• You have proven people leadership skills and the ability to build, coach and guide a diverse and high performing team You demonstrate tireless integrity in driving excellence to milestones and deliverables
• You are willing and able to travel regularly to our North Vancouver headquarters to collaborate and engage with partners (up to 30% commitment)
• You are proactive in identifying the root cause of issues and developing solutions, driving organizational excellence through continuous communication
• You thrive on building relationships and creating partnerships across the organization
• You flourish in a fast-growth, entrepreneurial environment and thrive on contributing to our brand and team's evolution
• You remain highly flexible and adaptable when faced with ambiguity 
• You effectively balance autonomy and collaboration
• You seek the best (sometimes not the easiest) solutions, with an unwavering commitment to do what is right 
• Your passion for your work is paralleled by your passion for getting outside and living it 

Arc'teryx is committed to actively creating and fostering a culture of inclusivity where voices are heard, people are seen, and values are respected. We care about the uniqueness of our applicants, employees, and guests, and we do so in a safe space fueled by curiosity and acceptance. 

Creating an inclusive workplace is connected to our core value Do Right while also having the added benefit of helping make our business better. We believe inclusion helps us to create a healthier, happier workplace, drive creativity and innovation, and reflect the communities where we operate.  

All applicants, employees, and guests can expect equality of opportunity and fair treatment in alignment with our values.

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