Footwear Merchandiser II, Lifestyle
US, Washington, Seattle
Footwear – Footwear Merchandising /
Full Time /
Hybrid
Who We Are:
At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.
Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.
Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:
· Runner First
We act in the best interest of the runner
· Word is Bond
We do what we say we’ll do
· Champion Heart
We give our all in everything we do
· There is no “I” in Run
We stay generous with our humanity
· Keep Moving
We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!
We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.
Your Job:
The Lifestyle Footwear Merchandiser II is a key product person focused on Brooks footwear success which translates to revenue and margin. You work closely with demand planning, sales, brand marketing, color trend, insights, and development to create relevant consumer, channel, and market assortments. Your main responsibility is to influence and merchandise the footwear line for the best product line outcome delivering the right product at the right time at the right place and at the right price. You are the “eyes and ears” of the competition as it pertains to the lifestyle market, streetwear, fashion, the consumer and the retailer. In this role you will lead deep competitive analysis of Brooks footwear vs. our competition to provide feedback, insights and recommendations to further advance our products.
This position requires 15% travel.
Your Responsibilities:
- Assess and deliver consumer readiness and relevant assortments each season to ensure market readiness and competitive advantage.
- Build strategies for new regional business opportunities i.e., where to play, what products, and how to win
- Merchandise the footwear line to maximize regional business, customer, and consumer opportunities.
- Create effective and creative solutions for key lifestyle retailers to maximize Brooks business.
- Act as “eyes and ears” for lifestyle footwear (business, market, customer, channel, runner) and provide feedback to the footwear team.
- Lead the competitive analysis of Brooks products vs. our competitors on fit/feel/color/trend/price/value.
- Present findings to product creation teams and recommend opportunities where we can focus efforts to improve products.
- Analyze brand performance, brand competitiveness, product trends and make recommendations based on your research and analysis.
- Validate seasonal regional article counts, price points, and color flow.
- Own seasonal data inputs including colorways, prices, and intro dates for Flex PLM, ensuring accuracy of information and updating changes throughout the season.
- Build and deliver product prelines with key accounts to obtain feedback on design, materials, color, and price.
- Deliver product prelines with consumers to obtain feedback on design, materials, color, and price.
- As product representative for the footwear line, provide consumer and market insights to the color team to support creating the right color choices during the creation process.
- Collaborate with the color teams to create the seasonal assortments.
- Create the footwear seasonal color mix forecast each season and share with Demand and Supply planning.
- Monitor sell-in, sell-through, and go-in margin. Provide a quarterly update to the footwear team.
- Ensure go-in margin meets Brooks targets and recommend solutions if margin doesn’t meet the target.
- Analyze, interpret, and synthesize data to make the best possible decisions for Brooks business and revenue as it relates to merchandising the footwear line.
- Lead meetings with sales to share product stories, features, benefits, and inform, influence, and negotiate to gain buy-in on product decisions and the reasoning behind the decisions.
- Lead pre-sell of products to key accounts to achieve a successful sell-in each season.
- Act as a resource for PR, Sales and Marketing for product presentations and videos.
- Manage designated seasonal projects to drive Brooks business/brand/products.
- Present at sales meetings and internal meetings
- Travel Requirement: 15%
- Embraces and lives Brooks values!
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Business or a related field required.
- Minimum 5 years’ prior experience in working with lifestyle product (wholesale or retail) and at least 2 years of working for a footwear brand in related field.
- Strong business orientation and analytical skills in managing SKU efficiency, product mix, and profitability.
- Demonstrated ability to conceive/create new thinking and ideas pertaining to the consumer and the product line.
- Strong ability to work professionally and efficiently within the team and across departments and connect different functions.
- Excellent oral and written communications skills – skilled presenter with great communication ability
- Ability to influence, persuade and negotiate to achieve progress toward goals.
- Results-oriented person with the ability to balance numerous tasks and utilize all available resources.
- Ability to work professionally and efficiently within the team and across departments.
- Passion for “energy” footwear and/or sneaker enthusiast a plus
- A comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape within the Lifestyle market.
- This requires analyzing how key competitors position themselves through segmentation, targeting, and brand positioning.
- It involves examining how they execute their strategies across various channels, including pricing, marketing campaigns, and channel distribution.
- It necessitates an understanding of their approach to innovation, encompassing trend identification, product development, and partnerships
- Working knowledge of the footwear product merchandising process, retail environment, and consumer buying habits
- An entrepreneurial spirit and passion for building out a function. We need someone who is excited to continue building upon what has already been established.
- An ability to understand and synthesize information from multiple sources. This role requires an individual who is at the pulse of current trends and can anticipate what’s next and take multiple data inputs and perspectives to reach a cohesive decision.
- A strong background in product creation within the lifestyle space. Design or Development is not required but experience and a deep understanding of the product creation process is a must.
- A history and passion for understanding consumer trends in fashion and beyond
- Ability to identify and discern strong collaboration opportunities
Compensation: The pay range for this position, based out of the Brooks Seattle HQ, is $90,128 - $135,193 per year. Base pay offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Brooks is proud to offer a robust benefits package to our employees and their families!
Benefits: including medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance, HSA and employer contribution, FSA, family & fertility assistance, 401K Savings Plan and match, employee assistance program, and transportation assistance.
Paid Time Off: Brooks offers generous time off including three to five weeks of paid time off, eleven paid holidays, paid sick and parental leave.
Bonus: in addition to base pay, Brooks employees may also be offered an annual bonus based on company performance.
Perks: including product discounts, employee recognition, fitness discounts, volunteer and donation benefits.
Location: You will spend 3 days per week in our Seattle offices, as we believe our organization flourishes when connections, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and celebrations happen in person.
At Brooks, we celebrate diversity & equity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment, and encourage people of all backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills to apply. Brooks is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, two-spirit identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, the presence of a physical, mental, or sensory disability, marital status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), caste, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, actual or perceived victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking, HIV or Hepatitis C infection, political ideology, use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability, or on any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, or any other non-merit based factors.
