Merchandising Manager, Cannabis Industry
Client Background
Our rapidly growing client is one the earliest publicly traded companies serving the legal cannabis industry. We are assisting them in completing their merchandising, supply chain, and marketing organizations. This is an entrepreneurial environment that is looking for B2B and B2C talent to mature business processes while supporting continued rapid expansion. Candidates will be self confident and able to operate in a dynamic environment while leading or participating in establishing and hardening merchandising, supply chain, and ecommerce processes.
Job location: Boca Raton, FL
Position Summary
The Merchandising Manager is responsible for the establishment and execution of company strategies, category plans, and vendor/sku assortment plans, to deliver the sales, margin and inventory objectives developed with the leadership team. This person has extensive interaction with the VP of Merchandising, and other functional departments within the organization including sales, marketing, procurement, and supply chain. She/He develops annual strategy plans for categories, vendors, and sku assortment. Leads the Product Management team and interacts with appropriate departments throughout the Company to develop, manage, and execute vendor/sku new launches, sku life cycle, pricing, strategize and implement category and assortment plans, prioritize product development projects, and manage vendor relationships. The Merchandising Manager will ensure that these strategies and tactics support and enhance the Company’s strategies and financial plans and is responsible for building and managing the Product Management team.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Develops and manages the strategic direction for multiple categories and vendors.
- Based on market conditions and company financial goals, develop product category role and intent strategies with VP of Merchandising to determine appropriate allocation of resources to maximize sales and profit potential.
- Develops, maintains, and achieves category sales, margin, and inventory plans.
- With the VP Merchandising, collaboratively develops and executes house brand concepts and penetration goals to support the company’s vision.
- Drives the category and assortment planning process to include new category & item development, promotional plans, and ensure first to market positioning whenever possible.
- Supports the VP of Merchandising by collaboratively developing global vendor plans, while also managing the N.A. vendor relationships.
- Collaborates with Procurement, Planning, Sales, and Marketing to develop category sales, profit, and inventory plans, and works to implement strategic initiatives to drive results.
- Regularly reviews competitors to understand our competitive advantages and positioning.
- Partners cross-functionally to support category strategies and the needs of the business.
- Hires, develops and manages the Product Management team.
Qualifications & Skills Required
- 7-10 years progressive experience in Merchandising/Procurement/Sourcing with extensive experience in the manufacturing and wholesale industry, preferably in a strategic setting in a mid to large size organization.
- Must demonstrate the ability to operate at both the tactical and strategic levels.
- Good understanding of industry norms and practices.
- Solid track record meeting sales, margin, and inventory targets.
- Degree in Purchasing, Production/Operations/Retail Management, Engineering or equivalent business experience.
- Proficient in category management and assortment planning processes.
- Strong computer skills, ideally with experience using Windows-based PC programs.
- Ability to coordinate multiple group efforts within the company to achieve objectives.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks, with awareness of deadlines.
- Ability to identify processes needing improvement, and to recommend improvements.
- Ability to manage, train, and develop merchandising staff.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree
Contact
Executive Connections LLC is handling this executive search on an exclusive basis. For additional information, please contact:
Chris Hendren – Managing Director
630-561-1434
chendren@executiveconnectionsllc.com
OR
Jeff Gundersen – CEO
941-323-8300
jgundersen@executiveconnectionsllc.com