Rosso & Azzurro
Head of Merchandising
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About the Role
We're looking for an experienced and commercially driven Head of Merchandising to lead our planning and trading function across the Rosso & Azzurro group. This is a senior commercial role with full accountability for how our stock is planned, bought, allocated and traded across every channel we sell through, Ecommerce, Wholesale and our Retail Stores.
This role will be responsible for defining and delivering the merchandising strategy, ensuring optimum stock investment, sales performance and profitability across the business. Working closely with Operations, Buying, Design, Marketing, Supply Chain and Finance teams, the Head of Merchandising will lead planning, forecasting and trading activities, driving commercial decisions through data, insight and market trends.
As a key member of the leadership team, the role will play a critical part in supporting business growth, maximising product performance and ensuring stock is managed effectively across all channels.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy & Leadership
- Set and deliver the merchandising strategy for the group, aligned to overall commercial, brand and growth objectives
- Lead, coach and develop the planning, trading and allocation teams, setting clear objectives and building capability and succession across the function
- Act as a key member of the commercial leadership team, influencing range, pricing, channel and investment decisions at a senior level
- Build strong, collaborative relationships with Operations, Brand, Design, Ecommerce, Retail, Wholesale, Finance, Marketing and Supply Chain teams
Planning & Forecasting
- Own the seasonal and annual financial planning process, setting sales, margin, stock and Open-to-Buy (OTB) budgets by brand, channel and category
- Build top-down and bottom-up plans with Finance, ensuring merchandise plans reconcile to the company budget and reforecasts
- Manage the Open-to-Buy, controlling commitment and intake to protect cash flow and stock health
- Lead range planning with Buying, defining option counts, depth, price architecture and the product mix by channel
- Plan stock intake and phasing against the critical path, working with Buying and Supply Chain to manage lead times and delivery windows
- Develop store grading, clustering and channel-specific plans to tailor ranges to customer demand
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Trading & Performance Management
- Lead the weekly trading cycle, analysing performance by brand, channel, category and product and turning insight into clear action
- Maximise full-price sell-through and margin, identifying best sellers to chase and slow sellers to act on early
- Own markdown, promotional and clearance strategy, balancing sales, margin and stock exit targets
- Manage stock levels, cover and ageing across the business, keeping inventory healthy and minimising aged and obsolete stock
- Reforecast sales, margin and stock in season, communicating risks and opportunities to senior leadership
- Oversee allocation and replenishment so stock is positioned where it will sell best across stores, ecommerce and wholesale
Channel Management — Ecommerce, Wholesale & Stores
- Ecommerce: partner with the Ecommerce team on stock availability, product launches, site trading, promotions and marketplace stock, using online data such as conversion, sell-through and returns to shape decisions
- Wholesale: plan and manage wholesale stock commitments and forward orders, protect availability for key accounts, and balance wholesale demand against direct-to-consumer channels
- Stores: work with Retail Operations to plan store ranges, grading, allocation and replenishment, including new store openings, refits and seasonal transitions
- Take an omnichannel view of inventory, making the most of a single stock pool and optimising fulfilment and stock flow across channels
Reporting, Systems & Process
- Produce clear weekly, monthly and seasonal reporting on sales, margin, stock and OTB for the leadership team
- Define and track key merchandising KPIs, including sell-through, gross margin, stock turn, weeks' cover, availability, markdown spend and forecast accuracy
- Drive continuous improvement in merchandising processes, tools and systems, including planning, allocation and reporting solutions
- Run post-season reviews to capture learnings and feed them into future range and buy decisions
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What We're Looking For
- At least [8–10] years' merchandising experience in retail, with at least [3] years leading a merchandising, planning or trading team at senior manager or head-of level
- Proven experience planning and trading across multiple channels — ideally ecommerce, wholesale and physical stores
- Strong commercial acumen, with a track record of improving sales, margin and stock performance
- Expert knowledge of OTB management, financial planning, range planning, markdown strategy and stock management
- Highly numerate and analytical, with advanced Excel skills and confidence turning complex data into clear, practical recommendations
- Experience working with merchandise planning, allocation and ERP systems
- Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to inspire, develop and get the best from a team
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, confident challenging and presenting at senior level
- Able to stay calm and decisive in a fast-paced, changing trading environment while managing multiple priorities
Desirable:
- Experience with domestic and international wholesale
- Experience in a multi-brand business, ideally within fashion, footwear, outdoor or lifestyle
- Experience with marketplaces and third-party ecommerce platforms
- Experience supporting international growth or new market entry from a merchandising perspective
- Knowledge of planning tools such as [e.g. NetSuite, Shopify,]
- Experience leading the implementation of new merchandising systems or processes
What We Offer
- Competitive salary depending on experience
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Company pension scheme
- Generous staff discount on brands
- Enhanced Maternity and Paternity leave
- Health Shield employee health benefit
- Access to a Mortgage benefit scheme
- Full-time, office-based — 5 days a week at our Manchester Office
- The opportunity to shape and lead the merchandising function of a growing multi-brand, multi-channel group
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