Merchandising Director, Dresses

THE COMPANY: BIRDY GREY (www.birdygrey.com)
Birdy Grey is a direct-to-consumer brand whose mission is to celebrate and elevate friendships during one of the most important milestones in a person's life: THE WEDDING.
Founded in 2017 by best friends Grace Lee (CEO & Founder) and Monica Ashauer (President & Co-Founder), Birdy Grey offers affordable bridesmaid dresses starting at $100, and fun gifts and accessories for everyone in the bridal party. Brides and bridesmaids alike count on Birdy Grey for their most important day-so much so that we've dressed over half a million bridesmaids (and counting) in less than 5 years.
THE OPPORTUNITY: Merchandising Director, Dresses
REPORTS TO: VP of Merchandising and Planning
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid)
Birdy Grey is seeking a Merchandising Manager. This role, reporting into the VP of Merchandising and Planning, will drive the development & and growth of key business categories. This individual will be responsible for executing the product strategy, driving product launch and promotional cadence with teams across the organization, curating the assortment and helping to identify new growth opportunities. To be effective in this role, the individual must be an experienced merchant and a highly collaborative cross-functional partner. The ideal candidate has strong communication, organizational and analytical skills and the ability to foster relationships with vendors, cross-functional teams and peers to deliver results.
Scope Of Responsibilities

• Create and manage merchandise assortment and inventory strategies that drive sales growth and maintain margin targets across multiple categories
• Build seasonal line plans partnering with the Design and Product Development teams
• Create the replenishment strategy partnering with Planning and PD, guiding long-range fabric & style expansion
• Partner with planning to build a pre-season sales and inventory plan; Own in-season management of the assortment including new category testing and markdowns;
• Analyze category performance to identify risks and opportunities; present findings in weekly leadership meetings
• Participate in weekly fittings to inform style adoption and execution
• Manage relationship with vendors, including pricing and terms negotiations
• Partner with brand marketing on promotions and launch timing strategy
• Partner with E-commerce team to manage new product launch process, make site merchandising recommendations and strategize on cross-selling opportunities
• Uphold brand price positioning and pricing strategy for non-dress categories
• Identify key trends in the marketplace and recommend assortment additions accordingly
• Partner with Planning to Identify potential short-stocked positions or stockouts and make recommendations to correct in order to avoid any sales misses
• Work closely with product development and production team on categories purchased via vertical suppliers; Identify opportunities to shift any wholesale items in-house to maximize profit
• Develop comprehensive assortment strategies across E-commerce channel, identifying new product opportunities to deliver high growth expectations
• Maintain an understanding of the competitive landscape and impart key insights into line development and build seasonal product knowledge for the website
• Act as cross-departmental liaison, creating a consistent flow of communication throughout the organization

THE RIGHT CANDIDATE: QUALIFICATIONS & PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree Required
Experience / Requirements

• 8+ years of Merchandising experience
• Strong experience in women's apparel
• Experience in fashion, apparel, or consumer goods at a large organization
• Experience at a start-up, ideally e-Commerce / DTC
• Ability to think big picture to achieve the company's overall goals but also able to dive into the details to improve processes or troubleshoot issues
• Strong strategic ability to develop actionable plans for short and long term growth
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel, excellent retail math skills, and strong financial acumen to extract analytical insights and make data-driven decisions
• Excellent written/verbal communication and presentation skills to gain support both internally and externally with plans and concepts
• Strong problem solving, interpersonal and organizational skills
• Flexible and able to perform well in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment
• Experienced in change-management
• A resourceful mindset & can-do attitude
• Challenges team & partners to take calculated risks
• Ability and willingness to travel and meet in person in LA and NY as necessary

Nice To Haves

• Start-up experience
• Interest in bridal and fashion

WHY BIRDY GREY: BENEFITS & PERKS (for eligible Full-Time Employees)

• Competitive Compensation: Based on experience and performance + Annual Performance Bonus
• Healthcare Benefits: 100% employer covered medical dental & vision plans, 50% spouse and dependent medical coverage + access to One Medical + Mental Health Benefits
• Retirement: 401K with no waiting period
• Generous PTO: Flexible Open PTO Policy + 11 paid holidays
• Wellness: A monthly wellness day + Classpass membership + $50 monthly wellness stipend + summer Fridays
• Flexibility: Partial remote with a high level of autonomy and accountability + $50 monthly WIFI stipend
• Employee Discount: Free bridesmaid dresses + 50% discounts on Birdy Grey products
• Family Benefits: 3 months of paid parental leave
• Purpose: Join in the success of a high-growth, 80% women, minority founded, early-stage startup by driving performance and building out new processes

Highlights

• Birdy Grey is #305 on Inc5000's List of Fastest Growing US Companies 2022
• #22 on BuiltIn's Best Startups to Work for in LA
• Be part of a company innovating the $75B+ US wedding market (IBISWorld, 2019)
• Join a Women Founded Small Business blazing trails in the Bridal industry
• Birdy Grey is making waves on BuzzFeed, The Knot, Brides, People, Allure, PopSugar, Bustle and more
• Named #5 on LA's 50 Hottest Startups in 2020 by Pitchbook & Dot.LA
• Customers can participate in Birdy Grey's giveback program with The Princess Project, a non-profit that provides prom dresses and accessories to teens in need

Additional InformationThe Lead Announces the 2021 Foremost 50 List: The Annual Power List of High-Growth D2C Brands
Cult-favorite bridal brand brings $99 bridesmaid dresses to one-day pop-up in Plano
My wedding party wore thse $99 bridesmaid dresses from Birdy Grey and everyone looked amazing, proving you don't need to make anyone spend $400 on a dress they'll wear once
Birdy Grey Instagram - @birdygrey
Birdy Grey is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
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