Education - It's in Our DNA:
At Barnes & Noble Education (“BNED”) we are dedicated to making tomorrow a better, more inclusive, and smarter world by servicing all who work in education. As a leading solutions provider for the education industry, we are committed to driving affordability, accessibility, and achievement at hundreds of academic institutions nationwide by ensuring millions of students are equipped for success in the classroom and beyond. Together, our teams work to elevate lives through education.
To support this mission, we are seeking a Sr. Merchandise Manager to provide strategic leadership across assigned merchandise categories. This role is responsible for developing and executing merchandising strategies that drive sales growth, profitability, inventory productivity, and customer engagement across Barnes & Noble Education's retail channels. The Sr. Merchandise Manager owns the end-to-end merchandise lifecycle, including category strategy, financial planning, assortment development, vendor partnerships, pricing, promotional planning, and execution. Leading a team of Buyers and Assistant Buyers, this individual collaborates cross-functionally to deliver customer-centric assortments that align with business objectives while achieving key financial, operational, and customer experience goals.
How You'll Make an Impact:
- Own the overall business strategy and financial performance for assigned merchandise categories, ensuring the achievement of sales, gross margin, markdown, inventory productivity, and profitability objectives.
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Develop and execute merchandise strategies, seasonal assortments, pricing, promotional, and go-to-market plans that align with customer needs, market trends, and company priorities.
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Lead the development of assortments across channels, store formats, geographic regions, customer segments, and price tiers to maximize customer engagement and business performance.
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Analyze customer insights, sales trends, competitive activity, and market intelligence to identify opportunities, anticipate demand, and make informed merchandising decisions.
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Partner with Merchandise Planning to develop seasonal financial plans, forecasts, inventory strategies, and in-season action plans that optimize sales, margin, inventory productivity, and inventory turnover.
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Drive disciplined inventory management through effective assortment planning, pricing strategies, promotional activity, markdown optimization, and exit strategies.
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Monitor business performance and proactively adjust merchandising strategies to capitalize on opportunities, mitigate risk, and achieve financial objectives.
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Develop and maintain strategic vendor partnerships, sourcing innovative products while negotiating commercial agreements that maximize value and support long-term business growth.
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Ensure vendor accountability through effective performance management, compliance, and collaborative problem-solving.
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Lead key merchandising milestones, including hindsight reviews, assortment presentations, line reviews, seasonal product launches, and marketing collaboration meetings.
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Partner with Marketing, Digital Commerce, Store Operations, Finance, Pricing, Inventory Management, and other cross-functional teams to ensure successful execution of merchandising strategies and promotional initiatives.
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Collaborate with store leadership to support new products, seasonal programs, special events, and localized merchandising opportunities that enhance the customer experience.
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Champion continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance merchandising processes, operational efficiency, communication, and cross-functional collaboration.
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Lead the resolution of operational challenges impacting merchandise execution, product availability, pricing, marketing initiatives, digital channels, and store performance.
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Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Buyers and Assistant Buyers by establishing clear expectations, providing ongoing feedback, and fostering professional growth.
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Build organizational capability through succession planning, talent development, knowledge sharing, and a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
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Influence cross-functional decision-making through strong business partnerships, sound judgment, and effective communication while presenting recommendations, business insights, risks, and opportunities to senior leadership.
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Stay current on retail, consumer, and industry trends, leveraging emerging technologies and best practices to drive innovation and strengthen merchandising performance
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Additional responsibilities as required.
What You'll Need to Succeed:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Merchandising, Retail Management, Marketing, Finance, or a related field preferred.
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Eight to ten years of progressive merchandising, buying, or category management experience within an omnichannel retail environment.
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Demonstrated success developing and executing merchandise strategies that drive sales growth, profitability, inventory productivity, and customer engagement.
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Experience managing General Merchandise and/or Hardgoods categories preferred.
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Strong financial, analytical, and strategic business acumen with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, develop actionable merchandising strategies, and drive profitable business decisions.
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Demonstrated leadership experience with the ability to coach, mentor, and develop high-performing teams while building collaborative relationships and influencing cross-functional partners across all levels of the organization.
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Proven success negotiating complex vendor agreements and developing strategic supplier partnerships that deliver business value.
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Excellent communication, presentation, organizational, and project management skills, with the ability to effectively manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
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Proficiency with Microsoft Office and retail merchandising, planning, reporting, and inventory management systems; experience utilizing AI-enabled tools and emerging retail technologies is preferred.
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Ability to travel to stores, vendor meetings, trade shows, and other business-related events as needed.
Please Note: This is a hybrid role requiring in-office attendance three (3) days per week at our Florham Park, NJ headquarters. Applicants must be within a commutable distance, as relocation assistance will not be provided.
How We Elevate Our Employees:
We believe your success is our success, so our benefits package is designed specifically to support you in every aspect of your life. At BNED, we offer a variety of programs and resources to support the physical, mental, and financial well-being of our employees by offering a competitive total rewards package for full-time employees, which includes medical, dental, and vision plans, 401k with an annual discretionary match, life insurance, commuter benefits, paid time off with paid holidays, and a broad range of other benefits.
The hiring range for this position is $110,000 - $120,000 annually. This range represents the base salary only, in good faith at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion:
At Barnes & Noble Education, we empower everyone. Our mission is to support students, faculty, and schools, serving as a catalyst to meet the evolving needs of the education system and a new generation of students. That starts with fostering an environment for our employees where diversity and individuality is celebrated.
Barnes & Noble Education is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Barnes & Noble Education provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete an application or participate in the interview process, please contact [email protected].
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