Job Description

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.

JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.

We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

The JD Group is now recruiting for an Assistant Merchandiser to join our Bury Head Office, within the JD Sports Fashion fascia. The Assistant Merchandiser is responsible/reports to the Merchandiser.
The Assistant Merchandiser is a key member of the Merchandising team. They support the team by ensuring product is in the right stores to enable the achievement of all channel department sales, markdown, stock, intake and profit plans. This role offers a great opportunity to continue to develop your career in merchandising.
Responsibilities
Your responsibilities are to:
Plan (5%):
• Provide the Merchandiser and Buyer with previous season analysis
Order/Stock (35%):
• Create accurate size ratios for all buys
• Establish working relationships with supplier base
• Prioritise intake and review booked lines to ensure best stock placement, with guidance from the Merchandiser
• Complete cost, retail and margin order checks
• Work with the Merchandiser to ensure pre-scheduling meets options and range plan at store level
Trade (60%):
• Prepare reporting for weekly review of stores and product in preparation for Monday trade meeting
• Identify priority stores for the week, review and propose actions.
o New / re-fit Stores - analysis of performance
o Over / under performing stores
o Over / under optioned stores
o Priority stores fed to team by management team or other function
• Action feedback from Retail and Branch Merchandising to support the stores.
• Action guidance from Branch Merchandising relating to event planning.
• Develop awareness of product area through analysis of reports and store visits.
• Undertake store visits and create an action plan to improve performance.
• Undertake new store stock builds, with guidance from Merchandiser.
• Manage line cards in conjunction with the Merchandiser.
• Manage methods of stock re-direction such as condensing of stocks and IBT’s, killing ideals and extending stock.
· Maximise best sellers through the review of ideal stock levels.
· Collate and check weekly price amendments.
· Establish collaborative working relationships within teams across functions including multi-channel.
· Carry out any ad-hoc analysis as required.
The ideal candidate
· Passionate about JD, its brands and customer.
· Merchandising experience and knowledge – currently an Assistant Merchandiser or a Merchandise Assistant/Trainee Merchandiser looking for the next step
· Experience within a footwear / apparel / sports retailer is advantageous
· Analytical, data driven and highly numerate
· Systems driven, proficient in Excel and other Microsoft Office software.
· Highly organised and strong attention to detail.
· Confident communicator able to build relationships at all levels
· Able to take ownership of your work, prioritise and use your initiative to deliver
· Good teamwork skills, being able to work collaboratively to reach a common goal, sharing information and supporting colleagues.
· Positive and flexible, responsive to business needs.
· Resilient and able to adapt to change, focusing on solutions not problems.
· Curious with a continuous learning mindset.
Team Structure
Here at JD, the Merchandising team structure is organised into various departments. Each of the departments have a strong focus in certain areas, such as Apparel, Footwear and Accessories. Being part of this wide team will give you the opportunity to work with sports branded suppliers and other key stakeholders.
There are many opportunities to grow within the different areas and there is also training and development plans in place to support and mentor you in your personal and professional career.
Our Benefits
· JD Group Company Discount Across All JD Group Fascia’s (JD, size?, Blacks, Millets, GO Outdoors)
· JD Group Pension Scheme
· JD Group Holiday Entitlement
· Discounted Membership At JD Gyms
· In-House Training & Development Programmes
· Apprenticeship opportunities
· Staff Sales
· Free onsite parking
· Onsite Canteen
· Opportunities to progress throughout the wider business – within the UK and International

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.

Thank you for your time

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