POSITION: Global Merchandiser / Merchandise planner LOCATION: Hamilton, New Zealand About Hine Collection: HINE is a purpose-built brand established in 2018 with a mission to empower women by helping them reveal their inner confidence through clothing, ensuring they feel seen and represented. As an Indigenous-owned brand created by women for women, we lead the way as the most size-inclusive and diverse activewear brand, stocking sizes XXS-8XL. Designed and based in Aotearoa, New Zealand, our products are shipped to customers worldwide.
Job Description: To provide merchandising solutions for Hine by developing and executing a product strategy that coordinates the assortments for DTC and Wholesale concepts to deliver the financial plans for the website, stores and partners through effective range planning, forecasting, and performance management.
Key Responsibilities: Annual Product Calendar:Create and maintain an annual launch calendar for new season launches and core product reviews.Ensure the assortments offer newness that excites while delivering core revenue.CTC Process:Facilitate the CTC process internally, ensuring product design and development teams are on track for launch dates and key commitment deadlines for supply planning.CTC Process Stages: Kick-off, Design review, Range architecture, Sampling, Range handover, Go to market, Demand planning, PO raising, Launch.Financial Strategy Plan:Build a financial strategy plan for each season using detailed historical analysis.Validate all key KPIs during the process and integrate the high-level annual marketing calendar to capture activity in the demand forecasts.Create an OTB for each season to support demand, drive productivity, and limit excess in the buy.Key KPIs: Starting margin %, Achieved margin %, Productivity, Revenue at the category level.Pricing Strategy:Maintain a pricing strategy document that drives a sell-up opportunity for Hine.Ensure pricing strategy is appropriately pitched for the brand's market position.Conduct regular brand positioning reviews for key categories.Lessons Learned:Build previous season analysis sheets to understand the performance of each style.Include the full season potential of early sell-outs.Assortment Planning / Demand Planning Own the creation and maintenance of the assortment sheets for each season.Ensure new season buys connect clearly to the OTB target.Ensure future season forecasts are accurate and justified based on historical linked styles and distribution.OTB (Open to Buy):Manage the OTB process to keep stock within budget for the year.Forecast future stock and sales positions and manage receipts to minimize stock gaps.Account for future growth across all distribution channels.DTC stock target: max 124 days cover, Wholesale stock target: 70 days forward cover.No stock should be held older than one season.Supply Planning:Raise or approve POs ensuring they are within the agreed OTB targets.Analyze and optimize size curves throughout the lifetime of each product & location combination.Use full-priced sales modelling to optimize full-price sell-thru and maintain these each season.Trade:Monitor sell-thru each week and make recommendations for activity.Work closely with marketing and the leadership team.Recommend promotional mechanics and a targeted clearance strategy to optimize margin and sell-thru.Qualifications and Skills: Proven experience in merchandising, merchandise planning, or a similar role.Strong analytical skills and proficiency in relevant software (e.g., Excel, merchandising tools).Excellent organizational and project management skills.Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.