The brief:

New Merchandising function – Sustainable Lifestyle Brand

A rapidly expanding sustainable lifestyle brand were looking to implement a new merchandising function to help provide visibility on inventory, forecast sales, improve product sales performance whilst providing insight to product teams.

The product team had previously been responsible for managing stock along with an assistant demand planner. Whilst the business was experiencing exponential growth the existing structure was not allowing the business to operate at its full potential and maximise profit across all channels.

How we did it

We met with the CEO/ founder and Product Director, spending some time in the office to get an understanding of the business, existing structure, growth plans and company culture. We utilised the information finalising a new team structure consisting of three hires including a Head of Merchandising, Merchandiser and a Product Merchandiser, who would support the collection build. We agreed a recruitment schedule for all roles, delivering a targeted shortlist from similar brands. Following the shortlist, we moved to interview stages on all roles with all candidates preparing a project which highlighted their skills, suitability and understanding of the business. The first hire was for a Head of Merchandising, who’s profile we identified in our initial meeting having worked with them previously. It was agreed they would be a great fit culturally with proven success within Merchandising. We followed this role with a Merchandiser and finally a Product Merchandiser which finalised the team. We completed the project within 6 weeks from initial brief to offer stage on all three roles. Feedback has been hugely positive from the founder who quickly recognised the impact of the team positive effect it has had on both the collection build and profitability. All three candidates have established themselves in the business and are enjoying the unique work environment and the ongoing success of the business.