DTC Merchandise Buyer Full Time

Who We Are:

Roark is a modern adventure lifestyle brand with roots in surf and true adventure travel and was created to give a voice to the modern adventurer who finds just as much joy on the journey as he or she does at the summit.  Stories off the beaten path are the fabric of our adventures – sharing them with others is what stitches it all together.

About The Role:

In this role, you’ll be instrumental in the success of Roark’s Direct-to-Consumer Ecommerce and Stores business as you oversee Merchandising, Buying, and Inventory operations. Your responsibilities include crafting assortment strategies to captivate our customers and implementing financial and inventory management tactics to fulfill Roark customers’ demands promptly.

Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Merchandising, Buying, and Inventory Planning:

• Develop and drive merchandise assortments that meet DTC customer needs that are aligned to the overall company strategy, resulting in increased earnings for the Ecommerce and US Stores.
• Develop comprehensive merchandise standards for OMNI-channel retail operations.
• Analyze historical data and current trends to identify risks and opportunities by market, channel, division, and department.
• Oversee the success of preseason sales and inventory plans by division and category that support product strategies.
• Build out a strong OTB process that keeps all functions focused on in-season priorities and adjusting future strategies as needed.
• Reconcile top down to bottom-up division/category plans.
• Present financial forecast and supporting action plans in Open To Buy meeting.
• Reforecast sales and manage inventories for all styles to meet department financial goals.
• Communicate product sales results and forecasts to manager and cross functional team on a weekly basis.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with members of cross functional team (Marketing, Product, Site Merchandising, Business Intelligence), setting expectations around prioritization and best practices around key deliverables.

Functional Structure, Talent Development, and Standard Operating Process:

• Build a strong Merchandising/Planning process that maximizes decision power versus tactical execution.
• Strategically set up the team for success, utilizing their strengths coupled with teaching/coaching as needed.
• Define clear KPI’s for each milestone that defines the success of the DTC business.
• Develop tools and reporting that deliver the needs of pre-season and in-season management of the business.
• Ensure the successful delivery of expectations across each milestone of the business.
• Ownership of accurate and efficient input of data into our systems.
• This role requires someone who is willing to “get into the weeds,” meaning you will delve deeply into the specifics of the data, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Pull and analyze sales data, inventory levels, and other relevant metrics to develop allocation strategies that optimize inventory distribution across stores and channels.

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Partner with cross-functional business partners as Merchandising and Planning expert to develop strong S&OP, that is scalable as the company grows.
• Clearly communicate product priorities and measures of success to meet or exceed financial goals.
• Lead cross-functionally as the Business expert to ensure proper communication of DTC inventory risks and opportunities. Drive collaboration on related strategies to maximize total business opportunities.
• Build out and lead OTB, to provide regular reports on in-season selling trends and weekly/monthly variance to plan by category/style, in addition to seasonal recaps communicated across departments.
• Collaborate closely with Marketing, Creative, and Performance Marketing to drive demand through compelling digital ad and web content.

Qualifications and Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Merchandising, Marketing, Supply Chain or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in buying, planning, or merchandising (OMNI experience preferred).
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Thrive in a highly collaborative environment.
• Ability to implement and learn new systems and process with urgency.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and other data analysis tools.
• Experience with retail allocation software is a plus.
• Goal-oriented, with high standards of honesty, ethics, and personal accountability.
• Awareness of market trends and consumer tastes.
• Prefer knowledge of consumer goods in a lifestyle/footwear market.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguous, ever-changing environment.
• Ability to tell a concise story behind large data.
• Ability and passion for making data driven decisions.
• Highly organized and capable of being the functional expert on cross-functional teams.
• Brings a winning mindset to a collaborative team environment.
• Moves urgently behind a purpose for the team.
• Drive for results.
• Full Circle Experience – preferred.
• Strong understanding of Shopify reporting.

Location: This position is based full time in-office in Irvine, CA.

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $85,000-$100,000 annually. Salary is based on the experience that you bring to the position.

Benefits and Perks:

• Complimentary chef prepared breakfast and lunch provided Monday – Thursday
• Generous product gift program and all brand discounts
• Growth opportunities within the Archipelago family of brands: OluKai, Kaenon, Melin, Roark
• Company bonus program
• 5 year and 10 year Anniversary gifts and travel to desirable destinations, in accordance with plan guidelines
• Wellness program
• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance in accordance with plan guidelines
• Company paid life insurance
• 401k with employer match in accordance with plan guidelines
• 15 Days of PTO plus one additional day of PTO every year on your anniversary and 3 Floating Holidays per year
• Paid beach and giveback days, bi annual team building events and other in person celebrations
• Dog friendly office

Tagged as: california, ecommerce, irvine, merchandising, roark