Position Purpose and Summary:

The Director, Merchandising, Korea will lead the Korea merchandising team in the continued development and growth of regional Columbia business across multiple product categories for DTC, wholesale, and ecommerce channels. As the Columbia merchandising director, this position is responsible for providing product vision and strategy for the business and Korea region, and driving the team to create seasonal assortments that support global brand strategies, marketing messages, and business initiatives while optimizing local regional needs. This critical leader will manage and direct all aspects of category management, product creation, product design, product line planning, retail merchandise planning, sales analysis, market research, product sales cycle planning, pricing and product road map.

This individual will be in charge of managing the merchandising P&L, product roadmap and curation, and building strong partnerships with senior leadership team to effectively define and implement segmentation strategies necessary to maximize revenue and profitability while improving forecast accuracy and SKU productivity. Influencing skills, cross-functional leadership and collaboration are essential for working with in-market teams and global merchandising and marketing stakeholders on behalf of the Korea region. As a member of Korea senior leadership team, this person must attract new talent, redirect behaviour or performance and develop direct reports to achieve corporate business goals and personal talent developments.

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Essential Functions/Responsibilities:

The Director, Merchandising, Korea, upholds a leadership role based on the following criteria:

1) Columbia product categories ownership on product/retail merchandise

2) Partnership with Global/APAC/Korea senior leadership teams

3) Team management and talent development as a merchandising leader in Korea

The position holds a variety of roles and responsibilities as set forth below:

• Own the full category/brand leadership of Columbia products in Korea to drive a brand-led growth aligning regional business goals and objectives.
• Envision and direct market & consumer relevant seasonal brand aligned product assortments (multi-channel), leveraging history, market knowledge, trend assessment and financial risk and reward.
• Create holistic product strategy and line plan for Korea market with integrating global adoption and local creation
• Provide the clear category/brand vision to the cross-functional teams and oversee End in Mind assortment planning (including channel segmentation and retail floor capacity), delivery flow strategies, storytelling and product strategy in creating consumer’s experience.
• Lead workstreams to develop seasonal and long-term growth strategies in partnership with Global/APAC and in-market channel/brand leaders.
• Partner with Global/APAC Regional Merchandising leveraging the knowledge of the market, competitive landscape, consumer and market trends in order to ensure the local product needs are incorporated into the global seasonal line plan.
• Speed to market : Adapting emerging trend at Korea market, create highly demanded local products
• Lead the KDS (Korea Direct Source) local apparel, accessory & equipment product creation process and design for creating local market & consumer relevant product line which are aligned with global & Korea strategy of brand & business  
• Communicate and direct local stakeholders on seasonal strategies including innovation & technologies, brand & product initiatives, product assortments and marketing support.
• Manage the seasonal product adoption & assortments (from concept to sales meeting) to ensure seasonal financial targets and style count targets are met.
• Partner with global/local stakeholders to develop seasonal product line pricing strategies that support revenue and profitability goals, while remaining relative and competitive in the marketplace.
• Partner with in-market channel leaders on pre-line activity with strategic accounts and DTC teams through presentation of key stories, directed assortments and initiatives.
• Partner with finance/demand planning partners to manage margin and profitability for seasonal product line to hit seasonal targets.
• Build a strong storytelling and an integrated assortment for retail to create a unique moment of truth experience that exceeds the expectation of consumers.
• Lead business analytical workstreams (margin, style/sku count, style/sku productivity, forecasting, bookings and sell-thru analysis) to build team expertise on the regional business and the management of it.
• Adhere to GTM Calendar and lead the activation of seasonal merchandising strategies aligned with long range plans, seasonal GTM plan, revenue and margin targets and brand goals.
• Lead, develop and retain talents to foster a high-performance culture and to contribute to achieving corporate and personal talent goals through TREK Conversations and Goal Setting procedures.

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Minimum Educational/Experience Requirements/Skills

• Minimum of 18 years product, merchandising or equivalent brand management experience in merchandising or other retail segment (experience in a global company highly preferred)
• +7 years team development and management experience
• Strong leadership acumen as a member of Korea Senior Leadership Team
• Bachelor’s degree in business, merchandising, design or related discipline
• Solid business management skills with demonstrated financial acumen
• Strong understanding of the consumer, retail environment and competitive marketplace
• Leader, communicator, listener, analytical thinker, presenter with merchandising skill set and business management experience
• Remain highly organized and meet strict timelines while simultaneously managing multiple teams, seasonal calendars and projects
• Identify and evaluate problem areas and contribute effective solutions
• Encourage teamwork and build business relationships based on trust and open communication
• Lead by example through clear and thoughtful research and inspire strategy-focused results
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Power Point
• Fluency in both English and Korean (verbal/written)

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Job Scope:

• Job involves a high degree of complexity managing multiple competing priorities across multiple seasons and product categories in a highly matrixed organization. Duties are performed with only general direction and work is checked or verified more by results. Decisions are made within general company policy constraints. Errors in judgments can adversely affect company image, may lead to customer non-acceptance, inefficiency and delays in the production process and cause loss of revenues and/or profits. Responsibilities also include substantial accountability for the performance of developed product strategies and assortments for the assigned market.
   
• Key Performance Indicators will be:
  - Corporate net sales, gross margins and OPI
  - Category/Brand net sales and margins
  - Sell-in & Sell- thru
  - Style/SKU productivity
  - Compliance with Global/Brand strategies, directions and guidelines

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities, but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function in the company.