Brand Merchandising Hardlines / Softlines

Job Summary:

From toys to apparel, books to games, and much more, Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) brings our company’s products, through stories and characters, to markets worldwide. With a portfolio of renowned franchises including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, 20CS and National Geographic, our efforts to deliver innovative and experiential products, designed to entertain and inspire, is industry leading and category shaping.

Acts as the producer of the line for BRAND CLUSTER X, working with creative and product design to ensure highest quality, consumer focused, trend right product lines across all channels of distribution (licensing, flex business models, vertical and wholesale) that build brand equity and meet financial targets

This posting is a talent pool for upcoming roles within Consumer Products, Games & Publishing. We will be considering talent from within this pool to fill multiple levels (e.g. Assistant, Associate, Manager, and Senior Manager).

Responsibilities:

• Executes or creates the daily implementation of the BRAND CLUSTER X product strategy Assists in the development of or translates the product strategy into a consumer-focused product strategy that is commercially viable and delivers a consistent worldwide look and feel for brand/ category Consumerist: Consumer obsessed, constantly balancing the art and the science of merchandising to find opportunities, elevate brand and delight our consumer Relentlessly monitor the global competitive landscape and consumer zeitgeist to capture opportunity Champions products developed in collaboration with the design teams to capitalize on trends, anticipate consumer demand and drive product innovation in category Manages consolidation of product needs from all regions and channels to develop one product brief to design ensuring needs of all businesses are met Find commonality in consumer, customer and market trends to minimize duplication / cannibalization; identify areas to reduce complexity and increase productivity globally Establish perspective on what’s working and why to consistently improve product line Partners with Studio, Global Creative, and Marketing teams to bring our content and IP to life properly and with a consistent brand point of view across the globe Partners with Product Design and Sourcing to deliver seasonal product lines for vertical and wholesale business models that meet business objectives including sustainability goals Partners with CIMA to direct application of consumer insights to product strategies Partners with O&O Merchandising and 3rd Party Commercial teams around the world to develop and drive execution against franchise and product strategies Comprehensive knowledge about current trends and filter for brand relevance Proactively manage worldwide segmentation at right price/value from value to premium Identify opportunities to leverage products, co-brands and collaborations globally Develop metrics and lead team to deliver development counts, adoption KPIs and COGs targets Brand ambassador to cross-functional teams showing up as a compelling, dynamic, knowledgeable manager in all stages of go to market process and partner interactions where product is discussed Build compelling stories to sell in and create solutions to drive brand vision and grow sales Manage conversation and activities with sourcing to cost the line, run financial scenarios and with design to create a product line in all activities, key milestone meetings Actively manages communication and collaboration with key commercialization partners Communicates to influence cross-functional partners to drive execution and remove road blocks Strong Point of View on consumer, customer and business effectively communicated across stakeholders and management Manages direct reports with immediate feedback on performance and weekly touch bases to review deliverables, regular development and coaching Builds, develops and retains best in class Merchant talent Champion our diversity and inclusion goals through right product and team growth

Basic Qualifications:

• Multiple years of progressive experience in Product Merchandising in an omni-channel company Experience in building or curating a global product line for a category/categories of business that is both globally leveraged and locally relevant Experience in Merchandising for vertical specialty retail environment Experience in multiple segments, brands and channels within the global market Demonstrated ability to identify and capitalize on market trends and consumer zeitgeist to maximize value creation throughout the trend cycle Demonstrated ability to create, leverage and scale innovation Demonstrated ability to manage revenue creation while maintaining brand integrity Strong working knowledge of the omni-channel marketplace globally Strategic thinker with the ability to drive execution against a financial plan Strong communication and interpersonal skills to influence a diverse audience including external partners and business owners to bring product and assortments to the market Successful experience working, and thriving, in a highly matrixed company structure Leadership and talent development abilities and a collaborative and effective management style Ability to think creatively and disruptively to infuse new ideas into product development Ability to manage the organizational and cultural change Ability to travel domestically and internationally

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in merchandising, business, retail management or related fields or equivalent work experience