Merchandise Assistant

Why JD?

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with over 60,000 colleagues and over 3,400 stores across several retail fascias in over 30 markets around the world. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally. We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Job Description

The JD Group is now recruiting for a Merchandise Assistant to join our Bury Head Office, within the JD Sports Fashion fascia. The Merchandise Assistant is responsible/reports to the Merchandiser.

A key member of the Merchandising team, the Merchandise Assistant assists the department with day-to-day tasks such as updating supplier order books, managing problem orders, and actioning stock movements, ensuring the correct stock is in the right place at the right time to maximise profitability across all channels. This role offers a great opportunity to develop your career in merchandising as part of a dedicated team.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities are to:

Order (20%):

• Update supplier order books and ETA reports on the system.
• Reconcile supplier order books and communicate all anomalies.
• Support with raising brand purchase orders at key times, as required.

Stock (40%):

• Book in new product as directed by the Merchandiser.
• Liaise and be first point of contact with the warehouse around delivery issues and problem orders.
• Cost and retail checks on orders booked into the warehouse in conjunction with the Assistant Merchandiser.
• Pre-allocate all new products up to 6 months in advance via scheduling system.

Trade (40%):

• Produce key reporting for Monday trade meetings.
• Develop awareness of product area through analysis of reports and store visits.
• Maximise best sellers through the review of ideal stock levels.
• Action stock movements, including IBTs, in conjunction with the Assistant Merchandiser.
• Collate and check weekly price amendments.
• Follow up on feedback from Retail and Branch Merchandising to support the stores.
• Ad-hoc reports and analysis for the team as required.
• Establish collaborative working relationships within teams across functions.

The ideal candidate

• Passionate about JD, its brands and customer.
• Some knowledge and understanding of Merchandising.
• Analytical and passionate about numbers.
• Systems driven, proficient in Excel and other Microsoft Office software.
• Highly organised and strong attention to detail.
• A good communicator able to build relationships with stakeholders and to work across teams.
• Able to take ownership of your work and use your initiative to deliver…
• Good teamwork skills, being able to work collaboratively to reach a common goal, sharing information and supporting colleagues.
• Positive and flexible, responsive to business needs.
• Curious with a continuous learning mindset.

Team Structure

Here at JD, the Merchandising team structure is organised into various departments. Each of the departments have a strong focus in certain areas, such as Apparel, Footwear and Accessories. Being part of this wide team will give you the opportunity to work with sports branded suppliers and other key stakeholders.

There are many opportunities to grow within the different areas and there is also training and development plans in place to support and mentor you in your personal and professional career.

Our Benefits

• JD Group company discount across all JD Group fascia's (JD, Size?, Blacks, Millets, GO Outdoors)
• JD Group pension scheme
• JD Group holiday entitlement
• Discounted membership at JD Gyms
• In-house training & development programmes
• Apprenticeship opportunities
• Staff sales
• Free onsite parking
• Onsite canteen
• Opportunities to progress throughout the wider business – within the UK and International

The JD Recruitment process

We will review the applications individually and we will contact you if we feel you would be a good fit for the team, to have a conversation about your skills, experiences, and career path. Please be aware that the talent team receive thousands of applications, therefore if you have not heard back within 3 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.

JD welcome applications from all candidates regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. Diversity is very important for us since we love building teams with different backgrounds and experiences to inspire and learn from others. If you need any reasonable adjustments, during your interview process here at JD, please do notify the Talent Acquisition team.