Merchandising Manager, Outdoor Footwear

Company Description

Amer Sports is a sporting goods company with internationally recognized brands including Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic and Wilson.

“The Mountain Sport Company”, Salomon was born in 1947 in the heart of the French Alps and the birthplace of modern alpinism. Salomon’s commitment to innovative design and passion for mountain sports created a vast range of revolutionary new concepts in bindings, boots, skis and apparel for both Alpine and Nordic skiing and brought innovative solutions to footwear, apparel and equipment for snowboarding, adventure racing, mountaineering, hiking, trail running, and many other sports.

Through performance driven design, Salomon delivers innovation and progression to mountain sports; converting new ideas into action and expanding the limits of possibility. Salomon’s heritage, culture, and commitment are tied together by one simple concept: the world’s leading mountain people creating the world’s leading mountain products. Salomon is responsibly committed towards the outdoor through its sustainability program. Diversity is one of Salomon’s five values, therefore we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.

Salomon is headquartered in Annecy, France.

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION:

POSITION TITLE: Financial Analyst – Salomon B2B Softgoods

REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Business Controlling – Salomon North America

BUSINESS AREA: Salomon North America Business Controlling (FP&A)                                         

LOCATION:  Ogden, UT   

As a member of the Footwear & Gear team, the Merchandising Manager leads the overall Footwear merchandising strategy for their Sport/Category in North America (US & Canada). This role works with the Footwear & Gear VP in North America, as well as the global merchandising and product teams in France to develop and implement meaningful assortments and merchandising plans by consumer and channel. This person also works closely with Sales & Marketing teams in North America on go to market strategies, tools, and activation on a seasonal basis.

WHAT MAKES THIS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK & PLAY:
• Hybrid work schedule
• A generous PTO policy, plus 15 paid annual holidays and 3 floating holidays
• Half-day Fridays for 5 months of the year
• An exceptional employee discount on all our products and sister brands (Arc’teryx, Armada, Atomic, Wilson)
• Healthy Lifestyle Benefit designed to support your well-being and active lifestyle
• Opportunities to engage in the community and with industry partners

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily:

Product Strategy & Merchandising
• Develop and execute seasonal, annual, and long-term product strategies and merchandising plans for the Footwear category in North America.
• Create market-relevant, consumer-driven assortments by sport, shopper profile, and distribution channel.
• Identify gaps and opportunities within global merchandising plans and provide recommendations to the global product team to ensure market relevance for North America.
• Partner with global merchandising teams to align category strategies with broader brand objectives.
• Lead the presentation of category strategies, seasonal plans, new technologies, and key product initiatives at sales meetings, launches, and customer events.
• Serve as the category product expert, delivering product training and education to internal and external stakeholders.

Business Planning & Financial Management
• Manage category forecasts, pricing, margins, inventory, and channel mix in partnership with leadership to achieve seasonal and annual profitability targets.
• Own omnichannel demand planning and forecasting for the category.
• Collaborate with global supply chain and regional demand planning teams to ensure inventory levels and product flow support business objectives.

Consumer, Market & Performance Insights
• Conduct ongoing market analysis, including competitor benchmarking, channel assessment, and brand positioning reviews.
• Analyze sell-in and sell-through performance to identify trends, insights, and opportunities that inform category merchandising plans.
• Translate consumer, market, and industry insights into actionable category strategies and assortment recommendations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with Sales teams to identify growth opportunities, develop consumer-relevant selling tools, and deliver seasonal merchandising packages.
• Collaborate with Shopper Marketing teams to enhance the consumer experience across channels and touchpoints.
• Build strong partnerships with Finance, Customer Experience, Credit, Supply Chain, and other key stakeholders to support business performance and operational excellence.
• Work closely with global and regional teams to ensure successful category execution and alignment across functions.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, ABILITIES & COMPETENCIES
The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• 5+ years of related experience in merchandising, product or category management. Prior experience in the outdoor industry, with focus on Footwear preferred.
• Merchandising Expertise
• Passion for fashion
• Ability to develop effective processes and procedures
• Attention to detail
• Ability to identify and predict trends
• Strong business acumen and understanding of finance
• Planning, organizing and preparation
• Strong presentation skills
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Communication Skills
• Effective interpersonal skills; ability to work in a multi-stakeholder, international matrix environment
• Ability to influence

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to sit, stand and walk. The employee must occasionally kneel, stoop, crouch, twist and lift to 30 pounds, with or without accommodation.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.