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Merchandiser Resume

We’ve analyzed many merchandiser jobs from different retailers, and came up with key points to include in a merchandiser resume. You can also download a sample in word format from below.

merchandiser resume
Download this merchandiser resume in word format from here

Merchandiser Resume Focus

The key focus for a merchandiser resume is “commerciality“.

The main objective of this role is to deliver the financial goals of the retail business, by implementing effective merchandising strategies. This comes in the form of sales achievement, gross margin goals and inventory goals.

So while writing your merchandiser resume, focus on communicating how you have delivered on those goals through your previous roles, and list the key achievements in those areas.

Merchandiser Resume Components

The main sections of the resume are:

  1. Professional Summary
  2. Experience
  3. Education
  4. Skills

Professional Summary

Instead of using the top area of the resume to write an objective statement, it is better to include a professional summary that briefly communicates the following:

  • Your years of experience
  • Product categories you worked on
  • Your main focus & strength

Remember as we said, the main focus for the role is commerciality.

For example you can have a statement that goes like this:

Merchandiser with 5 years of experience in the fashion & beauty categories. Created & executed successful merchandising strategies for 20+ stores, with a strong focus on commercial performance and improving returns.

Experience

In this section you will list your current and previous jobs in chronological order, and write key responsibilities of the role and then list key achievements.

For current roles use present tense, and for previous jobs use past tense.

Responsibilities Examples

  • Creating & implementing merchandising strategies, aimed at supporting the sales, gross margin and inventory management goals for the category.
  • Supporting in-season management of category/class level plans, through ongoing analyses and updates.
  • Executing pricing strategies that align with the financial plans for the category.
  • Collaborating with cross-functional teams to achieve category goals.
  • Executing planned promotions and in-season markdowns, in order to efficiently manage inventory levels.
  • Utilizing Google Trends, product insights, and sales analysis to inform future assortment and merchandising decisions.
  • Performing hindsight analyses, in order to inform future product plans.
  • Developed & executed assortment plans, channel strategies, 360 launch plans and product activations for a group of brands within the beauty category.
  • Analyzed the performance of the category in terms of sales performance, realized margins, OTB, and product trends, in order to identify areas of opportunity.
  • Collaborated with internal partners on developing and implementing fixture & planogram plans.
  • Executed weekly/monthly standard reporting, as well as ad-hoc reporting when needed.

Achievement Examples

  • Improved gross margin by 3 points.
  • Optimized stock holding and improved inventory turns by 20%.
  • Solved an inventory buildup issue, and returned inventory back to targeted levels within 4 weeks.
  • Improved sell-thru rate by 10%, using inter branch transfers.

You can also include any awards you have received in those roles here.

Education

list your educational certificates in chronological order, as well as any relevant courses or certificates

Skills

Focus on key skills that are relevant for the role and the focus area we mentioned before.

Note: Excel proficiency is very important for this role. That’s why we listed specific excel skills that not everyone who uses excel is familiar with, yet they are essential for a merchandiser.

Skills Examples

  • Data Analysis
  • Trend Analysis
  • Problem Solving
  • Time Management
  • Technical Skills (Excel, SASS cubes, Pivot Tables, V-Lookup)
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