Job Details

Director/Senior Director, Merchandising

Ace Retail Group (ARG) is seeking a strategic merchandising leader who is ready to operate at the center of the business—owning category performance, driving growth, and shaping the customer value proposition across 250+ stores nationwide. The company is in an acceleration phase—expanding stores, modernizing assortments, and strengthening competitive positioning. This role offers high visibility, executive exposure, and direct influence on company performance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Merchandising Strategy & Category Leadership
  • Develop and execute merchandising strategies that support company sales, gross margin, inventory turn, and profitability objectives.
  • Lead category management efforts, including assortment optimization, product lifecycle management, and category growth initiatives.
  • Analyze market trends, consumer insights, competitive activity, and emerging product opportunities.
• Vendor & Supplier Management
  • Build and maintain strategic relationships with key vendors and suppliers.
  • Negotiate product costs, rebates, promotional funding, and other financial agreements.
  • Lead vendor review meetings and annual line reviews.
• Pricing, Promotions & Inventory Management
  • Oversee pricing strategies to ensure competitive positioning while maximizing margin performance.
  • Direct promotional planning and execution in partnership with Marketing and Operations teams.
  • Monitor inventory productivity and replenishment effectiveness.
• Financial Performance & Reporting
  • Develop annual sales, margin, inventory, and promotional plans.
  • Monitor category performance against budget and forecast targets.
  • Present business reviews and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing merchandising professionals.
  • Establish clear performance expectations and accountability measures.
  • Support succession planning and professional development initiatives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner with Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to ensure successful execution of merchandising initiatives.

Minimum Skills, Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, Retail Management, or related field required; MBA preferred.
• 8–12+ years of progressive merchandising experience.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing merchandising teams.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, communication, and leadership skills.
• Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, customers, and the general public.
• Proficiency in MS Office: Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Standing, walking, lifting (up to 25lbs.) and climbing.

Compensation Details

$160000 - $225000 per year

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ace Retail Group is committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military discharge, or any other action covered by federal or state laws.