Merchandising Manager

The Merchandising Manager (Department Head) is responsible for leading the merchandising function end-to-end for woven garments. The role ensures effective buyer management, order execution, profitability, team leadership, and on-time delivery while maintaining quality, compliance, and cost targets.

Key ResponsibilitiesBuyer & Business Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for buyers for all merchandising-related matters
• Lead order negotiations, confirmations, and change management
• Build long-term buyer relationships and support business growth
• Handle escalations related to delivery, quality, or costing

Order Execution & Planning

• Own end-to-end order lifecycle from development to shipment
• Ensure accurate T&A planning and capacity alignment with production
• Monitor order progress across sampling, sourcing, production, QA, and logistics
• Drive on-time deliveries while minimizing air shipments and penalties

Costing & Profitability

• Lead costing, price negotiations, and margin control
• Approve fabrics, trims, and supplier selections in coordination with sourcing
• Ensure adherence to target costs and control cost leakages
• Review efficiency, wastage, and value engineering opportunities

Technical & Product Knowledge (Woven)

• Provide technical guidance on woven fabrics, garment construction, and finishes
• Support sampling and product development decisions
• Ensure buyer specifications and quality standards are clearly understood and executed

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor the merchandising team (senior, junior merchandisers, coordinators)
• Allocate workloads and define clear responsibilities
• Drive performance management, training, and succession planning
• Build a culture of accountability and collaboration

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with production, IE, sourcing, QA, compliance, and logistics teams
• Align merchandising commitments with factory capacity and capabilities
• Participate in pre-production, risk assessment, and critical path meetings

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong expertise in woven garment merchandising
• Excellent buyer communication and negotiation skills
• Deep understanding of costing, production planning, and quality
• Leadership and people management capability
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Proficiency in ERP systems, MS Excel, and reporting

Qualifications & Experience

• Graduate / Postgraduate in Apparel, Textile, Fashion Technology, or related field
• 15–18 years of experience in garment merchandising, with 5–7 years in a leadership role
• Proven experience handling domestic & international buyers and large order volumes

Pay: ₹70,529.53 - ₹91,311.86 per month

Application Question(s):

• What was the largest order value or monthly business volume you managed?
• Which buyers/markets have you worked with directly?
• How do you handle a situation where production is delayed but shipment date cannot move? Explain your exact escalation and recovery process.
• What is your approach to costing negotiation when factory margins are under pressure? Give a real example.
• What garment categories have you worked on most?
• How many merchandisers/coordinators have reported to you directly? What was your management style?
• Have you ever handled conflict between production, sourcing, and buyer teams? What did you do?

Work Location: In person