Assistant Merchandiser - Brands
We are seeking an experienced Assistant Merchandiser to join our growing Group International team, supporting the expansion of the Next Brands business. In this commercially driven role, you will help set budgets, provide analysis, and ensure stock is in the right place at the right time to drive profitable sales and global brand visibility.
Next is the biggest fashion and lifestyle retailer within the UK & Europe’s largest online clothing retailer. There are over 500 stores in the UK, representing 8.3million square feet of retail space. We have around 45,000 employees. We have 8 million customers on the website selling in 72 countries selecting from 280 million products which are sold by us each year. Our brand is highly trusted. Everything we do represents genuine value for money.
Your role
We are seeking an experienced Assistant Merchandiser to join our growing Group International team, supporting the expansion of the Next Brands business. In this commercially driven role, you will help set budgets, provide analysis, and ensure stock is in the right place at the right time to drive profitable sales and global brand visibility.
Key Responsibilities
Partner Management: Act as the main contact between partners and Next.
Budgeting: Develop brand/partner budget frameworks and manage in-season Open-to-Buy (OTB).
Stock Movement: Monitor stock to ensure timely launches and efficient movement.
Sales Analysis: Maximise sales, minimise product failure, and apply insights to future budgets.
End-of-Season Management: Plan markdowns and deliver lessons learned.
Market Analysis: Monitor international trends, trading calendars, and customer behaviors.
Process Improvement: Propose practical solutions for performance and efficiency.
Reporting: Create trade reports, range plans, and forecasting tools using advanced Excel skills.
Collaboration: Build productive relationships internally and externally to support initiatives.
Presentation: Confidently present to all business levels, influencing senior stakeholders.
Leadership: Deputise for the Merchandiser and represent International as an ambassador.
This role requires strong communication skills and cross-department collaboration, working with teams like product, marketing, operations, and finance, as well as international partners.
About you
You are highly analytical and confident with numbers, capable of identifying issues, patterns, and trends with ease. With essential experience in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, you are proficient in managing data and supporting decision-making processes, while knowledge of SQL or Power BI would be an added advantage. Your excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills allow you to engage effectively with a range of audiences.
Focused on achieving both personal and company goals, you inspire others through personal example, demonstrating a clear sense of vision, direction, and belief. Extremely organised and efficient, you manage time effectively to balance ad-hoc tasks, routine responsibilities, and long-term projects. As a collaborative team player, you are keen to share skills, learn from others, and build strong relationships across departments to enhance productivity and deliver outstanding results.
Your team
Be part of the team driving Next’s global success! The International Franchise, Sales & Operations team expands Next’s reach by introducing our collections, brands, and products to partners worldwide. From building strong partnerships to managing seamless operations, we ensure timely delivery and successful launches in international markets. Join us and help make Next a household name around the world!
Your benefits
We’ll discuss more of what you’ll get when you work for Next at interview, but here’s an overview of what you can expect:
25 days holiday + bank holidays
Pension
Staff discount
Life Assurance
Digital GP
Digicare Workplace+
GymPass
Holiday Trading
ShareSave
Top Tier Physio
Eye Tests
Sponsorship
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.
