A leading fashion retailer is looking for a Freelance Assistant Merchant to join their team on a hybrid basis in Los Angeles. This role is ideal for someone passionate about the business side of fashion who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. The Assistant Merchant will support seasonal strategy and assortment planning, manage purchase orders and reporting, and partner cross-functionally with Design, Planning, and Product Development to deliver trend-right assortments to market.
Key Responsibilities
- Support department goals to achieve seasonal sales and margin targets.
- Assist in performing market analysis and identifying business opportunities.
- Help select and purchase product assortments aligned with trend data and customer insights.
- Create and maintain accurate assortment sheets and buy plans.
- Manage purchase order creation, updates, and change requests.
- Reconcile monthly receipts and contribute to Open-to-Buy meetings.
- Facilitate strong partnerships across Merchandising, Planning, Allocation, Visual, Design, and Product Development teams.
- Organize web samples, sales tools, and business recaps.
- Review live product activations on the website for accuracy.
- Read customer reviews and provide feedback to merchant teams.
Tools & Programs:
- Microsoft Excel (advanced)
- Microsoft Office Suite
- PLM systems
Qualifications:
- Minimum of one year of experience as an Assistant Merchant or in a related retail function.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent work experience.
- Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
- Highly detail-oriented and process-driven, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Collaborative team player with a proactive approach to problem solving.
