Merchandise Coordinator

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Company Overview

S&S Activewear is the leading wholesaler to the imprintable apparel and uniform market in the United States and Canada. Since 1988, we’ve provided high-quality, imprintable apparel to our broad wholesale customer base. We offer high-quality apparel that allows your customers to express their creativity through wearable art through concert merchandise, school & team apparel, marathons and fun runs company stores, theme park gift shops and everyone in between!

Today, we offer the most extensive and accessible collection of fashion-forward styles around. And we get you the goods fast. We operate eight nationwide distribution centers—that’s 4 million square feet of efficient warehouse space—and uniquely offer the largest one & two-day distribution footprint in the industry, with its products reaching 99% of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico within two days and 44 states in just one day.

We offer more than 100 brands, including Adidas, Champion, Columbia, Dickies, Fruit of the Loom, Gildan, Oakley, Richardson, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.

We have grown from a successful midwestern t-shirt and fleece distributor into an industry leader with approximately $2.5 billion in annual sales. In March 2021, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (“CD&R”) acquired S&S Activewear. CD&R believed S&S to be a leading distribution platform with sustainable competitive advantage following significant strategic investments in its geographic reach, people, and technology.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is all about investing with a purpose. They're a private investment firm that really focuses on turning companies into stronger, more profitable versions of themselves. From the beginning they have overseen the investment of over $35 billion across 100 different companies, and those deals add up to a total value of more than $150 billion. The CD&R firm has offices in both New York and London.

Job Description

We are seeking a Merchandise Coordinator to assist the Merchandising Team to help oversee the product management and vendor management functions of our business. The ideal candidate will be responsible for supporting the Merchandising Team through product and vendor management for 50+ brands and working collaboratively across various cross functional teams to deliver profitable, and efficient product assortments. All S&S Activewear employees must adhere to the guidelines presented in the S&S Activewear Employee Handbook.

Schedule

Monday- Friday, Full-time, Exempt

Bolingbrook, IL (Hybrid Schedule)

Benefits

• Vacation, Personal, and Sick time
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short/Long term disability
• Flexible Spending Account
• 401K with 3% company contribution
• Discounts on brand name apparel
• Employee events
• Opportunities for advancement

Duties & Responsibilities

Vendor Management

• Maintain strong relationships with vendors to ensure all deliverables and timelines are met within each product life cycle.
• Coordinate with vendors on various sample needs, Product Database Descriptor and other additional documents needed.
• In collaboration with the merchandising team, review vendor performance and provide feedback to ensure expectations are being met.
• Maintain all vendor line sheets/merchandising updates.
• Manage seasonal vendor meeting process, which includes meeting scheduling, preparing all meeting materials, vendor recaps for teams and any additional requests needed from Merchandising teams.

Product Management

• Maintain an accurate representation of all vendor samples used for internal meetings. Pull samples as needed for various business needs.
• Manage the creation and maintenance of weekly and seasonal business reports to identify opportunities, provide recommendations and work in partnership with merchandising team.
• Maintain various assortment documents by season, including the Seasonal Forecast file and our Product Guide.
• Conduct market research to identify new brand opportunities and product categories to add to our portfolio.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners across Product Management, Marketing, and Sales to achieve planned sales targets.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years merchandising or category experience with a strong working knowledge of Product Management.
• Apparel and Accessories experience is a plus.
• Wholesale/B2B experience is a plus.
• Strong proficiencies in Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Project Management systems like AirTable and Asana.
• Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced environment. Work autonomously, own your work, and are highly accountable.
• Ability to lead with structure and discipline to meet deliverables.
• Detail oriented with the ability to succeed with timelines.
• Strong analytical skills and problem-solving skills.
• Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to interact with internal and external teams.
• Self-motivated and confident with decision-making.
• Must have the ability to work in office 3 days a week

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or listen.

Working Environment

Currently, S&S has a remote work policy which provides for employees to be in the office Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is subject to change based on business need. Position location: Bolingbrook, IL.

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

S&S Activewear welcomes people of all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to creating a diverse culture and supporting human growth. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We conduct business without regard to sex, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, military status, status as a veteran, or any other protected characteristic. Our policy is to recruit, hire, train, promote, assign, transfer, and terminate employees based on their own ability, achievement, experience and conduct and other legitimate business reasons. S&S participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S. This job offer is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check.