Skills & Competencies for Top Merchandising Executive

Top Merchandising Executive job profile

JOB SUMMARY for Top Merchandising Executive

Oversees, plans, and directs all aspects of a retail organization's merchandise buying activities.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES for Top Merchandising Executive

Leads the development of product assortment strategies to meet customer demand and maximize sales and profits. Utilizes data analytics, forecasting, trend research, and sales performance to develop effective merchandising plans. Establishes methodologies and guidelines for merchandise pricing and markdowns. Develops new and manages the existing supply chain and vendor relationships.

Top Merchandising Executive SALARY RANGE

BASE 50%
$419,612
TOTAL 50%
$679,294
Job Level
M06
Job Code
EX05000028
Education/Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Reports To
Top Management

Top Merchandising Executive Skills and Competencies List

Proficiency Levels and Behavioural Indicators
Salary.com identifies five increasing levels of proficiency for each skill/competency. Some jobs require only a relatively low level of proficiency in each skill/competency, while other jobs will require a more advanced level of proficiency in the same skill/competency. These levels rate the degree of proficiency (skill level, expertise) we expect the incumbent to perform in the given skill/competency for the given job. Note that we intentionally do not associate timeframes or years of experience in performing the skill/competency because that can be misleading. Proficiency levels identify what the incumbent knows and can do rather than how long they have been doing it. Also, note that the proficiency levels are cumulative, e.g., a level 4 proficiency implies the ability to perform all the behaviors at the lower levels.
Check each Top Merchandising Executive skill and competencie below to view definitions.

5 hard skills or competencies (industry competencies) for Top Merchandising Executive

1 Industry Competency – Retail Industry
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Applying comprehensive knowledge of retail principles, inventory management, pricing strategies, and consumer behavior to effectively manage and operate retail businesses.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the application of upselling, cross-selling, and closing sales techniques in retail operations.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Conducts research on current and upcoming distribution channels tailored to a specific product category.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Analyzes consumer buying patterns and trends to predict product and service demands.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates and leverages KPIs to assess the effectiveness of retail sales strategies and promotional methods.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs and executes customer segmentation and personalization techniques to deliver tailored marketing promotions.
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2 Industry Competency – Retail Strategy Management
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Developing and implementing retail strategies, to support the strategic decisions and actions that effectively enhance the sales and growth of an organization.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Explains how managing retail strategy correctly can improve brand awareness and increase sales.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Documents insights of retail campaigns for strategists to manage and analyze.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Communicates the retail and promotional strategies to store staff to promote the correct visual merchandising.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Leverages online platforms to manage and improve our retail operations and optimize our online presence.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds scalable and manageable retail strategies and platforms to compete with online giants.
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3 Top Merchandising Executive - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 5

3 general skills or competencies (Job family competencies) for Top Merchandising Executive

1 Job Family Competencies – Promotion
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Developing and implementing promotional activities to attract and increase the awareness of customers in buying products.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the significance of brand image development to promotion efforts.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Documents information needed for promotional activities such as product details and features.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Generates reports that outline customers’ interest levels and questions asked at various events.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Leads market research studies and evaluates findings to understand customer and market opportunities.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Creates engaging promotions including deals to encourage target market purchases.
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2 Job Family Competencies – Supply Chain Management
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Managing the flow of goods and services required from raw materials to finished consumer products to improve profit margins.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the importance of the following accepted supply chain management guidelines.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Assists in identifying and resolving supply chain management issues and documentation discrepancies.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Contributes to supply chain operations from factory purchase order (PO) management to outbound tracking.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Drives strategic supply chain and procurement initiatives to maximize cost reduction.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Champions the adoption of best practices to maximize cost efficiencies in the supply chain.
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3 Top Merchandising Executive - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 5

11 soft skills or competencies (core competencies) for Top Merchandising Executive

1 Core Competencies – Business Acumen
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Insight into our organization's business, goals, and values. Ability to design and implement initiatives that facilitate successful outcomes.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the market conditions that impact the business.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Collects and compiles competitor information for competitive analysis.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Applies technical expertise, business sense, and product knowledge to manage the product lifecycle effectively.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Coordinates technical and business teams to solve complex and diverse customer problems.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds strong business partnerships internally and externally to drive "win-win" business successes.
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2 Core Competencies – Business Performance Management
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Applying business intelligence to monitor and manage overall business performance towards goals.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes our organization's major strengths and weaknesses from a BPM perspective.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Enters performance-related data into the performance management dashboard.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Deploys business performance management solutions across the entire organization.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Evaluates the performance of staff and departments to make strategic decisions about production modifications.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs applications and systems that house performance data.
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3 Top Merchandising Executive - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Top Merchandising Executive
Proficiency Level - 5

Summary of Top Merchandising Executive skills and competencies

There are 5 hard skills for Top Merchandising Executive, Retail Industry, Retail Strategy Management, Merchandising, etc.
3 general skills for Top Merchandising Executive, Promotion, Supply Chain Management, Vendor Management.
11 soft skills for Top Merchandising Executive, Business Acumen, Business Performance Management, Budgeting, etc.
While the list totals 19 distinct skills, it's important to note that not all are required to be mastered to the same degree. Some skills may only need a basic understanding, whereas others demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, as a Top Merchandising Executive, he or she needs to be skilled in Business Acumen, be skilled in Business Performance Management, and be skilled in Budgeting.

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