Hardlines Category Merchant

Do you have a sharp eye for emerging trends, strong negotiation skills, and a talent for bringing innovative products to market? At PHE, we’re looking for a strategic and creative experienced Hardlines Category Merchant to lead the sourcing and curation of a multi-brand product assortment for our growing e-commerce retail business. If you're ready to bring your expertise and product vision to a team that values innovation and execution, then we’d love to hear from you!

We are an employee-owned company offering a comprehensive benefits package that includes health and dental insurance, life insurance, 401(k) retirement plans, long- and short-term disability coverage, performance-based bonuses, and generous paid time off. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Product Strategy & Assortment:

• Curate best-in-class assortments that balance quality, pricing, and trend leadership.
• Ensure compelling product storytelling through cohesive collections and strategic product selection.
• Monitor and align products with category pricing strategies and MAP policies.

Forecasting and Reporting: 

• Create and manage six-month forecasts for new items to minimize stockouts and overstocks.
• Participate in monthly buy meetings and track forecast accuracy, providing quarterly recaps.

Product Maintenance & Optimization:

• Address quality issues and implement improvements based on product ratings and consumer feedback.
• Negotiate costs for existing products to maximize margin.
• Monitor vendor performance and source new suppliers to improve service levels and reduce costs.
• Develop strategies to boost sales of slower-moving products and expand best sellers.  

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Work

• Work closely with marketing, creative, search, and procurement teams to align on launches, marketing, and promotional strategies.
  

Qualifications: 

• 3–5 years of purchasing experience, vendor negotiations, and product quality assessment.
• Strong understanding of eCommerce merchandising, pricing strategies, and analytics.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint).

 Competencies: 

• Strong Communication Skills: Proven ability to communicate effectively across teams, driving alignment and timely execution of private label initiatives to achieve category growth, margin targets, and speed to market. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly present merchandising strategies.
• Flexible and solutions-oriented, with a track record of overcoming obstacles to drive results: Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment with the ability to adapt to shifting priorities and proactively resolve issues.
• Consistently delivers error-free work through careful review and thoroughness: Strong organizational skills with a focus on accuracy in managing product specs, timelines, data, and content.
• Experience balancing multiple responsibilities while maintaining focus on high-priority initiative: Ability to prioritize tasks ensures that key deliverables-such as pricing updates, promotional planning, or vendor negotiations-are completed  efficiently and accurately, with maximum business impact.
• Possess Strong Time Management Skills: Plan, prioritize, and execute tasks effectively within set deadlines to maximize productivity and achieve business objectives.

Join one of Hillsborough’s best-kept secrets and help shape the future of our product strategy!

https://www.pheinc.com/

EEO Statement:

PHE, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. PHE, Inc. offers equal opportunities to applicants and employees and makes all employment-related decisions based exclusively on job-related qualifications, without regard to characteristics such as race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation and/or any other status protected by law.

*PHE, Inc. will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to PHE, Inc.