Merchandise Director

The Merchandise Director will lead the strategic planning, development, and execution of Born Primitive’s merchandise assortments across men’s, women’s, and accessories. This role is responsible for overseeing the full product lifecycle across our key verticals—athletic, outdoor, and tactical—ensuring that each category delivers on performance, innovation, and brand alignment. You’ll sit at the intersection of product, marketing, sales, and operations, bringing our vision to life through thoughtful, data-informed assortment strategies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Category Leadership: Own end-to-end merchandising strategy for our athletic, outdoor, and tactical verticals, driving category differentiation while maintaining brand consistency.
• Product Strategy: Develop seasonal line plans and long-range product roadmaps that meet consumer needs and support revenue growth across all key verticals.
• Assortment Planning: Manage category-level assortment strategies with a balance of innovation and proven core products, while optimizing for performance, margin, and inventory health.
• Lifecycle Management: Oversee the full product lifecycle—from concept through launch and exit—ensuring each product hits performance and profitability targets.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborate closely with design, product development, marketing, e-commerce, and operations to deliver cohesive and high-performing collections.
• Market Insights: Use trend analysis, customer feedback, and market research to drive product decisions and uncover opportunities in each vertical.
• Inventory Alignment: Partner with demand planning and supply chain to ensure optimal inventory levels and SKU efficiency across categories.
• Visual Merchandising Support: Collaborate with retail and creative teams to ensure in-store product presentation aligns with brand standards and drives sell-through in our expanding retail footprint.

What You Bring:

• 7+ years of merchandising experience in apparel, with 3+ years in a leadership capacity
• Experience managing complex product assortments across multiple verticals (athletic, outdoor, tactical or similar)
• Strong understanding of consumer behavior in performance, lifestyle, and mission-driven categories
• Experience with visual merchandising and supporting product assortments in a retail environment, with an eye for in-store storytelling and product flow
• Proven ability to drive category growth while hitting financial targets
• Data-savvy mindset with strong analytical and forecasting capabilities
• Exceptional communication and leadership skills
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for innovation and product storytelling