Overview

The Merchandise Manager will create, oversee, and implement merchandising strategies for Santander Arena, the home of the Reading Royals. 

Our ideal candidate is a detail-oriented and deadline-driven individual with experience managing a small to medium-size team. This role also requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a creative eye for sourcing and presenting clothing, headwear, accessories and other game day fan gear. 

This role will pay an annual salary of $62,000-$65,000. 

Benefits for Full-Time roles: Health, Dental and Vision insurance, 401(k) savings plan, 401(k) matching, and paid time off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).

This position will remain open until July 31, 2025. 

Responsibilities

• Overseeing the planning and implementation of merchandising strategies to deliver volume and profit goals.  

• Ensuring that all deadlines, inventory requirements, and customer orders are completed in a timely manner.

• Creating eye-catching store layouts that showcase the brand and aesthetic of the teams and company.

• Preparing and maintaining annual budgets.

• Negotiating the costs of inventory.

• Forecasting, price setting, and negotiating quantities with buyers, suppliers, and distributors. 

• Ensuring product selection is aligned with market trends.

• Tracking inventory movement and systematically introducing promotions, sales, price changes, etc. 

• Interpreting sales reports and providing guidance on how to improve figures and customer engagement.

• Hire, coach and manage a team to run the day-to-day operations of the Team Store on a seasonal basis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business management, retail, or a related field 

• A minimum of five years' experience in a managerial position.

• A background in marketing, communications, and/or design is preferred.

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.

• Must be creative and detail-orientated.