Fashion Merchandiser

Our client is a well-established clothing supplier to some of South Africa's biggest retail chains. Because of continued growth, they are looking for a mid-level merchandiser to manage the link between the retail customer, the design and production teams, and the factory floor. You will manage your own retail accounts from range presentation through to delivery. Your job is to make sure the right product is made, at the right cost, and delivered on time and in full.

• Manage assigned retail accounts, with the buyers and merchandise planners as your day-to-day contacts
• Prepare for range presentations and buyer meetings, including sample requests, costings and line sheets
• Track orders from confirmation to delivery, and keep purchase orders, order books and shipment schedules up to date
• Build and monitor critical paths and time-and-action calendars, and chase milestones such as fabric and trim approvals, sampling, fit approvals, production and ex-factory dates
• Liaise with design, technical, sourcing, production and logistics teams
• Prepare and update cost sheets, and flag margin or lead-time risks early
• Monitor stock, WIP and fabric availability, and report on open orders and delivery performance
• Ensure customer compliance requirements are met, including labelling, packaging, ticketing and quality standards
• Resolve queries, claims, chargebacks and short-shipments promptly with the retailer

• Matric, plus a tertiary qualification or diploma in Fashion Merchandising, Retail Management, Clothing & Textile or Supply Chain (or equivalent)
• 3-5 years' merchandising or production-planning experience in apparel, ideally on the supplier or manufacturer side
• Experience working with South African retailers and their processes
• Sound knowledge of garment construction, fabrics, trims and costing
• Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups) and proficiency in MS Office
• Experience with an ERP or order management system
• Excellent communication, negotiation and follow-up skills
• Strong organisation and the ability to manage multiple orders under deadline pressure