Retail Assistant Merchant

At L.L.Bean, we are committed to fostering a culture of belonging and creating safe, inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome—both here and outside. We are seeking two Assistant Retail Merchants to join our Merchandising team, supporting the Home & Travel and Equipment & Hunt/Fish categories.

This role requires relocation to Maine and a four‑day, in‑office schedule at our Freeport headquarters.

In this role, you will support the achievement of sales, gross margin, brand positioning, and profit objectives for an assigned business through thoughtful merchandise selection, pricing, and promotional strategies that maximize return on investment.

Additional responsibilities include managing all required systems work and maintaining continuous communication with internal and external partners.

• Support and participate as a learner in strategy: concept ideation, market research, competition analysis, and new product ideas.
• Participate in strategic planning discussions and provide input.
• Gather market data and create reports (preseason/in‑season ratings, reviews, market basket).
• Compile and maintain data to support the team.
• Provide input to the development of division‑level concepts, items, and promotional strategies.
• Review and report on ratings and reviews.
• Provide input to merchandising and sell the line.
• Review and provide input on in‑season markdowns.
• Maintain and ensure data integrity for variety of systems.
• Communicate changes to stakeholders; manage photo sample process if required.
• For assigned business areas (if applicable), develop line plans, identify opportunities and risks through sales performance analysis, gather marketplace information, review sales, receipt flow, inventory, and margin projections to maximize sales and minimize risks.
• Support and coordinate for the team; manage subset of demand center (e.g., belts) if needed; communicate with cross‑department groups.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Every employee is responsible for contributing to a safe and healthy workplace. Employees are expected to be active participants in health and safety by following all safety policies and procedures, reporting unsafe conditions or at‑risk behaviors to leadership, and conducting work in a safe manner. Those in a leadership role are also expected to model safe behaviors, evaluate risk, and ensure that risks are reduced to acceptable levels.

• 2-year Associates degree required.
• Prioritizes own work with some assistance; receives regular direction from supervisor.
• Merchandise and institutional process knowledge preferred.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills with extreme attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks while effectively meeting deadlines.
• Work efficiently without direct supervision.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and experience with database utilization.
• Team player able to work effectively with diverse personalities.
• Ability to handle difficult situations calmly and professionally.
• Creative problem‑solving abilities.
• Flexible in ever‑changing, fast‑paced environment.

If your experience looks a little different from what we’ve identified and you think you’d be great at this role, we’d love to learn more about you!