Assortment & Retail Experience Manager — California Region

Description

Purchasing
· Retail Experience & Assortment Management
· Assortment Specialist — California Region

In-market across our California stores
· Full-Time
·

Reports to:

Director of Purchasing

Work Standard: 4 days a week in-store and in-market across California, and 1 day working from home or at our Novato headquarters. Store time is the default, not the exception.

Description

Join the Mike’s Bikes Crew as our Assortment & Retail Experience Manager — California.

Mike’s Bikes is a community focused bike shop with an international reach. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional hospitality to our neighbors while also being a leading partner to the largest global brands.

Every buy at Mike’s Bikes starts in the store, and this role is where it starts. The Assortment & Retail Experience Manager — California decides which SKUs each California store carries, based on its capacity, customer profile, sales history, and local opportunity. Those selections are the originating input for our regional buy and allocation. You also set the store-level inventory targets that guide our weekly allocations, fix assortment gaps, balance stock between stores in the region, and make sure store teams have the product knowledge to sell.

You’ll spend most of your week on the sales floor with store managers and staff. This is a new role on our Purchasing team.

Our Purchasing team runs on a Hybrid Purchasing Model. Process owners run one stage of the buying cycle end-to-end across every category and region, while specialists own a product department or a region where depth really matters. Every role reports to the Director of Purchasing, who is the single accountable owner for any shared work — so you always know who makes the call.

What You’ll Do (and Love Doing):

ASSORTMENT OWNERSHIP

• Assortment & Brand Selection: Own overall seasonal assortment and brand decisions in close collaboration with your regional counterpart, acting as the direct voice of the store floor. Select SKUs and drive in-season adjustments based on local trends, sales history, and store manager input.
• Trend Spotting & Business Development: Identify frontline consumer trends, emerging categories, and potential new brands or products. Deliver final recommendations to the Director of Purchasing and Commercial Managers before handing off vendor onboarding.

STORE-LEVEL INVENTORY & BALANCING

• Store Inventory Targets & Allocation Input: Set store inventory levels, stock depth guidelines, and specific store needs that feed into the weekly allocations executed by Commercial & Inventory.
• Store Health & Gap Resolution: Spot and resolve assortment gaps quickly, monitor in-stock rates and store-level turns, and keep aged stock low across all stores in your region.
• In-Region Transfers: Own store-to-store transfers and inventory balancing within your region to ensure stock sits where the demand is.

RETAIL EXPERIENCE & RELATIONSHIPS

• Merchandising & Customer
  
  Experience:
  
  Own merchandising standards, floor sets, displays, and product launches so every store is easy and exciting to shop.
• Focus Group & Retail Management: Be the voice of the stores inside Purchasing — gather feedback from managers and staff and turn it into assortment decisions.
• Retail Staff Training Support: Support product and brand training for store staff, including launches, clinics, and training modules.
• Vendor Communication & Support: Partner with vendors and reps on store-level programs, visits, events, and merchandising support.

DEPARTMENT STRATEGY & FINANCIALS

• Contribute regional insight to department strategy and executive vendor negotiations.
• Help drive California financial performance — revenue, margin, units, average bike price (ABP), and…