Mercantile Buyer

Location:

Winchester Mystery House
- San Jose, CA
- Hybrid partial onsite/ partial remote

Employment Type:

Part-Time, approximately 10-20 hours per week

Department:
Marketing

Reports To:

Sr. Marketing Manager

The Mercantile Buyer is responsible for developing and maintaining a compelling, profitable, and distinctive merchandise assortment for the Winchester Mystery House. This position combines retail buying and procurement expertise with a strong appreciation for history, storytelling, design, and the unique character of the Winchester Mystery House.

The Buyer will identify, source, evaluate, and purchase merchandise that appeals to the property's diverse visitor base while supporting the Winchester Mystery House brand, seasonal programming, special events, and overall guest experience.

This role will work closely with Marketing, Gift Shop leadership, and other internal stakeholders to develop merchandise concepts and ensure the store remains fresh, relevant, and commercially successful. The position is primarily focused on buying strategy, product selection, vendor management, purchasing, and inventory planning rather than daily retail store operations or employee supervision. This position is onsite as needed to host meetings with vendors and receive/check shipments with inventory staff, but the majority of administrative, purchasing, planning, and vendor-related responsibilities may be performed remotely, with the expectation that the employee is available onsite when business needs require.

• Develop and maintain a merchandise assortment that reflects the history, mystery, architecture, and distinctive personality of the Winchester Mystery House.
• Research retail trends, visitor preferences, competitive offerings, and emerging product categories to identify new merchandise opportunities.
• Select and purchase gifts, apparel, books, home décor, collectibles, souvenirs, jewelry, specialty products, and other merchandise appropriate for the Winchester Mystery House audience.
• Identify products that provide strong retail potential while maintaining an appropriate connection to the property's brand and story.
• Evaluate new product opportunities based on anticipated sales, margin, price point, quality, uniqueness, and guest appeal.
• Develop seasonal merchandise assortments for major visitor periods, holidays, Halloween, and other special programming.
• Establish and maintain productive relationships with existing vendors, manufacturers, artists, publishers, and specialty suppliers.
• Research and develop relationships with new vendors to continually expand and improve the merchandise assortment.
• Negotiate pricing, wholesale terms, minimum order quantities, shipping arrangements, payment terms, exclusivity, and other purchasing conditions.
• Evaluate vendor performance, including product quality, pricing, fulfillment, reliability, and responsiveness.
• Identify opportunities for exclusive, private-label, custom, or locally sourced merchandise.
• Maintain accurate vendor and product information and coordinate with internal staff regarding purchase orders and deliveries.

• Identify opportunities for merchandise that is uniquely connected to the Winchester Mystery House, Sarah Winchester, the property's architecture, history, and stories.
• Collaborate with Marketing and other internal stakeholders to develop custom or exclusive products that strengthen the Winchester Mystery House brand.
• Source merchandise connected to special events, exhibits, tours, seasonal programming, and marketing campaigns.
• Explore opportunities with local artists, makers, designers, historical organizations, and other appropriate partners.
• Participate in…