Merchandising Strategy Manager

AKIRA • Chicago, IL

4d • Onsite

About The Position

AKIRA
In 2002, AKIRA opened the doors to its first women's clothing boutique in Chicago. Since then, the company has extended its reach to 35+ stores across the United States, as well as a thriving eCommerce business (shopAKIRA.com.) AKIRA is extremely well-poised for sustained growth as we continue to build a nationally recognized brand. AKIRA's culture has one very large, distinct difference from other high fashion competitors: Fanatical, Obsessive Attention to the consumer's needs and desires. The core principle for all employees at AKIRA is to Act and Think Like an Owner, and this belief can be reflected across all areas of the company.

Position: Merchandising Strategy Manager

Location: Chicago, IL (In Office)

Role Overview
The Merchandising Strategy Manager is a merchant-minded strategist who connects product vision, customer insight, and commercial execution. This role blends product sensibility, trend awareness, and analytical rigor to shape AKIRA's merchandising roadmap. The ideal candidate has strong specialty retail experience, a sharp eye for product, and the ability to translate insight into action across the merchandising cycle.

Requirements

• 4–7 years in merchandising, buying, merchandising strategy, or assortment planning, ideally in specialty apparel or footwear.
• Working knowledge of fabrics/materials, product construction, trend behavior, and category-level merchandising
• Ability to connect performance data, customer insight, and product intuition into clear, actionable direction
• Proven effectiveness aligning cross-functional teams and elevating decision-making across the merchandising organization.
• Strong presentation skills with an ability to translate analysis and product thinking into compelling stories.
• Curious, trend-forward, agile, and motivated by the intersection of product, customer, and strategy.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate product with a merchant's lens-assessing fit, fabrication, construction, trend relevance, pricing, and customer value.
• Translate product insights into assortment recommendations that balance innovation, productivity, and trend-rightness.
• Guide line architecture grounded in specialty apparel and footwear knowledge.
• Analyze category, product, and channel performance to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Turn analytical insights into clear, actionable merchandising strategies.
• Inform seasonal line plans by combining customer insight, trend direction, and financial performance.
• Recommend SKU additions, reductions, and shifts based on data and merchant intuition.
• Partner with Buying, Planning, Marketing, and Store Operations to deliver integrated merchandising strategies.
• Influence teams through clear storytelling, strong judgment, and alignment to brand and customer goals.
• Lead key milestones across the merchandising cycle, including strategic planning, pre-season development, in-season pivots, and hindsight analysis.
• Build simple, actionable reporting frameworks that translate complex data into product-driven insights.
• Highlight margin, productivity, and product opportunities that shape future decisions.
• Champion test-and-learn initiatives, process improvements, and tools that modernize how AKIRA plans, buys, and measures product performance.
• Craft compelling narratives and presentations that bring product, customer insight, and strategy together for senior leadership.

Benefits

• AKIRA offers competitive benefits for full-time employees, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Pet Insurance, Life, LTD, FSA/HSA/Dependent Care FSA, Flex Transit (CTA), 401(k), and a generous employee discount.
• We're committed to internal growth, providing meaningful development and career advancement opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed