The client is seeking an experienced merchant to support the Equipment & Accessories business on the Category Merchandising team. This contractor will lead seasonal and in-season assortment work, connect consumer and marketplace insights to commercial decisions, and partner across teams to deliver financial targets and strategic intent.

Responsibilities
Category & Assortment Strategy: Lead regional EQ/ACC merchandising strategy and build consumer-right assortments across wholesale channels. Create product, price and color architecture, channel segmentation, and franchise and lifecycle roadmaps that balance core business, seasonal initiatives and innovation.
Financial Planning & Reporting: Build bottoms-up plans by product classification and channel. Reconcile assortment plans with financial targets and use sell-in, sell-through, prior-year performance, future bookings, style/SKU productivity and product-flow reporting to identify risks and opportunities.
Product Creation & Go-to-Market: Represent Americas category and channel needs throughout the product process, from seasonal brief and prototype reviews through production and launch. Partner with regional and global teams to align assortments and deliver effective seasonal selling tools.
In-Season Business Management: Read and react to retail and digital performance using assortment, inventory, pricing and product levers. Support quick-to-market opportunities and translate analysis into clear recommendations that improve revenue, margin and productivity.
Consumer & Marketplace Insights: Gather consumer insights, market research, competitive analysis and store observations. Maintain expertise in regional differences, distribution channels, competitors and emerging product opportunities.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead and influence cross-functional work with Wholesale Sales,  Supply and Demand Planning, Global Product Management and Marketing. Build alignment, visibility and a strong one-team culture across seasonal milestones.

Skills
•    Excel knowledge is key (VLOOKUP, retail math)
•    This person will be supporting accessories and equipment (tents, sleeping bags, day backs), someone who has experience with hard goods would be ideal.

Preferred Skills
•    7+ years of merchandising, buying, planning, product management or related retail experience; Equipment, Accessories, Outdoor, Sports or Lifestyle experience preferred.
•    Strong command of retail math, forecasting, assortment planning, channel segmentation, product lifecycle management and sales analysis.
•    Proven ability to interpret data, identify commercial opportunities and communicate concise, actionable recommendations.
•    Strong verbal, written and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and build consensus across distinct cross-functional groups.
•    Highly organized, comfortable managing competing priorities and deadlines, and able to contribute quickly with limited ramp-up time.
•    Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency across Microsoft Office. Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Product Management or Business preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
•    Passion for the outdoors and knowledge of consumers, channels and competitors.
The successful contractor will quickly provide continuity during a key seasonal period, independently manage high-priority merchandising deliverables, and turn consumer, marketplace and performance insights into aligned assortment and business actions.
 
By applying for this position, you acknowledge and agree that Horizontal Talent may contact you regarding your application using automated technology, including phone calls, SMS/text messages, or email, which may be delivered by our virtual AI recruiter, Alex.

Please apply through this online posting or by visiting our Job Board at www.horizontaltalent.com/job-board. Applications will be accepted for 4 weeks. For those that join the team, we offer competitive compensation and benefits including medical, dental, vision, and retirement. Check out all we have to offer and how you can become part of the Horizontal Talent Team. The pay range for this role is $58 - $94 per hour based on qualifications and experience.