Assistant Corporate Merchant at L.L.Bean in Freeport, ME

At L.L.Bean, we believe the outdoors brings out the best in all of us. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging and creating safe, inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome—both here and Outside. We value individual differences and are dedicated to maintaining an inclusive work environment where everyone can bring the best of their experience and talents and truly thrive.

L.L.Bean is seeking two Assistant Corporate Merchants to join our dynamic Merchandising team, supporting our Outerwear and Equipment categories. In these roles, you will help drive sales, gross margin, brand positioning, and profitability by supporting the selection, pricing, and promotion of merchandise that maximizes return on investment.

You will also play a key role in developing and executing category strategies, leveraging sales analysis and trend insights to drive business growth. To achieve these goals, you will collaborate cross‑functionally with partners across Retail Merchandising, Ecommerce, Merchandise Planning, Product Development, Design, Inventory Management, and Creative.

Responsibilities:

Strategy

Provides support / participates as a learner:

• Concept Ideation: Perform market research; assess the competition; bring forward new product ideas
• Strategic Planning: Participates in strategic planning discussions as a learner; provides input

Market Research

• Gather market data & create reports to support assessment of competition - preseason / in season (i.e., ratings & reviews; market basket)
• Compiles and maintains data in support of team.

Planning & Analytics
Provides support / participates as a learner:

• Reviews & reports out on ratings & reviews
• Provides input to the development of Division level concepts, items, and promotional strategies
• Provides input to merchandising & selling the line
• Review & provide input to in-season markdowns

Core Work
Tools and systems management

• Maintains & ensures data integrity for variety of systems
• Communicates changes to stakeholders
• May manage photo sample process

For assigned business areas - If Applicable :

• Identify opportunities & risks through analyzing sales performance and gathering marketplace information
• Participates in review of sales, receipt flow, inventory & margin projections to maximize sales & minimize risks
• Provide support & coordination for the team and may manage subset of demand center (e.g. belts)
• Communicates to cross-department group
• Additional duties as assigned

Health and Safety Requirement: 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.
 

Skills and Qualifications:

• Associates degree required
• Strong MS Office skills required
• Organization & prioritization
• Ability to adhere to timelines/deadlines
• 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
• Team player with ability to work effectively with diverse personalities
• Must be able to handle difficult situations in a calm, professional manner
• Creative problem-solving abilities
• Flexible in ever-changing, fast paced environment

If you care about the outdoors, joining L.L.Bean is a great way to feel good about what you do. Our benefits package makes a good thing even better, with programs and perks designed to support your health and financial goals. Plus, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and re-charging outside are all part of the plan.

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!   At L.L.Bean, we believe the outdoors brings out the best in all of us.  We strive to reflect this every day in our commitments to employees and partners and in our efforts to promote belonging.