Chief Merchandising Officer

Location: Sunrise, Florida

The Chief Merchandising Officer (CMO) is a key executive leader responsible for defining and executing the company’s merchandising vision across all channels. This role owns product strategy, assortment planning, pricing, vendor partnerships, inventory productivity, and margin performance, ensuring the right products are delivered to the right customer, at the right time, and at the right value. Through leadership and guidance, this leader will optimize our end-to-end supply chain operations and create compelling product line designs for our customers, translate that line design through pricing, promotions and visual merchandising into a desirable shopping experience. The CMO will be a strategic leader by establishing team direction and key objectives with a focus on driving continuous improvement and functional excellence Product innovation, newness, new brands, as well as private label product development and sourcing are a part of the role responsibilities.Reporting to the CEO, the CMO partners closely with Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, Store Operations, and Digital to drive profitable growth, customer loyalty, and brand differentiation.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Merchandising Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the enterprise merchandising strategy aligned to brand positioning, customer insights, and financial objectives.
• Lead end-to-end merchandise lifecycle management including product development/selection, assortment architecture, pricing, promotions, and lifecycle exit.
• Serve as the executive voice of the customer, ensuring assortments reflect evolving consumer needs, trends, and behaviors.
• Advance the organization forward in our supply chain operational performance, with focus on building repeatable and scalable systems which delight our customers, engage our employees, and reward our shareholders.

Financial Performance & Profitability

• Own merchandise P&L including sales, gross margin, markdowns, inventory turns, and GMROI.
• Establish financial targets and KPIs across categories and channels.
• Partner with Finance to develop long-range plans, annual budgets, forecasts, and open-to-buy frameworks.

Assortment, Pricing & Inventory

• Oversee assortment planning by category, channel, and store cluster to maximize relevance and productivity.
• Set pricing and promotional strategies that balance competitiveness, margin, and brand integrity.
• Drive inventory optimization across the supply chain, improving in-stock rates, sell-through, and working capital efficiency.
• Collaborate with suppliers and negotiate terms to ensure competitive pricing and exclusive offerings,
• Drive value creation by ensuring the right item is in the right place, at the right time at the right quantity.
• Accountable for the sales forecast for Pet Supermarket on a per SKU/week and/or per sub-category/week basis that drives the P&L and controls margin rate and gross margin dollars
• Analyze market trends, consumer preferences, and sales data to inform merchandising decisions.
• Monitor inventory levels, buying terms, frequency and deal buys to drive improved Turns and minimize stockouts.

Vendor & Product Strategy

• Lead vendor and brand strategy, including sourcing, negotiations, funding, exclusives, and performance management.
• Build strong strategic partnerships with key suppliers to improve cost structure, innovation, speed to market, and reliability.
• Oversee product newness and innovation, including private-brand goods strategies, including margin, quality, and differentiation.
• Full responsibility for end-to-end supply chain from vendor to store shelf, including Inventory Management, Distribution and Transportation

Omnichannel & Customer Experience

• Ensure seamless merchandise execution across stores, e-commerce, and digital marketplaces.
• Partner with Marketing and Digital teams to align merchandising, storytelling, and go-to-market strategies.
• Leverage customer data and analytics to refine assortments and improve personalization.

Team Leadership & Culture

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing merchandising organization.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and data-driven decision making.
• Set clear expectations, succession plans, and leadership development paths.

Governance & Executive Collaboration

• Act as a key member of the executive leadership team, contributing to enterprise strategy and growth initiatives.
• Present merchandising strategies, results, and risks to executive team
• Ensure compliance with company policies, ethical sourcing standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Drive year-over-year improvements across critical KPIs, financial performance and service levels.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree/MBA preferred or equivalent retail experience
• Minimum 12+ years leadership experience focused on retail store or web merchandising and supply chain
• Prefer prior experience or cross-functional work with marketing, digital and in-store operations and visual merchandising
• Proven experience in working in a dynamic, team-focused environment with experience in creating and supporting aligned executive communications and actions
• Proven success owning a merchandise P&L in a multi-channel or omnichannel environment
• Extensive experience working with cross-functional partners including HR, IT, Legal and Finance
• Strong entrepreneurial skills combined with excellent business acumen and analytical skills; proven experience with managing the sales and gross margin aspects of a retail business
• Able to travel up to 35% of time across Pet Supermarket’s US trade area and to vendor and tradeshow sites

Competencies

• Action Oriented – Enjoys working hard; is action oriented and full of energy for the things he/she sees as challenging; not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning; seizes more opportunities than others.
• Dealing With Ambiguity – Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Business Acumen – Knows how businesses work; knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practices, trends, and information affecting his/her business and organization; knows the competition; is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace.
• Decision Quality – Makes good decisions (without considering how much time it takes) based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; most of his/her solutions and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions.
• Interpersonal Savvy – Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
• Organizational Agility – Knowledgeable about how organizations work; knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network; understands the origin and reasoning behind key policies, practices, and procedures; understands the cultures of organizations.
• Embodies Corporate Beliefs - An advocate for the corporate beliefs - personally demonstrates, and holds others accountable to do the same.

• Leverages People Effectively - Effectively develops team for eeds of the organization; crafts clear goals and expectations, holds people accountable, coaches effectively and crafts an image of future success.

• Logistics Management: Oversee all aspects of logistics operations, including transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and distribution. Continuously analyze and improve logistics processes to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Demand and Supply Planning: Lead the development and execution of demand and supply planning strategies. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to forecast customer demand, optimize inventory levels, and ensure timely delivery of products.
• Team Leadership: Provide strong leadership and guidance to the planning, logistics, and customer service teams. Set clear goals, monitor performance, and provide ongoing coaching and development opportunities.
• Performance Analysis: Implement performance measurement systems to track key metrics and indicators related to planning, logistics, and customer service. Analyze data and provide regular reports to senior management, identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions as needed.
• Vendor and Supplier Management: Manage relationships with vendors and suppliers to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of goods and services. Negotiate contracts, monitor performance, and resolve any issues or disputes.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive a culture of continuous improvement within the planning, logistics, and customer service departments. Identify opportunities for process optimization, automation, and innovation to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction.

• Analytical--Synthesizes complex or diverse information; Collects and researches data; Uses intuition and experience to complement data; Designs workflows and procedures.

Pet Supermarket is an equal opportunity employer.