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Working in Merchandising

Merchandising sits right at the heart of everything that Superdry do. It’s a critical part of the process of the product journey from an initial idea to the shop floor. Once the Design team have produced their designs for each season, we join them for the line pick process where we select which products will go into production. We contribute analysis and insight to this process, looking at data from previous seasons to predict what products are likely to sell in what volumes, at what times in the season and in what type of store. This kind of intelligence allows us to decide with confidence which designs to take into production, and how many of each size, colour and style to order.

Our Merchandising teams, who are split into menswear, womenswear and footwear & accessories teams, review sales on a daily basis, looking at what’s selling well and what’s not, and constantly adjust our sales projections and order numbers accordingly. We also have a specialist Branch Merchandising team who look at sales data from individual stores and manage the flow of stock around the stores, allocating just the right amount of stock to each store so they don’t sell out but equally don’t have overflowing stock rooms. We constantly liaise with other departments right across the business, working particularly with the likes of Logistics and Production & Sourcing to make sure that our factories are able to react to our changing requirements and that we have the capacity to move stock around as needed.

It’s a constantly moving function and a very delicate balance to get it right. Merchandising is highly proactive and strategic, involving a tremendous amount of forward planning, but is also very nimble and reactive to business performance, which makes it a very exciting and dynamic place to work.

We are growing rapidly, with hundreds of new store openings planned globally over the next 5 years. This expansion plan will make our business an even more dynamic, exciting and interesting place to be, but naturally it will also place unprecedented demand on our core functions. As a department whose work is critical to the overall success of our business, Merchandising will need to adapt and grow in order to ensure that we are able to deliver against our ambitious business goals. Our new CEO has identified Merchandising as an area ready for significant investment to set us up for future success.

To ensure we are ready for this increase in activity, we have restructured our Merchandising team and added a number of new positions at all levels of the structure. The effect of these newly created roles will be a reduction in the number of product categories and options that each Merchandiser and their team looks after, allowing more detailed analysis and insight, therefore enabling us to forecast more accurately and buy the right options in the right volumes as we expand. These changes will allow our great people more time to do an even better job, improving our effectiveness and ultimately our bottom line.

Working in Merchandising at Superdry is a great opportunity for established Merchandising professionals to stretch themselves further, expand their skill set and widen their experience. Uniquely in our market, our Merchandising teams are very involved with the product, working closely with the design teams and making buying and ranging recommendations and decisions. Our Merchandisers work  closely on a day-to-day basis with our Brand & Product Director and co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who has a very active involvement in the buying and design process and makes the final decisions on what we buy each season, based on the valuable insight given to him by the Merchandising team.

Our current Merchandisers really value the chance to work so closely with the man who started Superdry and allows them to significantly broaden their capability and expertise. The chance to work on a global basis is equally appealing, and as we continue to open stores across the world our Merchandising team will focus on international stores as much as those in the UK, giving the roles further challenge and interest.

 

Life in Merchandising

Life in merchandising video

What is it really like to work at Superdry?

What is it really like to work for Superdry in the Merchandising team - video

You started 6 months ago and have settled in well. You’re achieving good results and your manager has given you positive feedback. A new colleague joins the team, and as far as you can see, they will be doing a similar role to you. You’ve heard that they are being paid more than you. What action do you take?

A.

Although you’re curious about the situation you decide to do nothing. After all there must be a good reason for it and it’s none of your business what other people’s salaries are. You know your manager appreciates your work and that you’re doing a good job. You trust that your salary will go up in the future. 

Select A

B.

You ask to talk to your manager to understand why the new person is paid more, if indeed this is the case. You focus the conversation on what you can do to work towards the career development you crave and the rewards that may come with it. 

Select B

C.

You decide your manager obviously doesn’t value your work as much as they say they do, and reluctantly start to look for a new job. Although you feel bruised and overlooked, you continue to give 100% because it’s important to get a good reference. 

Select C

D.

You understand that sometimes companies have to pay over the odds to recruit externally, but feel that you deserve to be on the same level. You talk to your manager about why the new person is paid more than you and ask politely for an increase. 

Select D

You accept a new job because you are excited about the type of work that you will be doing. Soon after starting you find out the business has recently agreed a deal to expand into a new country and as a result, you are required to make a major contribution to the project group, on top of your agreed role. How do you react to this?

A.

You feel it’s unreasonable to ask you to do lots of work you didn’t sign up for, but you’re here now so you’ll get on with it and see what happens. 

Select A

B.

You’re a bit nervous about whether you can step up and do all this new work successfully, but you are pleased to have been asked and think it’s an opportunity to prove yourself. If you find it tough you will talk to your manager and ask for support. 

Select B

C.

You don’t mind what you do; after all you’re here to get paid. You’ll do the best you can and hope it’ll work out OK.  

Select C

D.

You’re a bit concerned about being able to do all the extra work alongside everything else you have to do but you are really keen to have the chance to do something new. You arrange to sit down with your manager as soon as possible to plan how to manage your time and workload. 

Select D

A big part of your role involves using a complex spreadsheet tool on a daily basis. The more you get to understand it, the more you can see areas in which it could be improved. You can see one obvious thing that would really make a difference but you are surprised nobody has suggested this idea already. What do you do?

A.

You are convinced you’re onto something but are sure that if this was really a problem, someone would have fixed it already and don’t want to risk looking silly by raising it. Maybe nobody else thinks it’s an issue. You say nothing and continue to use the tool as it is. 

Select A

B.

You talk to some of your more experienced colleagues about it and seek their opinion on the problem. If they share your view that you have identified a solution to a real problem, you’ll write a short summary highlighting the issue and your suggested fix, and discuss it with your manager. 

Select B

C.

You are sure you can improve the tool by making your change, but don’t want to risk embarrassing your colleagues by pointing out something you are sure they should have spotted. You quietly make a few changes to the tool to test your ideas before bringing it up.

Select C

D.

You email your manager telling him that you’re surprised no one has noticed before but the tool doesn’t work very well, and that if he wants you can fix the problem. 

Select D

You are a key player in a major project and are covering for the Project Manager while she’s on holiday and not contactable. The board Director who is the project sponsor is also away. While talking to one of the project suppliers, you spot an opportunity to combine two work streams which will deliver a substantial cost saving. The supplier needs an immediate decision so they can allocate the resource to another project. You know that changes to the project cannot be made without the sign off of the Project Manager or the Director. How do you handle this?

A.

You talk to the supplier and explain that the Project Manager is highly likely to approve the change when she returns from holiday, but that you are unable to sign off until then. You aim to negotiate an arrangement whereby you can delay the sign off but still secure the cost saving, by helping them to find a solution that will work for them. 

Select A

B.

You decide that you don’t have the authority to sign off the change. Sadly on this occasion you can’t deliver the cost saving.  

Select B

C.

You’re really keen to secure the saving but equally aware that there is a sign-off process in place for good reason. You don’t want to miss out so you talk to another board Director in the business to see if they can authorise the change in the absence of the project sponsor. 

Select C

D.

You are certain that the Project Manager would approve of this change as you have worked with her long enough to know how she thinks. Given you don’t want to miss the chance to deliver a cost saving, you give it the go-ahead and will get the paperwork done when she returns. 

Select D

You have been asked to manage a piece of work as part of a larger project. The brief you’ve been given isn’t very clear and you’re not sure exactly what you need to do. What do you do?

A.

You seek out people who are contributing to other workstreams in the project and ask their opinion. You’re confident that if you can understand the wider project then you’ll be able to figure out what you need to do.

Select A

B.

You talk to the manager who briefed you and explain you need more clarity. You will then use your experience and talk to other colleagues to plan the work. Finally you discuss your plan with the manager before starting work.     

Select B

C.

You feel you should know what to do, and that you must have missed something when you were briefed. You’re concerned that it might look as if you weren’t listening if you go back and ask questions now. You decide to try your best and trust that you will pick it up as you go along. You’re usually pretty good at being able to get to grips with difficult things.

Select C

D.

You speak with the manager and ask them to give you more information on what’s expected and how you should go about it. You ask them to explain exactly what they want you to do and how they want you to do it, to avoid any misunderstanding. 

Select D

You have an important deadline approaching at the end of the week but are concerned about how much work you need to get through before then. There are lots of figures which require close attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy. You’re worried about the impact on the business if you don’t deliver on time, but you don’t want to rush and make a mistake. What do you do?

A.

You decide to focus on getting everything done and ensuring you do it to a really high standard, even though you know this will mean you having to get in early or leave bit later every day this week. 

Select A

B.

You ask your manager if there is anyone else available to help you complete the work on time, so you can focus on doing it really well. 

Select B

C.

You take a little time to review everything else you have scheduled for the rest of the week and move some less important tasks to the following week to create more space for you to complete the work in time without compromising on the quality.

Select C

D.

You decide to try and do the best you can, get through the work quickly to hit the deadline, and hope that you don’t make any mistakes. You’re usually pretty accurate so you’re sure it will be OK. 

Select D

Your job involves working closely with our stores, and you regularly visit stores. On one of these visits you get stuck in traffic and are 15 minutes late for a meeting with the Store Manager. As you walk into the store, a customer stops you and asks you for some advice on which style of jeans would best suit them. You can’t see any shop floor staff free at that moment. What do you do?

A.

 You stop and give the customer your full attention, and do your best to advise them decide what to buy even though you are not completely sure what you are talking about. You know the Store Manager wouldn’t mind you being late if you’re helping a customer. 

Select A

B.

You apologise politely to the customer, telling them you are running late for a meeting and that they should seek out one of the shop floor team who would be able to help, as they will have better product knowledge. 

Select B

C.

You stop and take the time to understand what the customer needs. You explain that you don’t have the expertise to help them, but that you will find someone that does. Knowing they will be free, you go and see the Store Manager and introduce them to the customer, then start your meeting a little later. 

Select C

D.

You listen to the customer’s requirement, take them to the till area and ask them to wait for one of the shop floor team who will be with them shortly, then briefly interrupt one of the team who is with another customer to make sure they know to deal with your customer next.

Select D

A colleague who recently joined the business takes you to one side and asks for some advice. They are really struggling with a complicated piece of work and are questioning whether they have what it takes to do the job. They are confused and really don’t know what to do. How do you manage this situation?

A.

You sit down with them privately and hear what they have to say. Reassure them that they probably have nothing to worry about, that everyone goes through teething problems when they are new. Advise them to dig in and keep trying, and it’ll all be OK, but that they can talk to you again if they still feel troubled. 

Select A

B.

You listen to their concerns, and advise them that they should talk to their manager. You don’t feel you are the right person to help and that it’s more appropriate that the manager deals with problems in the team. 

Select B

C.

You take the time to understand what they are concerned about, and ask lots of questions to make sure you really get it. You offer to sit down with them and go through their work with them to see if you can give them some advice. You then offer to sit down again in a few weeks to see how it’s going. 

Select C

D.

You listen to their problems and really want to help, but you’re not sure you have the expertise or experience to give them the best possible advice. You offer to talk to a more senior member of the team on their behalf, who you know has the skills to help them understand how to do this piece of work. You then keep talking to the new colleague to see how it’s going and do your best to support and encourage them going forward. 

Select D
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Benefits

Holiday Allowance

We offer all of our full time head office employees 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays.

Pension Scheme

You’re auto-enrolled into our pension scheme within 3 months of joining. You get 2% company contributions (you put in 1%). If you’re a senior manager or senior contributor you can choose get 4% company contributions if you put in 5%. You can enrol immediately to get contributions from your first payday. 

Life Assurance

Everyone at head office is covered by our group life assurance policy. It’s worth 2x your salary, or 4x your salary if you are paid £50k or more. That means if you were to die while you work for us, your named beneficiary would receive a tax free lump sum worth 2 (or 4) years of your salary.

Staff Discount & Staff Shop

Everyone at Superdry gets 50% off everything bought in our UK standalone stores and online, and 30% off in our outlet stores. You can use your discount to buy products for yourself, friends and family up to an annual spending limit. We also have a shop at our head office that stocks heavily discounted Superdry sample products which are available to buy.

Sharesave Scheme

We regularly offer our people the chance to join Sharesave. You save money each month from your wages and at the end of 3 years you use your savings to buy discounted Superdry shares. You can then keep them or sell them, hopefully for a profit. The best thing is, you can’t lose money, only make it!

Private Medical Insurance

Senior managers and senior contributors are eligible for private medical insurance, which is a taxable benefit. This gives you peace of mind that you will be able to have private treatment in the event of illness.

Childcare Vouchers

Every employee can elect to take part of their salary in childcare vouchers. These come out of your pre-tax salary, so if you have a child that goes to a registered childcare provider, they’re a good way to save money on your childcare costs compared to paying for it out of your after-tax salary.

Bike to Work Scheme

If you want to cycle to work but don’t have a bike, you can obtain one through us, with payments coming out of your pre-tax salary. As well as being able to get a new bike without having to save up or use credit, it’s a good way to save money compared to paying for it out of your after-tax salary.

Wellbeing Scheme

All employees have access to a free, confidential phone line that you can call if you have any worries about anything in your life, inside or outside work, and talk to a trained advisor about whatever is troubling you. It’s good to know that there is always someone there to talk to who can help.

The recruitment process
in a few easy steps

We use lots of different ways to assess candidates who apply for roles with us. Everyone’s journey through the recruitment process begins with an online application, but from there we will use a combination of different methods to decide on the perfect candidate for each role. We’ve outlined the key steps below, though we don’t use all of these steps for every vacancy. Which of these selection methods we use varies from role to role. 

Step 1

Online application

All our hires start with an online application. It’s a straightforward process, just click any of the apply links, create your account and follow the instructions. 

Step 2

Application Review

We review all application forms and CVs carefully against the role criteria we set out in the job description, and pick the most suitable people for each role to take forward.

Step 3

Telephone Interview

We usually start our head office recruitment with a short telephone interview, to understand more about your career history, achievements, capabilities and cultural fit. 

Step 4

Team Tryout 

We often use this for our Sales Assistant recruitment in stores. It is a group session involving interactive and creative exercises and a short sharp interview. 

Step 5

Face-to-Face Interview

We invite people in to meet the recruiting manager for all head office and store management roles. It’s a great way to really get to know you and evaluate your experience and suitability.

Step 6

Testing

Sometimes we use testing to understand technical competencies, management skills, numerical ability etc. This isn’t for every role, only where we need a skill that it’s hard to show at interview.

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Learning & Development

The Superdry Academy

All of our learning & development activity at Superdry is designed and managed by the Superdry Academy – a dedicated in-house team who specialise in on-brand training programmes which help our people to enhance and develop their skills to be the best they can be. 

Onboarding

Everyone who joins at head office attends a Superdry induction, where you learn all about Superdry. We tell you all the practical things you need to know, such as health & safety, parking and our staff shop, and you’ll also learn about our history and key people. We also have guest speakers who give you their own unique insights into life at Superdry.

Lunch & Learn

We hold monthly lunchtime learning sessions on a particular area of the business. They’re open to anyone who wants to learn more about that topic, all you have to do is book on. We’ve run them on design, denim, fashion PR, finance, property, our photo studio and many other depasrtments and topics. They’re very popular and we’re told they’re really informative and help people understand what part each department plays in our success.

Management Essentials

If you join in a people management role, you’re eligible for these sessions. Designed to help develop your skills as a manager, they cover topics like time management, developing resilience, recruiting people, managing difficult conversations, coaching, influencing, strategic thinking, and managing conflict. If you complete them all you’ll be accredited by the Institute of Leadership & Management.

Leadership Programme

We are committed to developing both our current and future leaders at Superdry and we invite different cohorts of people to take part in our leadership development programme throughout each year, across all levels of our organisation. We use the FED model which has Future, Engage and Deliver as the core aspects of the programme.

Technical Training

Many of the roles we have at head office require strong Excel, Word or Power Point skills, or the ability to use niche products like Illustrator or Photoshop. To help people improve their ability to use these tools effectively, we run a series of courses to help people understand more about them and how they work. We offer beginner, intermediate and advanced courses for all ability levels.

Professional Qualifications

Some of our roles benefit from people who are qualified professionally, such as some positions in finance or legal. Where there’s a clear business benefit to Superdry, we’ll help people with funding and time off to study for professional qualifications. For people seeking to enhance their qualifications and who can demonstrate the benefit this will bring, it’s a great opportunity for development.

E-Learning

Here at Superdry we think it’s important that every employee is properly trained on some of our key issues, such as health & safety,  cyber security and anti bribery. We’ve developed interesting and innovative e-learning modules to help everyone achieve the required competency in certain areas, and will roll out further modules on other key topics in the future.

Bespoke Training

Sometimes it’s necessary for people to be trained on something that we don’t currently cover – this might be a new software package, or a different type of skill set. Leaders across the business often ask us to develop bespoke training plans to help upskill their teams, and we are often able to oblige and design a new training scheme to deliver these skills.

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