Director, Brands in Princeton, New Jersey at The Princeton University Store

The Opportunity
The Director, Brands leads the commercial performance of our largest business across stores, ecommerce, and off-premise retail. The portfolio includes licensed Princeton merchandise in apparel, accessories, gifts, and related products.
We seek an experienced merchandising leader who combines commercial judgment with precise inventory management and disciplined execution. The role requires interpreting selling patterns, anticipating demand, improving assortment productivity, and coordinating substantial concurrent work across a small organization.
• The principle—the right product, at the right price, in the right place, at the right time—connects to the role’s responsibilities.

Direct Reports: Manager, Brands; Manager, Ecommerce

Schedule and Work Location: This is a hybrid position, not a fully remote role. Regular on-site work is required to understand the merchandise, stores, customers, and operating environment and to participate in merchandise reviews, planning, meetings, launches, testing, training, and peak periods. The frequency of on-site work will vary according to business needs and may increase during major initiatives and seasonal periods. Occasional early-morning, evening, or weekend work may be required for launches, system releases, major events, or urgent customer-impacting issues.

Principal Responsibilities
Lead commercial performance. Deliver sales, gross margin, and inventory objectives across channels. Translate merchandise analysis into timely decisions that protect sales availability, strengthen successful products, and address underperformance.
Direct merchandise planning and inventory investment. Manage open-to-buy, purchase commitments, replenishment, allocation, and receipt flow. Align inventory with demand, vendor lead times, seasonal opportunities, and operational capacity, maintaining productive stock levels and taking timely action on slow-moving merchandise.
Strengthen assortments and develop growth opportunities. Apply good-better-best and 80/20 merchandising principles to improve assortment balance, depth, and productivity across price points. Identify unmet demand, develop vendor opportunities, and recommend licensed and nonlicensed assortments, including complementary ecommerce and affiliate opportunities.
Direct product development and vendor relationships. Guide approved concepts through development and delivery with precision, commercial discipline, and dependable follow-through. Negotiate vendor terms and manage performance. Work collaboratively with the CEO, team, vendors, and University trademark and licensing colleagues to facilitate approvals and uphold applicable requirements.
Coordinate commercial execution across the company. Lead integrated merchandise plans and launches across stores, ecommerce, and pop-up retail. Align priorities with Marketing, Operations, Store Teams, and Finance. Coordinate programs with Athletics, academic departments, and administrative units. Establish clear commitments and resolve dependencies so initiatives are complete, timely, and commercially ready.
Lead the team and strengthen execution. Set priorities, develop the Brands and Ecommerce managers, and establish clear accountability for results. Maintain effective planning and review practices that support multiple concurrent initiatives alongside daily business needs. Partner with Finance and the Performance Manager on reliable analysis and support improvements in merchandise data, systems, and processes.

Experience and Qualifications
•Eight to ten years of progressive experience in merchandising, buying, and merchandise planning, including at least three years leading a team with accountability for sales, margin, and inventory performance.
Demonstrated success managing apparel, accessories, gifts, or related specialty retail categories across stores and ecommerce.
Strong command of open-to-buy, demand planning, replenishment, pricing, and inventory productivity, with evidence of converting analysis into effective commercial action.
Experience managing vendor relationships and product development, with fluency in licensed merchandise, brand-owner requirements, and approval processes.
Proven ability to lead a small team and coordinate complex work across departments with accuracy, sound judgment, and consistent follow-through.
Strong proficiency in Excel, retail analytics, and merchandise management systems; experience with NetSuite and Shopify is required.
Clear, professional communication and the ability to build productive relationships with vendors, University partners, and colleagues.
Bachelor’s degree in business, merchandising, or a related field required.