Designer / Merchandiser

Hybrid’s humble beginnings started in 1997 in the back of a print shop designing, selling, and printing tee shirts. Today, Hybrid is a global apparel industry powerhouse in brand and licensing management. Hybrid provides its expertise and fully vertical operations capability – design, merchandising, development, sourcing, production, and distribution – to a broad suite of branded, licensed, generic, and private label partners. Hybrid’s full-service apparel design and manufacturing expertise extends across the apparel category, including knits, woven tops, bottoms, tees, and accessories.

As our organization has evolved, so has our philosophy of doing business. We have made concerted efforts to remove ourselves from the antiquated approach of other apparel manufacturers and doing things differently has been our focus. We are building a company ethos that breeds innovation, collaboration, integrity and excellence in customer service.

What is my role?

As a Senior Merchandiser/Designer, you will work closely with internal Sales and Design teams to design new, compelling, and trend-right assortments that maximize existing penetration and drive new opportunities to meet annual sales projections and margin goals for the key accounts and business unit. The ideal candidate will have a strong mix of creativity, analytical, organizational, and communication skills. They will need to have an eye for design and aesthetic, the ability to conduct market/trend research and data analysis to problem solve and make informed decisions, manage multiple products and schedules to ensure deadlines are met, and communicate and collaborate strategically and effectively with internal teams, key licensors, and key retailers.

What You’ll Do

• Provide strategic analysis, help identify current sales trends, and drive incremental growth by building on successes and executing new and fresh ideas
• Help prepare for all meetings: identify key agenda items, ensure projected/ATS inventory is strategically included, and organize all books/samples needed for the success of every meeting
• Provide marketing tools (CADS of top sellers, hot key items, development samples, etc.) to assist in the selling process
• Work closely with Sales and Merchandising on strategies to ensure the highest level of ROI based upon account intelligence
• Attend brainstorming sessions with Sales, Design, and Head Merchant to generate unique concepts and ideas for increased sales and revenue generation.
• Analyze weekly sales reports on what is working an what is not to provide a baseline for future art needs
• Support decision-making at the Buyer/Sr. Buyer level and be a key partner to the Design Director
• Work closely with Licensing to maintain licensing goals and explore new opportunities for Brand placement
• Responsible for seasonal presentations of key items for top accounts
• Create seasonal color palette and concepts according to calendar
• Keep a calendar with deadlines to ensure all needs are met for each retail need/market
• Create full collections and sketches of styles in development with Retailer and market needs
• Develop within the parameters of the line plan
• Approve counter sample that reflects design vision
• Actively participate in the conceptual development of the market line and specific accounts by retail needs
• Partner with Design Team to prioritize trends for area of responsibility and share creative ideas
• Provide direction for art development to Creative Director
• Manage the design room flow
• Partner with the Production Team to maintain the level of integrity of garment from sample stage to final production
• Manage production approvals with Brand Managers
• Responsible for completion and handoff of tech info for Pre-Pro
• Responsible for fabric and trim direction/selection with Director
• Research the domestic/international markets to identify new trends, fabrics, techniques, etc.
• Meet with vendors for sourcing of fabric and trim; review seasonal concept direction
• Oversee the costing from Import/Domestic for each retail need

What You’ll Need

• 5+ years of related design experience
• College degree in Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, or related field
• Strong presentation skills and computer sketching
• In-depth knowledge of silhouette, fabrication, construction, and trim research
• Proficient in Illustrator – ability to design collections from concept through final samples/production in sketch form
• Proficiency in MS Office (including Excel, Word, Outlook)
• Strong communication and organizational skills; ability to multi-task
• Understanding of merchandising process
• Strong sense of color and ability to create art direction
• Adaptable in a fast paced, high growth work environment
• Occasional travel as needed