Director, Case Goods

Company Summary:

Ethan Allen is a leading interior design company and manufacturer and retailer of quality home furnishings, offering a full complement of home decorating and design solutions through one of the country’s largest home furnishing retail networks. We refer to our Ethan Allen retail outlets as "design centers" instead of "stores" to better reflect these expanded capabilities. The Company was founded in 1932 and has sold products under the Ethan Allen brand name since 1937. 

Ethan Allen offers free interior design service to its clients and markets a full range of home furnishings products including furniture and decorative accessories through ethanallen.com and a network of approximately 281 Design Centers in the United States and abroad. Ethan Allen owns and operates manufacturing facilities in North America, including manufacturing plants and one sawmill in the United States, one manufacturing plant in Mexico and one manufacturing plant in Honduras. Approximately seventy-five percent of its products are made in its United States plants.

Position Summary:

The Director, Case Goods is responsible for implementing the merchandising direction for Ethan Allen’s case goods furnishings program. This key role will have responsibility for strategic sales goals for the company’s case goods business unit.

This position is working in a highly collaborative team environment and will manage merchandising and business planning of all case goods products from conceptual through introduction into the marketplace. Must be able to understand, track, and communicate the competitive landscape to the entire team, including Marketing. Build and develop a strong and strategic assortment plan with targeted costs and price points, with a managerial eye on SKU’s and sales allocation for each category. Merchandise planning for the entire product line to ensure a logical and targeted presentation of categories and range of appropriate and competitive price points.

Continually conduct trend analysis to interpret fashion trends and lifestyle shifts to continually refine the merchandise mix and collaborate with Design and Product Development on design and merchandise needs. Lead and manage merchants to control SKU counts and ensure products deliver against brand and business plans incorporating consumer and market trends, new technology, and channel strategies per marketing requirements.

This is a key strategic position. The successful candidate will possess the ability to fully integrate the company’s interior design focus and consumer marketing programs into its case goods merchandising program to create a merchandising assortment that distinguishes us from the competition while reinforcing value. Must be a strong negotiator who presents well and has the leadership skills to inspire others and grow a business.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Merchandise and manage a stylish and differentiated product portfolio and comprehensive merchandising strategy in order to assure the program supports and enhances Ethan Allen’s quality and excellence in interior design objectives.
•  Be accountable for the case goods program P&L, pricing, promotion, stock management, product assortment, and internet experience.
• Identify and assess product opportunities and translate the opportunity into viable business assessments and projects for Product Development.
• Develop relationships throughout the organization to understand product applications, identify unmet needs, and generate customer-driven product requirements.
• Utilize industry connections for unique and exclusive product assortments.
• Build a first-class merchant team; grow and train internal team of merchants, managers and planners.
• Act as a liaison with internal customers; provide product knowledge and serve as an informational resource to Retail design centers.
• Track product performance for the program including product performance, revenue, profitability, on-time delivery and quality.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing on vendor resourcing, calendar and costing strategies; acts as a customer representative to report on quality, fit and construction details.
• Coordinate with Marketing team on selection of merchandise for advertising
• Collaborate with merchandising team on product line rationalization and product retirement opportunities to drive profitability and optimization.
• Establish and maintain a culture of product safety, creativity and continuous improvement.
• Must be able to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• A bachelor’s degree in business or marketing, an MBA or advanced degree is preferred.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in a merchandising role for a nationwide retailer, manufacturer or marketer within the consumer goods sector. 
• Minimum of five (5) years of case goods merchandising experience.
• Experience in home furnishings segment is required; specifically, case goods / wood furnishings.
• Candidates must possess strategic and analytical skills and the demonstrated ability to select the right merchandise mix to meet or exceed customer needs and attain gross margin and profit goals.
• Extensive knowledge of merchandising concepts and management techniques to maximize retail selling space and return on investment.
• Outstanding communications, team building and leadership skills are required. 
• Fashion-forward sensibility and ability to identify and capitalize on current trends.
• Ability to foresee, interpret and rapidly respond to market changes by adjusting strategies and realigning priorities accordingly.
• Strong business acumen, including product management, finance and operations.
• Demonstrated ability to drive achievement of long-term strategic business goals, as well as short-term financial targets.
• Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire others to perform and achieve results.
• Strong technical skills and experience with various software based merchandising and analytical tools and possess a strong ecommerce background.
• Willingness to travel domestically and abroad, ranging up to 25% of the time.
• Ability and willingness to work from Danbury, CT headquarters office.
• Must have strategic agility, organizational ability, and successful track record for building effective teams.
• Thinks operationally and strategically, analyzes issues, uses sound judgment, generates new ideas, goes beyond the status quo.

Benefits

Benefits are an important part of the total compensation that is offered, providing peace of mind and financial well-being.  Ethan Allen is committed to offering a variety of benefits that allow associates to choose whether or not to participate based on personal and family needs.  Some of the benefits offered are 401(k) plan (with Employer contributions), multiple Medical Plans with Prescription Drug Coverage, Health Savings Account (including Employer contributions), Dental Plan, Vision Plan, Basic Group Term Life & Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Supplemental Group Term Life & AD&D Insurance, Dependent Group Term Life Insurance, Short and Long-Term Disability (Full-Time associates only), Business Travel Accident Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts – Health Care & Dependent Care, Commuter Saving Plans – Public Transit & Parking, Voluntary Whole Life Insurance, Voluntary Critical Care Insurance, Voluntary Accident Insurance and Employee Assistance Program.

Ethan Allen is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. We are an E-Verify Employer.