Chief Merchandising Officer

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing merchandising organization.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and data-driven decision making.
• Set clear…