Dedicated to telling stories and creating experiences, Indigo is always looking for bright, energetic and customer-focused people who can help bring our exciting mission to life in one of our more than 170 Indigo, Indigospirit, Chapters and Coles stores across Canada. We offer a variety of exciting opportunities at our retail stores, distribution centres, and home office for people who share our passions and want to be part of a dynamic and enriching culture.

WHO WE ARE

• We love books and all things beautiful
• We are Canada’s Cultural Department Store
• Books are our heart and our soul and Great Books are JUST the Beginning…

We play by the following rules:

• We exist to add joy to our customers’ lives each and every time they interact with us and our products
• Our job is to create joyful moments for our customers
• We treat each other the way we’d treat a valued friend
• We inspire each other to do our best work
• We seek to ignite creativity and innovation every day
• We give back to the communities in which we operate

The Director, Print - Experience & Curation is accountable for creating and implementing the vision, strategy and direction for the overall category by evolving the customer experience, focusing on inspiring reading and making Indigo Canadian’s bookseller of choice. This role is responsible for finding innovative ways to grow and develop the business that, includes driving market share, sales, assortment, merchandising, pricing and execution. The Director is an exceptional leader with an aptitude for developing a high-performing team, conceiving and implementing strategies, creatively evolving the business, building relationships, and communicating and working cross-functionally to support and grow the Print business as a whole.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Sales, Profit and Turns
• NIMROI and EBITDA performance
• Profit and Loss Statement
• Open to Buy and Forecasting
• Market Share
• Merchandising Calendar and Inventory Position
• Consumer and Brand Appropriate product selection
• Employee Engagement Scores

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic

• Set strategic plans that are innovative and support overall company and Print strategic goals
• Develop Strategic assortment plans, for Retail and Online, and merchandising direction for the Category to achieve key performance metrics
• Develop strategic plan to grow our customer base while maintaining the engagement of our existing customers
• Develop Seasonal Promotional and Marketing Strategies
• Support Indigo goals by executing on short to mid-term departmental goals (1 year)
• Maintain a high level of strategic foresight by identifying customer and business needs, and adjusting departmental and team objectives accordingly

Functional

• Lead the development of the strategic assortment for stores and online
• Drive category performance to meet sales, margin and turn goals
• Lead key negotiations with Publishers to gain best possible terms of engagement
• Lead development of merchandising plans that are consistent with overall merchandising calendar and drive category performance
• Strategize collaboratively with Planning and Allocations to ensure the most productive allocation of inventory by category and by store
• Leverage insights from financial analysis to recommend actions to maximize sales and profit
• Effectively strategize and recommend actions for promotions and markdowns that maximize sales and profit
• Collaborate with Visual Merchandising to ensure assortment strategy and customer experience are prioritized and properly reflected in in-store presentations
• Collaborate with Marketing to develop campaigns and activities that are consistent with and support assortment strategies
• Lead quarterly assortment reviews
• Create and maintains effective cross-functional relationships through collaboration, communication and store visits with field leadership team
• Partner with Planning and Inventory Management to develop macro space plans with support from Store Design and Visual Merchandising
• Stay current on market trends
• Ensure the execution of team deliverables and adapt team priorities based on changing needs
• Set/adhere to team budgets, as applicable
• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all design and decision-making processes
• Embrace and seek out technology that creates high tech and high touch solutions for Indigo’s customers
• Proactively identify and anticipate customer expectations and needs
• Challenge the status quo by consistently identifying areas for improvement, diagnosing issues and working to resolve them
   

People

• Build strong teams by attracting and developing the best talent
• Bring out the best in others, empower and constructively stretch talent
• Give authentic feedback on performance and potential
• Ensure all team members understand where they stand and have clear performance objectives aligned with Indigo and department goals
• Actively assess and work to improve the overall engagement, productivity, turnover and bench strength of the team
• Support the creation and maintenance of a talent succession plan
• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback

Cultural

• Embrace, champion and influence change through your team and/or the organization
• Role model Indigo’s High-Performance Characteristics
• Cultivate an environment of trust where the opinions, voices, and the well-being of employees are valued, enabling people to bring their best selves to work
• Inspire a customer-centric culture among the team bringing to life Indigo’s mission of creating joy and enriching lives
• Act as an agent of change within the organization
• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes

SCOPE

Manager once Removed (MOR): Chief Commercial Officer

Internal:

• Planning and Inventory Management
  • Visual Merchandising
  • Creative Studio
  • Marketing
  • Retail Ops
  • Stores
  • Store Design
  • Distribution Center
  • Supply Chain and Logistics
  • Online

External:

• Publishers
• Vendors

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• University Degree preferred
• Experience in the Retail Industry
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in retailing, product development and category management field with progressive leadership accountability

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Inspired and Inspiring
• Passionate about books
• Proven ability to think outside the box
• Proven ability to build productive business relationships with both internal and external partners
• Proven ability to negotiate effectively with external business partners
• Proven ability to establish vision and set direction for a team
• Proven ability to lead a team through change
• Strong organizational skills with ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines and reacting quickly to shifting priorities
• Outstanding communication skills

Other (travel, Bilingual, etc.)

• 30% Travel for Trade Shows, Store Visits and Competition Shopping

At Indigo, we are committed to our communities, our customers, and each other; together we can make a positive impact. We know that fostering diversity and inclusion brings out your full potential and creates a joyful and welcoming environment for everyone. We are driven to be an equitable employer, which highly values your diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that you, in all your uniqueness, belong at Indigo. We welcome all applicants and encourage applications from individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, a person of colour, LGBTQ2+ and people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request to individuals who self-identify as having a disability or special need. Please contact Human Resources at Support-HR@indigo.ca if you require an accommodation at any time during the recruitment process. 

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