Global Merchandising Leader

Global Merchandising Leader

Mission Brief: Architect the AI-Powered Merchandising Engine for a Global Fashion Brand

This is a rare, high-impact leadership role — and one of the most consequential product and commercial mandates in global retail today.

You will own the global merchandising vision for Lenskart: a design-driven, tech-enabled brand scaling across 10+ markets, 10,000+ SKUs, and a rapidly expanding omni-channel footprint. Your mandate is to move us from instinct-led merchandising to a fully AI-powered decision engine — where every call on assortment, pricing, and lifecycle is anchored in data, customer intelligence, and technology.

This is not a maintenance role. You are building something that doesn't fully exist yet.

🎯 What You'll Own

1. Product-First Merchandising Strategy Partner with Product, Design, and Innovation to co-create collections grounded in real consumer insight. Translate product vision into scalable, commercially successful global assortments anchored in customer need states and usage occasions.

2. AI-First Merchandising & Decisioning Build and scale AI-driven merchandising capabilities across demand forecasting, assortment planning, and pricing optimisation. Leverage machine learning for trend prediction, customer segmentation, and lifecycle management. Drive adoption of automated decision systems for allocation, replenishment, and markdown optimisation.

3. Global Fashion & Category Leadership Define Lenskart's long-term category architecture across core, premium, and emerging segments. Lead seasonal strategies that integrate trend forecasting with real-time demand signals — positioning the brand as a credible global fashion authority.

4. Assortment Intelligence & Localisation Build data-led assortment frameworks that combine global scale with local relevance. Use AI and analytics to identify gaps, whitespace, and regional preferences. Drive precision merchandising through micro-segmentation and customer cohort targeting.

5. Pricing, Margin & Commercial Optimisation Own the global pricing architecture, leveraging dynamic and algorithmic models to balance brand positioning with margin expansion. Continuously optimise promotions through data-driven experimentation and ROI tracking.

6. Demand Planning & Inventory Strategy Implement predictive demand planning powered by AI. Optimise inventory placement, allocation, and replenishment across channels and geographies. Reduce working capital intensity through smarter forecasting and faster inventory turns.

7. Omni-channel Product Experience Ensure seamless product storytelling across e-commerce, retail, and marketplaces. Leverage personalisation engines to enhance discovery, conversion, and basket size. Build a unified, insight-driven customer journey with digital and retail teams.

8. Data, Platforms & Analytics Build a world-class merchandising data infrastructure integrating customer, product, and market data. Establish real-time dashboards and decision frameworks for performance management. Drive a culture of experimentation, A/B testing, and continuous optimisation.

9. Leadership & Organisational Impact Build and lead a high-calibre global merchandising organisation with strong product and analytics orientation. Champion a product-first, AI-first mindset across teams and leadership. Influence broader business strategy across product innovation, market expansion, and customer experience.

🏆 What Winning Looks Like

• A scalable, AI-powered merchandising engine driving faster and more accurate decisions across all markets

• Strong product-market fit globally, with measurably improved customer engagement and conversion

• Higher full-price sell-through and a structurally reduced dependency on discounting

• Best-in-class inventory efficiency and demand predictability

• Elevated brand positioning through differentiated, insight-led product offerings that stand apart globally

🤝 Who You'll Influence

You'll work at the intersection of the organisation — shaping decisions alongside Executive Leadership, Product & Design, Data Science & Engineering, Supply Chain & Sourcing, and Growth, Marketing & Retail Leadership.

The Essentials

• Proven 12-15 yrs of experience leading global merchandising teams within fashion, lifestyle, or consumer retail organisations

• Strong experience operating in product-led, tech-enabled environments

• Demonstrated exposure to AI/ML-driven decision-making in merchandising or adjacent functions

• Deep understanding of fashion cycles, consumer behaviour, and omni-channel ecosystems

• Ability to integrate creativity with data science and technology

• Experience managing global, cross-functional teams at scale