Assortment & Retail Experience Manager California Region

Assortment & Retail Experience ManagerCalifornia RegionJoin the Mike's Bikes Crew as our Assortment & Retail Experience ManagerCalifornia. Mike's Bikes is a community focused bike shop with an international reach. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional hospitality to our neighbors while also being a leading partner to the largest global brands. Every buy at Mike's Bikes starts in the store, and this role is where it starts. The Assortment & Retail Experience ManagerCalifornia decides which SKUs each California store carries, based on its capacity, customer profile, sales history, and local opportunity. Those selections are the originating input for our regional buy and allocation. You also set the store-level inventory targets that guide our weekly allocations, fix assortment gaps, balance stock between stores in the region, and make sure store teams have the product knowledge to sell. You'll spend most of your week on the sales floor with store managers and staff. This is a new role on our Purchasing team. Our Purchasing team runs on a Hybrid Purchasing Model. Process owners run one stage of the buying cycle end-to-end across every category and region, while specialists own a product department or a region where depth really matters. Every role reports to the Director of Purchasing, who is the single accountable owner for any shared workso you always know who makes the call. What You'll Do (and Love Doing): Assortment & Brand Selection: Own overall seasonal assortment and brand decisions in close collaboration with your regional counterpart, acting as the direct voice of the store floor. Select SKUs and drive in-season adjustments based on local trends, sales history, and store manager input. Trend Spotting & Business Development: Identify frontline consumer trends, emerging categories, and potential new brands or products. Deliver final recommendations to the Director of Purchasing and Commercial Managers before handing off vendor onboarding. Store-Level Inventory & Balancing: Set store inventory levels, stock depth guidelines, and specific store needs that feed into the weekly allocations executed by Commercial & Inventory. Store Health & Gap Resolution: Spot and resolve assortment gaps quickly, monitor in-stock rates and store-level turns, and keep aged stock low across all stores in your region. In-Region Transfers: Own store-to-store transfers and inventory balancing within your region to ensure stock sits where the demand is. Retail Experience & Relationships: Own merchandising standards, floor sets, displays, and product launches so every store is easy and exciting to shop. Focus Group & Retail Management: Be the voice of the stores inside Purchasinggather feedback from managers and staff and turn it into assortment decisions. Retail Staff Training Support: Support product and brand training for store staff, including launches, clinics, and training modules. Vendor Communication & Support: Partner with vendors and reps on store-level programs, visits, events, and merchandising support. Department Strategy & Financials: Contribute regional insight to department strategy and executive vendor negotiations. Help drive California financial performancerevenue, margin, units, average bike price (ABP), and margin %. Your Decision Rights: Which SKUs do we buy: You decide by store (responsible and accountable); your selections roll up into the Commercial & Inventory Manager's total regional buy. Weekly allocations: Commercial & Inventory owns weekly allocations from the DC; your store-level selections and inventory targets are the input. Who fixes assortment gaps: You do, when reallocation solves it; you escalate to Commercial & Inventory when a new SKU or more units are needed. Who owns transfers and balancing: You are responsible and accountable within the region. Who is accountable for a lost sale: You are, when the units existed in the region but were in the wrong store. How We'll Measure Success (Core KPIs): Targets for each KPI are set with the Director of Purchasing and reviewed regularly. Store In-Stock Rate: In-stock rate by store on the assortment you select. Store Lost Sales: Sales missed because units were in the region but not in the right store. Store Turns & Aged / Excess Inventory: Inventory turn by store, and the share of store inventory that is aged or above optimal levels. Sell-Through vs. Plan: Store-level sell-through against the plan behind your selections. Gap-Resolution Time: Time from spotting an assortment gap to fixing it, through reallocation or escalation. Assortment & Store-Fit: Understanding and executing on the differences between stores and their customer base Training & Growth: A structured onboarding with the Director of Purchasing and each process-stage owner, so you understand how the whole buying cycle fits together Ongoing mentorship and support to help further your continued development Training partnerships and product clinics with top brands in the cycling and outdoor industry Cross-training across Demand & Supply, Commercial & Inventory, Retail & Assortment, and Operations Career advancement opportunities within Purchasing and other sectors of the bike industry Perks & Pay: