Universal Music Group · 12 hours ago
Merchandising Lead
New York, NY
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$150K/yr - $276K/yr
12+ years expUniversal Music Group is the world’s leading music company, committed to artistry, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The Merchandising Lead will own the end-to-end merchandising strategy across a portfolio of key artists, responsible for building assortment strategies, pricing architectures, and inventory plans while acting as a trusted advisor to artists.
Audio Recording and ProductionMedia and EntertainmentMusicPublishing
Responsibilities
Build seasonal and ongoing assortment strategies aligned to brand, consumer demand, and financial targets
Develop and manage pricing architectures, including initial pricing, margin targets, and promotional considerations
Oversee demand forecasts, inventory plans, and buy quantities to optimize revenue, margin, and sell-through
Analyze sales performance, conversion, and inventory health; identify risks and opportunities
Apply insights from consumer behavior, trends, and historical data to inform future assortments
Act as the primary merchandising partner for assigned artists and management teams
Translate artist vision into commercially viable merchandise assortments
Present clear, data-backed recommendations and guide artists toward the best paths for success
Balance creative ambition, timelines, operational constraints, and financial outcomes
Partner closely with design, product development, sourcing, marketing, and ecommerce teams
Influence product direction using performance insights, fan data, and market trends
Ensure assortments are right-sized, on-brand, and launch-ready
Support go-to-market and launch strategies tied to tours, releases, drops, and promotional moments
Own key merchandising milestones from concept through launch
Ensure timelines are met across multiple workstreams in a fast-moving environment
Proactively identify risks and resolve issues to keep programs on track
Drive post-launch reviews and apply learnings to future programs
Qualification
Required
12+ years of experience in merchandising, buying, or planning, ideally within a large retail or ecommerce organization
Demonstrated expertise in assortment planning, pricing strategy, and inventory forecasting
Strong financial and analytical skills; comfortable working with sales, margin, and inventory metrics
Experience managing external partners, clients, or cross-functional stakeholders
Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, high-pressure, and highly visible situations
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strategic assortment and line planning
Pricing and margin management
Demand forecasting and inventory optimization
Consumer- and data-driven decision making
Stakeholder influence and account management
Calm, persuasive communication under pressure
Strong organizational and prioritization skills
Benefits
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
Including 100% coverage for out-patient in-network mental health services
Fertility coverage for eligible medical plan participants
Wellbeing reimbursements for fitness classes, spa treatments, meal services, travel, and so much more (up to $720/year)
Student Loan Repayment Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement
401(k) with 100% immediate vesting on the first 5% of your contributions, plus an additional UMG contribution
Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) for exempt employees
3-weeks PTO for non-exempt employees
2-weeks paid Winter Break
10 Company Holidays (including Juneteenth and Wellbeing Day)
Summer Fridays (between Memorial Day and Labor Day)
Generous paid parental leave for every type of parent
Company
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is a music-based entertainment company that offers music recording, publishing, and merchandising services worldwide. It is a sub-organization of Leviy Publishing.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Universal Music Group has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (19)
2024 (24)
2023 (14)
2022 (22)
2021 (18)
2020 (19)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$8.65BKey Investors
William AckmanTencent
2023-06-06Post Ipo Debt· $802.31M
2021-09-21IPO
2021-06-21Secondary Market· $4.17B
Leadership Team
Devraj Sanyal
Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group, India & South Asia; SVP Strategy "AMEA"
Timothy Xu
Chairman and CEO
Recent News
Digital Music News
2026-01-17
Music Business Worldwide
2026-01-16
Company data provided by crunchbase