Who We Are:
At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.
Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.
Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:
· Runner First
We act in the best interest of the runner
· Word is Bond
We do what we say we’ll do
· Champion Heart
We give our all in everything we do
· There is no “I” in Run
We stay generous with our humanity
· Keep Moving
We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!
We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.
Your Job:
As the Lead Buyer, Direct-to-Consumer (Footwear & Apparel) at Brooks, you are strategic and consumer obsessed with the ability to shape the product assortment strategy for our footwear and apparel categories across our owned digital and physical retail channels. This role will establish new processes, define cross functional operating rhythms, and build the foundational infrastructure for a scalable DTC buying discipline. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who is excited to build cross-functional partnerships and processes and define how buying contributes to our direct-to-consumer success.
Your Responsibilities:
Assortment Strategy & Buying
Create repeatable seasonal assortment frameworks and decision-making processes to support a growing, multi-channel DTC business.
Lead seasonal assortment planning for footwear and apparel across BrooksRunning.com and retail stores, balancing brand vision with consumer demand.
Manage assortment plans across multiple seasons and the product lifestyle.
Use historical data, competitive insights, and market trends to inform future buys, identify whitespace opportunities, and optimize current assortments; includes exploring and defining channel-right segmentation, exclusives, launch sequencing, and seasonal product hierarchy.
Partner with eCommerce and Retail Merchandising to bring assortments to life across digital and physical marketing and merchandising touchpoints.
Tailor store assortments to local needs and seasonal transitions.
Performance & Inventory Optimization
Analyze sales performance, margin, sell-through, and consumer feedback to guide in-season adjustments and future planning.
Collaborate with the eCommerce Merchandising and Marketing teams to communicate priority products and lines.
Collaborate with Planning and Demand teams to ensure demand plans are in order and can be passed to Market Supply Planning to ensure inventory supports business goals and minimizes excess.
Lead in-season business management (sell-through analysis, markdowns, accelerations) using real-time DTC insights.
Represent DTC business in UMAP and markdown planning sessions with Wholesale and Planning teams.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Process Building
Build strong relationships with Retail Planning & Analytics, Demand Planning, Product Merchandising, eCommerce Merchandising, and Marketing.
Define cross-functional operating model for DTC merchandising, aligning Product, Planning, Creative, Marketing, and eCommerce Merchandising around seasonal DTC priorities.
Represent DTC through GTM milestones (e.g., seasonal assortment reviews, preline reviews, pricing/UMAP inputs, etc.) and lead DTC seasonal product briefs and align Marketing and eCommerce Merchandising.
Advocate for the consumer across all touchpoints, ensuring assortments reflect both brand vision and customer needs; serve as Brooks’ subject-matter expert on DTC product needs, representing consumer expectations and channel-specific opportunities.
Apparel Growth Strategy
Identify and lead opportunity planning to grow the apparel category through testing, consumer insights, and performance analysis.
Champion new styles and refine assortments based on learnings to improve sales performance and category profitability.
Develop test-and-learn frameworks for apparel in DTC, shaping how Brooks pilots new styles, colorways, and merchandising strategies in owned channels.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Business, Marketing, or related field; equivalent years of experience can be considered in lieu of degree(s)
7+ years of experience in buying in footwear or apparel; omnichannel experience preferred
Strong analytical skills and proficiency in Excel and merchandising systems
Deep understanding of retail metrics (sell-through, margin, AUR, UPT)
Proven ability to build and execute consumer-informed assortment strategies
Experience standing up new processes, tools, or operating rhythms within a growing or evolving organizational structure preferred
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and building new processes from the group up
Excellent communication and collaboration skills
Passion for product and the consumer experience
Embraces and lives the Brooks values!
Compensation: The pay range for this position, based out of the Brooks Seattle HQ, is $110,571- $165,857 per year. Base pay offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Other: Brooks is proud to offer a robust benefits package to our employees and their families!
Benefits - including medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance, HSA and employer contribution, FSA, family & fertility assistance, 401K Savings Plan and match, employee assistance program, and transportation assistance.
Paid Time Off - Brooks offers generous time off including three to five weeks of paid time off, eleven paid holidays, paid sick and parental leave.
Bonus -in addition to base pay, Brooks employees may also be offered an annual bonus based on company performance.
Perks - including product discounts, employee recognition, fitness discounts, volunteer and donation benefits.
Location - You will spend 4 days per week in our Seattle offices, as we believe our organization flourishes when connections, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and celebrations happen in person.
At Brooks, we celebrate diversity & equity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment, and encourage people of all backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills to apply. Brooks is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, two-spirit identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, the presence of a physical, mental, or sensory disability, marital status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), caste, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, actual or perceived victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking, HIV or Hepatitis C infection, political ideology, use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability, or on any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, or any other non-merit based factors.
