Head of Merchandising

Merchandising Leader-India

Job Title: Merchandising Leader – India

Company: Lenskart
Location: Delhi

Role Mandate

This role sits at the intersection of product, brand, and commercial strategy, owning the merchandising vision for the Indian market—one of Lenskart’s largest and fastest-growing businesses.

The mandate is to build a product-first, AI-enabled merchandising engine tailored to India—where deep consumer insight, regional nuances, and data intelligence drive every decision across assortment, pricing, and lifecycle management.

Core Responsibilities

1. Product-First Merchandising Strategy 

• Anchor merchandising around Indian consumer need states, usage occasions, and price sensitivities

• Partner with Product, Design, and Innovation teams to co-create collections rooted in local trends and cultural insights

• Translate product vision into scalable, high-performing assortments across India

2. AI-First Merchandising & Decisioning

• Build and scale AI-driven merchandising capabilities across demand forecasting, assortment planning, and pricing

• Leverage ML models for trend prediction, regional segmentation, and lifecycle optimization

• Drive automation across allocation, replenishment, and markdown optimization

3. India Fashion & Category Leadership

• Define merchandising vision aligned with Lenskart’s positioning as a fashion-forward eyewear brand in India

• Lead seasonal strategies blending global trends with India-specific fashion cycles

• Own category architecture across mass, premium, and emerging segments

4. Assortment Intelligence & Regionalization

• Develop data-led assortment frameworks balancing national scale with regional preferences (North, South, Tier 1/2/3 cities)

• Identify whitespace opportunities across price points, styles, and geographies

• Drive precision merchandising using micro-segmentation and cohort-based targeting

5. Pricing, Margin & Commercial Optimization

• Own pricing architecture aligned to Indian consumer affordability and competitive landscape

• Drive margin expansion through intelligent product mix and lifecycle pricing

• Optimize promotions through structured experimentation and ROI tracking

6. Demand Planning & Inventory Strategy

• Implement predictive demand planning tailored to India’s diverse demand patterns

• Optimize inventory allocation across stores, warehouses, and online channels

• Improve inventory turns and reduce working capital through sharper forecasting

7. Omni-channel Product Experience

• Ensure seamless product storytelling across e-commerce, retail stores, and marketplaces

• Leverage personalization to enhance discovery, conversion, and basket size

• Partner with retail and digital teams to deliver a unified India-centric customer journey

8. Data, Platforms & Analytics

• Build a robust merchandising data ecosystem integrating customer, product, and market signals

• Establish real-time dashboards for performance tracking and decision-making

• Drive a culture of experimentation, A/B testing, and continuous optimization

9. Leadership & Organizational Impact

• Build and lead a high-caliber India merchandising team with strong product and analytics orientation

• Champion a product-first, AI-first mindset across teams

• Influence broader India strategy across product innovation, expansion, and customer experience

Candidate Profile

• Proven leadership in merchandising within India-focused fashion, lifestyle, or consumer retail organizations

• Strong understanding of Indian consumer behavior, regional diversity, and price-value dynamics

• Experience operating in product-led, tech-enabled environments

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

• Deep understanding of omni-channel ecosystems in India (retail + digital + marketplaces)

• Ability to balance creativity with data and scale

• Experience managing large, cross-functional teams in high-growth environments

What Success Looks Like

• A scalable, AI-powered merchandising engine tailored for India

• Strong product-market fit across regions and consumer segments

• Improved full-price sell-through with reduced dependency on discounting

• Best-in-class inventory efficiency and demand predictability

• Elevated brand positioning in India through insight-led product strategy

Stakeholder Influence

• India Leadership Team

• Product, Design & Innovation

• Data Science & Engineering

• Supply Chain & Sourcing

• Growth, Marketing & Retail Leadership

Experience Level

Senior Level