Import Merchandiser Recruitment

Fashion and lifestyle businesses use Encore Recruitment to hire import merchandisers across brands, retailers, suppliers and importers.

Import merchandisers help move product and orders through production towards delivery. Depending on the business, that can involve suppliers, factories, critical paths, purchase orders, samples, shipments, customer communication and delivery planning.

The title alone does not show how much responsibility sits with the person.

The title is a starting point. The production and delivery responsibility behind it tells us more.

Before any search begins, we establish what the role covers, what the person needs to progress or resolve themselves and where other decisions sit.

Key Takeaways

Import merchandising connects product decisions with production and delivery. The work can include suppliers, factories, critical paths, purchase orders, samples, shipments and customer or delivery activity.
The same title can carry different levels of responsibility. What someone progresses themselves, which problems they resolve and how they work with suppliers or customers can all change the role.
The recommendation follows the role, not the title. We assess the evidence behind the candidate’s experience against the responsibility in this vacancy. The candidate also needs a clear view of the opportunity and to want Encore Recruitment to represent them before we recommend them to the client.

What Does an Import Merchandiser Take Responsibility For?

An import merchandiser helps progress product and orders through production towards delivery, working across suppliers, factories and internal teams.

That may include purchase orders, sample progress, critical paths, supplier communication, production updates, shipment information and keeping customers or internal teams informed.

The activity alone does not tell you how much responsibility sits with the person.

Updating a critical-path date is different from deciding what should change when that date slips. Contacting a supplier is different from negotiating a lead time or MOQ. Following production is different from deciding how a delivery problem should be recovered.

The same job title can therefore sit over work that is mainly support-led, defined independent responsibility or a wider remit involving customers, suppliers and difficult production decisions. The new sub-role pages reflect those distinctions directly.

Import merchandisers also work across functions such as buying, design, product development, garment technology, production, sourcing, account management, logistics and finance.

Those relationships do not mean every decision sits with the import merchandiser.

What matters is knowing what the person is expected to progress, decide, communicate and escalate.

How Does the Role Change at Different Levels?

Responsibility changes through the level of support, independence, problem-solving and supplier, customer or team responsibility attached to the role.

At trainee level, the emphasis is more likely to sit with learning the development-to-delivery process, keeping information accurate, following actions through and developing judgement with supervision.
Assistant and junior roles may move into responsibility for defined orders, suppliers, critical-path stages or customer activity.
An established import merchandiser may carry more consistent responsibility for orders, suppliers, production progress and delivery activity without routine supervision.
At senior level, the difference may sit in larger or harder accounts, more complex sourcing routes, wider customer or supplier responsibility, difficult recovery decisions or becoming the point others turn to when an issue cannot be resolved earlier.
An import merchandising manager may remain hands-on with accounts and suppliers or move further into team priorities, workflow, standards, escalations and wider function performance.
Head of merchandising can be a possible progression route, though it is not one consistent final step. The title is also used for supplier-side production merchandising, product and market merchandising, and retail planning and trading.

For more detail:

Import Merchandiser Salaries

Import merchandiser salaries reflect more than the job title. Responsibility, business model, supplier or customer exposure, sourcing complexity and location can all affect salary. Indicative salary ranges include:

Trainee Import Merchandiser: £25,000
Assistant/Junior Import Merchandiser: £27,000–£32,000
Import Merchandiser: £32,000–£40,000
Senior Import Merchandiser: £40,000–£50,000
Import Merchandising Manager: £50,000–£75,000
Head of Merchandising: £75,000+

Salary ranges updated August 2026.

For roles rooted in supplier-side production and import merchandising, head of merchandising salaries can start around £75,000. The wider title covers different functions, so salary depends on the responsibilities being led, business size, team scope and wider commercial accountability.

Any salary offered must also reflect contracted hours, the applicable age band and UK National Minimum Wage requirements.

What Sits Behind an Encore Recruitment Recommendation?

An Encore Recruitment recommendation is based on the specific responsibility in the role, not the job title alone.

We first establish what the person needs to progress, which suppliers, orders or customers sit within the role, which problems they are expected to resolve and where other decisions remain.

Assessment then focuses on evidence. We explore the orders, suppliers, production stages or customer activity someone has worked with, what they handled themselves, what they resolved and when they needed support or escalation.

At senior or manager level, that may extend into difficult recovery decisions, competing cost, quality and delivery pressures, wider supplier or customer responsibility, work allocation, standards or leadership.

You can read more about how we work through our recruitment process.

The opportunity is discussed with the candidate first. We explain the role and the responsibility involved. The candidate decides whether they want Encore Recruitment to represent them for that role.

Only with their agreement, and where our assessment supports it, do we recommend them to the client under our Recommendation Standard.

The recommendation is our assessment. The client and candidate decide what happens next.

FAQ

What does an import merchandiser do?

An import merchandiser helps progress product and orders through production towards delivery. Responsibilities may include suppliers, factories, purchase orders, samples, critical paths, production progress, shipments and delivery information.

What is the difference between an import merchandiser and a retail merchandiser?

Import merchandising is more closely connected with suppliers, production, critical paths and delivery. Retail merchandising centres more on sales, forecasting, stock planning, WSSI, OTB, allocation and trading performance.

How does an import merchandiser role change at different levels?

There is no single industry-wide ladder. Earlier roles are more likely to include learning, support and defined responsibility. Established and senior roles may carry greater independence, harder problems and wider supplier or customer responsibility. Manager roles may add responsibility for people, workflow, standards or wider function performance.

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