Category Merchant, Curated Merchandising

This position is a hybrid in-office role that works out of our Boston HQ (Monday-Thursday will be working in office and Friday is work from home). This is not a virtual / remote position.

At this time, Wayfair will not sponsor applicants for this position for the following work visas: F1-OPT, STEM OPT EAD, H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, O-1, J-1, or TN.

Category Merchant, Curated Merchandising

As a Category Merchant on Wayfair’s Curated Merchandising team, you will take direct ownership of the strategy, assortment architecture, team development, and end-to-end business performance for Kitchen & Dining Furniture (K&D), Home Office, and Accent & Entertainment Furniture (A&E) across Wayfair.com and our growing Physical Retail store fleet. You will operate as a true business owner—combining deep product knowledge, commercial acumen, and customer data to curate high-performing line plans, optimize key financial drivers (revenue, margin, shelf-space productivity, inventory health), and enforce strict quality standards.

In this role, you will lead and develop a team of 3 direct reports. You will balance strategic category leadership with direct people management—setting team priorities, coaching merchant judgment, establishing clear performance expectations, and mobilizing cross-functional partners to execute a seamless omni-channel customer experience.

Your category strategy will come to life through two primary pillars:

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Verified (Ecommerce): You will own and evolve the Wayfair Verified strategy across K&D, Home Office, and A&E Furniture—concentrating demand behind top-performing products and key suppliers on Wayfair.com. You will build a clear assortment architecture across customer needs, key aesthetic looks, quality tiers, and price points—creating rational price ladders, eliminating duplication, and expanding exclusive coverage across dining sets, desks, accent seating, consoles, and storage.

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Physical Retail: You will own the category assortment strategy across our expanding physical store fleet. You will determine which furniture collections, dining vignettes, workspace solutions, and accent pieces earn floor space, evaluate shelf-space productivity ($/sq. ft. and sell-through), and partner with Visual Merchandising and Store Operations to execute highly productive, compelling in-store customer experiences.

What You’ll Do:
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People Leadership & Team Development: Directly manage, coach, and develop a team of 3 direct reports. Set clear performance goals, hold team members accountable for execution, coach merchant judgment, provide continuous feedback, and support their career growth within the merchandising organization.

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Category Mastery & Market Analysis: Serve as the primary subject matter expert for K&D, Home Office, and A&E Furniture, possessing a deep understanding of product construction (wood species, veneers, joinery, finishes, weight capacity, ergonomic standards), quality benchmarks, and pricing architecture. Guide your team in regular competitive shopping and market analysis to identify white space, evaluate price elasticity, and track style, finish, and material trends.

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Assortment Strategy & Line Planning: Lead your team in developing, maintaining, and continuously refining data-driven line plans across online and store channels. Identify high-value assortment gaps (e.g., small-space dining solutions, ergonomic office seating, statement entry consoles) and oversee the creation of precise product briefs spanning design, materials, price points, and target wholesale/retail economics. Drive strategic line rationalization to manage low-converting or duplicate SKUs out of the mix.

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"Must-Win" Hero SKU Optimization: Take overarching strategic accountability for top-selling and high-potential hero products across dining, office, and accent furniture. Ensure your team continuously monitors core conversion levers—including product content, dimension accuracy, assembly specs, imagery, customer reviews, pricing competitiveness, and in-stock availability. Partner with Marketing, Go-To-Market (GTM), and Visual Merchandising teams to secure high-visibility placement and prime store displays for core revenue drivers.

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Strategic Supplier Management: Build and maintain strategic, high-impact partnerships with domestic and overseas casegoods and accent furniture suppliers. Lead vendor business reviews, guide your team through negotiations for improved wholesale pricing, product specs, exclusivity, and inventory availability, and drive supplier engagement across key Wayfair programs (Verified, Physical Retail, PBSI, PVP).

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Omni-Channel Business Performance: Take full P&L accountability for category KPIs across K&D, Home Office, and A&E, including Gross Revenue (GRS), Net Revenue, Margin, AOV, Conversion, Return Rates, and Inventory Availability. Track store-level assortment metrics ($/sq. ft. productivity, sell-through, carry-and-take vs. white-glove delivery) to optimize physical store footprints and vignette displays.

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Operational Excellence & Tech Adoption: Actively champion modern merchandising workflows, advanced analytics platforms, and GenAI tools within your team to augment competitive research, brief creation, and operational efficiency. Collaborate seamlessly across Planning & Allocation, Sourcing, Visual Merchandising, Category Management, Marketing, and Operations to execute category goals.

What You’ll Need:
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Experience: ~5-7+ years of progressive corporate retail experience in buying, merchandising, category management, assortment planning, or product development (furniture/home furnishings experience strongly preferred).

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People Management: Direct management experience or demonstrated track record of coaching, leading, and developing junior merchants, associates, or cross-functional team members.

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Financial & Commercial Acumen: Proven track record of managing category P&L metrics (GRS, margin, conversion, AOV) and turning data insights into actionable business strategies.

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Product Expertise: Strong passion for indoor furniture (casegoods, dining, office, accent pieces), supported by a solid understanding of wood construction, joinery, finishes, quality standards, and pricing architecture.

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Supplier & Negotiation Skills: Demonstrated experience leading supplier business reviews, negotiating pricing/terms, co-developing products, and assessing vendor capabilities across domestic and international sourcing partners.

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Omni-Channel Understanding: Familiarity with balancing ecommerce dynamics alongside physical retail space planning, vignette styling, and visual merchandising needs.

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Tech & AI Aptitude: Curiosity and willingness to leverage emerging technology, advanced analytics, and GenAI tools to augment merchandising workflows and decision-making.

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Travel Requirements: Ability to travel domestically and internationally (typically 1-3 trips per year) for supplier visits, trade shows (e.g., High Point Market), and store footprint reviews.

Benefits & Perks - US

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Full health benefits available (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA) on day one for eligible employees.

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No-cost access to 2nd.MD, a virtual expert medical consultation and navigation service.

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Global Traveler Health Insurance through GeoBlue.

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24/7 access to mental, financial, physical and emotional wellbeing support, plus an enhanced offering of therapy and coaching.

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Automatic enrollment into Basic Life and Accidental Death & Disability Insurance.

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401(k) matching with immediate vesting.

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Paid Parental Leave, Surrogacy & Adoption Reimbursement and Caregiver Services.

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Tuition Reimbursement.

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Wayfair Employee Discount.

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Gym/Fitness Discounts (Wellhub and varying regional memberships).

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Exclusive access to thousands of perks & discounts through BenefitHub.

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Yearly match up to $500 for personal donations made by employees to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits.