Location

London with ability to commute to Cheltenham occasionally

Type

Full-Time, Permanent 

Welcome to Motel

Our story began during a road trip in the 1990s, where our founders, Will and Andy, travelled across America collecting vintage items while living out of motels. They started purchasing vintage clothing in the USA and selling it wholesale, which eventually led to the creation of stores. From there, they began designing reworked vintage pieces, and thus, Motel was born.

Over 30 years and a team of 200+ people later, every piece of clothing we make is created with the same spirit of fun, freedom and adventure as the road trip that first defined the brand. We’re still ambitious and independent, but now we’re a global team - we work from an operational base in Worcester, a design studio in London and a creative studio in Bali.

The role

We are seeking a commercially minded Commercial Trading Planner to join our Buying & Merchandising team. This role is designed for someone with strong merchandising experience who can think commercially and acts as the key link between Buying, Merchandising, and Marketing, ensuring that our hero products and campaign pieces are strategically managed, well-stocked, and aligned with commercial objectives.

Reporting to the Buying & Merchandising Manager, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing key product lines for shoots, campaigns, social content, and advertising, while ensuring stock availability and communicating product priorities across the business.

Main tasks & responsibilities

• Act as the main point of contact for all product requests from Marketing, Brand, Social, and Creative teams
• Manage the short and long term commercial trading calendar, aligning marketing campaigns, product launches and seasonal moments with revenue targets
• Select all key products for shoots, ads, socials and events - always with a commercial lens
• Identify key/hero products each season for campaign and commercial focus
• Manage stock levels for marketing product - ensuring availability for shoots, ads, social media, events and influencer activity
• Attend weekly calls with our Digital Marketing team and drive suggestions for key products for all influencer and ads content
• Maintain strong commercial social awareness, monitoring consumer trends, competitor activity, and customer behaviour to identify opportunities
• Proactively suggest creative ideas for social content and influencer activity that showcase relevant Motel product, ensuring alignment with stock availability and commercial priorities
• Conduct stock analysis by size for key garments, ensuring campaign and hero products are available in the right size mix to maximise sales and sell-through
• Partner with the Digital & Creative teams to influence visual merchandising on landing pages linked to ads, ensuring a seamless and commercially impactful customer journey
• Manage and maintain influencer gifting product lists, recommending the most relevant and available styles for brand alignment and stock efficiency
• Grow and maintain a strong understanding of the Motel customer, confidently suggesting outfit builds and styling combinations for influencer activity that reflects both brand identity and commercial goals
• Provide regular updates to Marketing and Creative on product availability, delivery dates, and stock risks
• Forecast demand for campaign and promotional lines, ensuring stock is aligned with trading plans
• Ensure marketing campaigns are supported with the right product positioning, inventory, messaging, and offers on site
• Monitor product performance post-launch, providing commercial and trade feedback to relevant teams
• Ensure product information, pricing, and availability are communicated across teams in an accurate and timely manner
• Identify risks and opportunities to maximise sales, sell-through, and ROI on campaign product
• Contribute to seasonal launch planning meetings, bringing a data-driven, trading perspective
• Act as a strategic thinker, proactively identifying risks and opportunities, problem solving, and driving process improvements across product communication, stock management, and campaign execution
• Travel to Cheltenham as required for ads meetings

About you

• Previous experience in Merchandising, Assistant Merchandising, or Junior Merchandising within a fashion retail environment.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance creative product storytelling with sales objectives.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to manage cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and trading mindset; confident working with sales reports, WSSI, and stock management systems.
• Highly organised with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple projects to firm deadlines.
• A proactive, solutions-focused team player with a keen eye for product, styling, and trends.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

What's in it for you?

• Competitive salary in line with industry benchmarking
• 3% pension contributions from Motel; dependant on 5% pension contributions from yourself
• 25 days annual leave; with additional days for long service
• Birthday day off post probation
• Team socials and meetups
• Monthly well-being activities to support your health and wellbeing
• Tailored progression pathways
• A thorough health support service
• Access to professional support & mentoring
• Bonus Scheme for all employees, paid out twice a year at management discretion
• Motel discount
• Motel is a growth mentality company
• Option to work from home 2 days a week post probation
• At Motel Rocks, we value and believe in fostering an inclusive and diverse environment for our employees, customers, and partners. We are committed to building a brand that celebrates differences and promotes equal opportunities.