Department of Merch is a strategy-driven retail consulting agency for brands at the intersection of culture and commerce.

Services

  • Retail Program Audit

  • Retail Business Strategy

  • Merchandising Ops & Team Structure

  • Product Assortment & Curation

  • Buy Planning & Inventory Management

  • Product Development

  • E-Commerce

  • Strategic Partnerships & Brand Engagement

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Our mission is to bring meaning back to merchandise. 

In a world where culture is flattened and taste is homogenized, we steer teams away from trends and toward quality retail that reflects their own values.  

We work closely with partners to understand their audiences, their missions, and the stories they hope to tell. From there, we develop retail programs that are thoughtful, disciplined, and expressive.

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Common signs it’s time to let us help you rethink retail.

— Retail is a nonstop fire drill

—  Buying follows opinions, not insights

—  Too many cooks, no clear owner

—  Product lags in quality and design

— Retail drains resources without return

HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT

Our services are modular by design— engage us for a diagnostic audit, tackle one priority, or partner from start to finish. Together, we collaborate in a way that’s focused, adaptable, and deeply invested, a clear alternative to traditional agency or institutional models.

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Experience

  • "Department of Merch transformed the way we thought about retail. They took us from a standard approach to a robust, long-term plan for partnerships, local collabs, and experiential activations. Kate and Amber approach problem solving with kindness, creativity and a rigor that is hard to come by."

    Ray Shea, Sr. Director of Design

    Obama Foundation

  • "Amber and Kate’s leadership transformed the museum’s retail program by professionalizing operations, strengthening reporting, and deepening cross-functional collaboration. They also elevated the assortment into a more thoughtfully curated, exhibition-driven, and collaboration-focused offering."

    Heather Li, Former Chief Financial Officer

    Brooklyn Museum

  • "Department of Merch just gets it in a way that many people in our industry still don’t".

    Josh York, Founder

    Soft Goods Manufacturing

  • "Department of Merch brings a focused point of view to every project. They are incredible thought partners and have a unique ability to balance their expertise with a flexibility that leads teams to arrive at the best possible outcomes." 

    Connie Zhou, Founder

    Studio 888

  • “Department of Merch is dependable, creative, and easy to work with. Their experience and deep knowledge allowed them to quickly understand our position, offer detailed market insights, transform them into strong product and storytelling ideas, and follow development to the final product.”

    Dan Koval, Founder

    54 Celsius