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The differences between vice presidents, merchandising and assistant store managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a vice president, merchandising and an assistant store manager. Additionally, a vice president, merchandising has an average salary of $194,178, which is higher than the $40,759 average annual salary of an assistant store manager.
The top three skills for a vice president, merchandising include apparel, sales growth and gross margin. The most important skills for an assistant store manager are store management, payroll, and loss prevention.
| Vice President, Merchandising | Assistant Store Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $194,178 | $40,759 |
| Hourly rate | $93.35 | $19.60 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 42,803 | 428,619 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Merchandising is everything that happens from when a product is delivered to a retail store to when a shopper buys it from the shelf. A vice president of merchandising promotes the services and products of their company at events like exhibits, concerts, or retail outlets. They are tasked with creating plans for the introduction and promotion of new products based on customer research. Also, they analyze market trends and observe the behavior of competitors to develop strategies for product promotion.
Assistant store managers are considered second-in-command to store managers. They help oversee operations and take over when the manager is unavailable. Assistant store managers may be assigned to focus on certain aspects of store operations such as marketing, finance, human resources, or quality control. They should be familiar with running the store and with all the other tasks needed to be done. Assistant store managers should have decision-making skills, interpersonal skills, and business acumen. They should also be able to do the work usually done on the operations floor in case of a lack of manpower.
Vice presidents, merchandising and assistant store managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Vice President, Merchandising | Assistant Store Manager | |
| Average salary | $194,178 | $40,759 |
| Salary range | Between $131,000 And $286,000 | Between $32,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Altar'd State | US Foods |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a vice president, merchandising and an assistant store manager in terms of educational background:
| Vice President, Merchandising | Assistant Store Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between vice presidents, merchandising' and assistant store managers' demographics:
| Vice President, Merchandising | Assistant Store Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |