eCommerce Senior Merchandise Planner, Apparel & Accessories

New Balance•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The New Balance Senior Merchandise Planner is responsible for developing and managing pre-season and in-season merchandise plans that drive sales, margin, inventory productivity, and customer satisfaction across the Apparel and Accessories categories. This role provides reporting, performs analysis and develops actionable insights that support business performance and achievement of key financial and operational KPI’s. This role supports the Senior Manager, Merchandise Planning and collaborates cross-functionally with Merchandising, eCommerce, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain teams to forecast demand, optimize inventory investments, and support profitable sustainable growth. The ideal candidate is highly analytical, detail-oriented and passionate about retail, eCommerce and consumer trends. They possess the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and strategic business recommendations. Success in this role requires strong communication skills, the ability to work independently and collaboratively, and a capacity to influence cross-functional partners in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Merchandising, Retail Management, Statistics, or a related field.
2-3 years of experience in Merchandise Planning, Inventory Planning, Allocation, Forecasting, or a related retail planning role.
Experience supporting Apparel, Accessories, Footwear, or similar retail categories preferred.
Experience in ecommerce or omnichannel retail environments.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office.
Experience with retail planning systems (Anaplan, Oracle Retail, SAP) and reporting/analytics tools such as Power BI, Tableau, and Microsoft Copilot.
Strong retail math, analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to analyze large datasets and translate findings into actionable business recommendations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional partners.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Collaborative, customer-focused mindset with a proactive, results-oriented approach

Responsibilities

Analyze sales, margin, inventory, and customer performance against budget, forecast, and prior year results to identify risks and opportunities.
Deliver business recaps, reporting, and actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making to cross-functional partners and leadership.
Support the Senior Manager, Merchandise Planning in developing data-driven pre-season plans and in-season forecasts for sales, margin, and inventory across annual, monthly, and weekly horizons while supporting brand priorities.
Maintain merchandise plans, forecasts and Open-to-Buy (OTB) plans within planning systems, ensuring accuracy and timely updates.
Develop and manage style-level plans using forecasts, historical trends, and test results to optimize assortment productivity and support category strategies.
Manage inventory investments to achieve sales, margin, and inventory productivity goals while balancing sell-through, weeks of supply, and product lifecycle strategies.
Continuously evaluate forecast performance, identify root causes of variance, and recommend improvements to planning assumptions, processes, and tools.
Partner with regional and cross-functional teams to align inventory strategies, mitigate inventory risks, and support sales and promotional initiatives.
Leverage site performance and consumer analytics to improve forecast accuracy, identify trends, and support data-driven decisions.
Collaborate with Merchandising, Buying, Site Experience, Site Operations, Marketing, and Sales Operations to align product, pricing, inventory, and demand strategies.
Drive consistency in reporting, forecasting, and planning processes while sharing best practices across the planning team.