Manager, Merchandise Planning
About The Position
The Merchandise Planning Manager is responsible for merchandise planning and inventory management across assigned product categories, while also directly owning planning responsibilities for a smaller category. This role focuses on driving sales and profitability through strategic merchandise planning, open-to-buy management, inventory forecasting, and performance analysis. The ideal candidate brings strong analytical and planning expertise, proven leadership experience, and the ability to collaborate effectively across functions. This role includes the direct management of a team of planners. The Merchandise Planning Manager is responsible for coaching, developing, and guiding their team to achieve performance goals, enhance skillsets, and support career growth within the organization.
Requirements
- Strong analytical, mathematical and problem-solving skills and proficiency with retail math.
- Minimum 5 years of merchandise planning experience in a retail environment.
- Experience managing and developing direct reports.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
- Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills.
- Ability to use sales financial data to make decisions and maximize profitability.
- Ability to maintain highly effective working relationships with cross-functional teams.
- Strong interpersonal skills including ability to influence and negotiate effectively.
Nice To Haves
- Prior experience working with planning and inventory systems preferred.
Responsibilities
- Drive sales and inventory strategies across assigned categories, while also personally managing merchandise planning for a smaller product category.
- Own the open-to-buy process, ensuring optimal inventory levels to support sales, margin, and inventory turnover goals.
- Reforecast in-season plans based on current performance, identifying risks and opportunities and recommending actions to improve results.
- Lead a team of direct reports, providing regular feedback, coaching, and support to ensure their professional growth and performance.
- Contribute to the evolution of planning tools and processes to drive efficiency and enhance decision-making.
- Develop and manage top-down and bottom-up merchandise plans aligned with strategic business goals and financial targets.
- Partner with merchants, sourcing, and design teams to build pre-season financial plans and detailed style-level forecasts.
- Provide business insights through regular pre-, in-, and post-season analysis, identifying key drivers and implementing learnings for future planning cycles.
- Evaluate performance at the product level to inform decisions on reorders, cancellations, or inventory shifts.
- Collaborate with sourcing to deliver accurate seasonal and long-range forecasts that support production and delivery timelines.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Number of Employees
501-1,000 employees
