Merchandise Planner, Pants & Skirts

Knitwell Group • New York, NY

5d • $85,000 - $90,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Merchandise Planner plays a key role in the pro-active management of the business to maximize sales, margin and inventory through strategic end-to-end optimization across all customer channels (direct consumer business), accountable for, by channel, pre-season and in-season. The Planner builds financial sales, gross margin and inventory plans for multiple departments in a given area. This work requires strong analytical and story-telling skills, the ability to build close partnerships with other functions, and a focus on executing best-in-class customer experience while delivering/exceeding financial targets.

Requirements

• Minimum 3-4 years of experience years of experience in planning which includes knowledge of buying and allocation.
• Retail experience preferred.
• Undergraduate degree in finance, economics, accounting, business or related field-- MBA a plus
• Excellent technical skills – MS Office (specifically Excel, Word)
• Stores and/or direct experience required.
• Customer-centric focus with understanding of customer needs and ability to understand market trends.
• Ability to build strong relationships with a diverse group of cross functional partners and cascade the proper level of information to support decision making.
• Possesses a clear understanding of financial measurements; sales, weeks of supply, inventory turn, sales thru and how to impact them.
• Proven ability to interpret and synthesize data into intelligent business decisions.
• Strong organizational and time management skills; able to handle multiple priorities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work in fast-paced, often-changing environment

Responsibilities

• Accountable for departmental success.
• Responsible for OTB re-forecasting at a weekly level to reflect trends, alignment with company direction, and solutions for risks and opportunities.
• Through analysis, strategic thinking, and collaboration develop the financial classification plans/key items plans for sales, margin and inventory.
• Proactively identify issues and opportunities within product mix and use analytics and creative problem solving to drive profitable solutions.
• Actively recommend markdown and liquidation strategies to maximize store profitability.
• Collaborate with the merchant team to develop and communicate a comprehensive pre-season strategy that aligns financial and product opportunities across multiple departments, inclusive of style/sku targets, in-store dates, good/better/best framework, key attribute, and season code (time on offer).
• Participate in all aspects of line building process with Merchandising Lead or participate in department projects to improve systems or efficiencies.
• Ensure alignment of top/down and bottoms/up style/color plans with merchandising strategies and financial targets.
• Partner with the Inventory Planning team to maximize profitability through pre-season store cluster analysis, initial allocation, DC management, and in-season management.
• Drive profitability through leading and executing promotional and markdown strategies which align with divisional and brand financial goals.
• Analyze business weekly as it relates to last forecast and last year, identify trends and highlight selling that exceeds or falls short of expectation.
• Collaborate with other planners to drive consistency and best practices throughout the organization.

Benefits

• Merchandise discount at select KnitWell Group brands
• Support for individual development plus opportunities for career mobility within our family of brands.
• A culture of giving back – local volunteer opportunities, annual donation and volunteer match to eligible nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic activities to support our communities.
• Medical, dental, vision insurance & 401(K).
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Time off – paid time off & holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level