Merchandise Planning Manager

Clarks•Needham, MA

About The Position

This role will be accountable for driving profitable sales for the region, managing sales and inventory activities by setting SKU sales targets, maintaining a bottoms-up open-to-buy plan, monitoring inventory aging and quality, and providing stock productivity analysis. The ideal candidate blends strong analytical capability with a commercial mindset and collaborative communication skills.

Requirements

Experience in footwear retail merchandise planning, buying, demand, and supply planning
Knowledge of different business operating models
Successful Retail Merchandise, Buying, Demand and Supply Planning experience
Experience in key distribution channels – wholesale, retail, and digital
Ability to analyze trends and use that information to plan and forecast effectively
Strong analytical and verbal skills
Strong computer skills, including the following tools:
Data warehouse/data mart query and report development tools
Advanced Microsoft Excel (if statements, linking, pivot tables, etc.)
Planning Software (MID, Blue Yonder, NSB/STS/MMS, I2, Retek, Evant, SAP, etc.)

Responsibilities

Develop seasonal financial plans by class, department, and channel, including sales, units, margin, and inventory.
Build and maintain item‑level or class‑level forecasts based on historical performance, trends, and merchant strategy.
Translate business strategy into monthly and weekly sales plans.
Own inventory flow, weeks of supply, and receipt plans to support sales while minimizing markdown risk.
Partner with Allocation/Replenishment to optimize initial buys and ongoing replenishment.
Identify risks and opportunities related to overstock, shortages, or flow disruptions.
Manage the markdown in season and closeout/end-of-life process.
Produce style count and SKU productivity targets to govern the region's range selection activity. Monitor performance against these targets and make recommendations to the Merchant team to improve results.
Partner with Merchants/Buyers to align assortments and buy quantities with financial goals.
Work with Finance on forecasts, re‑projections, and inventory investments.
Collaborate with Supply Chain and Allocation to ensure receipts and store/channel flow align with demand.
Analyze sell‑through, productivity, aged inventory, and margin drivers.
Provide post‑mortem analysis to inform future seasons.
Work cross-functionally with other departments within the organization to optimize buy targets, SKU optimization, and time-phased category plans.
Monitor OTB flow for the current buying season and an extended 18- month strategic open-to-buy plan for future product seasons.
Manage in-season inventory activities, forecasting to a roll-forward projection and making adjustments based on the agreed-upon top-down plan.