Senior Merchandise Planner

Magnolia•Waco, TX

11d

About The Position

At Magnolia, the Senior Merchandise Planner is responsible for forecasting, analysis, and inventory management across a diverse portfolio of departments and categories. This leadership role provides opportunities to work onsite, in a hybrid environment, or remotely. It reports to the Director of Merchandise Planning and has supervisory responsibilities. The role develops retail assortment sales plans, manages inventory to meet targets, and uses data-driven decisions to achieve sales, gross margin, and inventory goals. It creates weekly, monthly, and seasonal forecasts; manages inventory, order plans, and open-to-buy; and analyzes performance and trends to recommend promotional strategies, markdowns, and investments. The Senior Merchandise Planner reports on business performance and leads financial and business reviews throughout the season. The position partners with teams across Merchandising, Ecommerce, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Warehouse, Product Development, and Supply Chain, as well as external vendors. It also manages, develops, trains, and coaches direct reports and team members. Other duties may be assigned.

Requirements

Proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
Business acumen and knowledge of retail math.
Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university preferred.
One to three years of management experience and/or five or more years of related work experience, or a combination, preferred.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university.
One to three years of management experience and/or five or more years of related work experience, or a combination.

Responsibilities

Develop retail assortment sales plans and manage inventory for assigned departments.
Meet assigned departments’ sales, gross margin, and inventory targets through data-driven decisions.
Develop weekly, monthly, and seasonal sales forecasts using sales history, market trends, and business insights; identify opportunities and recommend focused investments within approved financial targets.
Manage inventory and order plans to support sales forecasts and align purchase orders and inventory investments with demand, financial targets, and assortment needs.
Analyze historical performance and current trends to identify promotional opportunities, risks, and category insights; recommend promotional strategies and markdowns to optimize sales, margin, and inventory.
Report business performance for areas of ownership, including sales, gross margin, and inventory, to upper management and cross-functional partners.
Lead seasonal financial and business meetings, including season hindsight, assortment and collection reviews, and investment reviews; provide insights and recommendations to inform strategy.
Partner with Merchandising, Ecommerce, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, and Warehouse teams to manage performance and inventory within assigned areas.
Manage, develop, train, and coach direct reports and team members to drive individual and team performance and strengthen cross-functional collaboration.
Review stock-to-sales ratios, optimize inventory levels, monitor inventory turnover, and make recommendations accordingly.
Manage and optimize open-to-buy and inventory investment to align receipts and inventory levels with sales, margin, and financial plans.
Partner with Merchandising to develop and optimize assortments, balancing newness, core and continuing items, and category needs based on customer demand and financial performance.
Partner with Product Development, Supply Chain, and external vendors to manage third-party and direct-sourced products, aligning order placement, delivery timelines, inventory flow, and performance.
Perform other duties as assigned.