Sr Category Management Planner

Michaels•Irving, TX

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Category Management Planner is a key business partner with Category Manager and Category Director (CM/CD) to ensure achievement of department goals in terms of sales, gross margin and inventory. This role involves providing analysis and recommendations to optimize sales, margin, and inventory, including in-season adjustments and basic assortment exit strategies. The planner will also partner with the Financial Planner to achieve SKU rationalization goals and manage the purchase planning process using MFP (Michaels Financial Planning) for seasonal and trend programs.

Requirements

2-5 years in retail
Numerical analysis
Collaborative activities
Project management
Analytical skills
Organizational skills
Communication skills
Collaborative skills
Self-motivational skills
Good time management skills
Ability to work comfortably on unstructured problems/tasks
Ability to work quickly and accurately under pressure and time constraints
Microsoft Office knowledge, especially Excel
Applicants in the U.S. must satisfy federal, state, and local legal requirements of the job.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Business, retail or related field
Planning system skills preferred
2+ years in retail planning or allocation preferred

Responsibilities

Provide CD/CM with analysis and recommendation to optimize sales, margin and inventory
In season recommendations to optimize seasonal plans
Ensure corporate inventory initiatives are included in department strategies
Optimize seasonal inventory flow
In season management and execution of basic assortment exit strategies for resets
Partner with Financial Planner to develop and execute SKU rationalization goals
Using MFP (Michaels Financial Planning), create weekly sales, margin and inventory plans at subclass level for seasonal and trend programs
Owns MFP administration for seasonal and basic plans
Incorporates correction of errors
Recommend "wave breaks" for seasonal flow
Recommend optimal inner and master packs
Work with pricing and CD/CM to make appropriate in season MD recommendations for seasonal and trend product
Evaluate forward buys on market deals and other opportunities
Develop and adhere to critical timelines
Insure assortments are completed within specific timeframes
Participate in assortment plan review with category mgt team for seasonal and SBA assortments by analyzing historical information
Make appropriate recommendations
Develop and implement MD strategy following reset financial timeline
Implement discontinue timing
Implement order placement timing for new product with CD/CM and replenishment team
Monitor progress of reset activities and integrate into MFP sales, margin and inventory forecast
Update finance partner on any activities that would require updating reset financials
Other duties as assigned