Sr. Merchandise Planner, Women's Bottoms

Vuori•Carlsbad, CA

About The Position

The Sr. Merchandise Planner is a strategic business partner who influences both peers and leaders through data-driven insights, financial expertise, and cross-functional collaboration. This role is accountable for analyzing in-season business performance, identifying risks and opportunities, and developing financial and inventory strategies that support company growth objectives. The Sr. Merchandise Planner partners closely with Merchandising, Production, and Allocation to optimize sales, profitability, inventory productivity, and customer demand fulfillment while shaping both short-term actions and long-term business strategies.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Supply Chain, Merchandising, or related field and/or equivalent years of experience preferred.
6+ years of experience in merchandise planning, inventory management, financial planning, retail analytics, or related discipline.
Strong financial, analytical, and quantitative skills with the ability to translate data into actionable business recommendations.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with planning, forecasting, reporting, and analytical systems.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive alignment across diverse teams and priorities.
Proven track record of balancing strategic thinking with detailed execution in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes, evaluate alternatives, and recommend solutions.
Exceptional communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with the ability to simplify complex analyses and tailor recommendations to various audiences, including senior leadership.
Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously, meet deadlines, and adapt quickly to changing business needs.
Demonstrated curiosity, ownership, and a proactive approach to identify opportunities and driving business results.

Responsibilities

Partner with Merchandising, Planning leadership, Production, and cross-functional teams to establish financial targets, inventory strategies, markdown optimization plans, and long-term growth opportunities.
Lead pre-season planning through a bottoms-up approach, integrating historical performance, customer demand trends, assortment architecture, item-level productivity expectations, and merchant vision into comprehensive merchandise financial plans.
Develop and maintain class, attribute, and style-color level forecasts and financial plans, driving alignment between assortment architecture, inventory investment, and revenue objectives.
Build and maintain weekly sales, markdown, inventory, and receipt plans at the style, CC, and class level, leveraging trend insights and historical performance to maximize productivity.
Partner closely with Production to manage delivery flow, monitor purchase order execution, evaluate timing risks and opportunities, and optimize receipt strategies to support product launches, inventory productivity, and sales demand.
Manage inventory investments and monthly receipt flow to support product launches, optimize inventory turn, maximize in-stock rates, and drive healthy inventory productivity while balancing demand, capacity, and supply chain constraints.
Conduct comprehensive hindsight analyses to evaluate assortment, inventory, delivery, and planning decisions, translating learnings into actionable recommendations that improve future planning strategies and execution.
Analyze business performance to identify risks and opportunities, providing actionable recommendations that maximize sales, margin, and inventory productivity while mitigating downside risk.
Drive cross-functional decision-making through clear communication of financial insights, forecasts, inventory strategies, and business recommendations.
Prepare and present financial analyses, forecasts, business drivers, and executive-level recaps for key milestone meetings and leadership reviews.
Champion continuous improvement of planning processes, bottoms-up forecasting methodologies, reporting tools, and analytical capabilities to improve business outcomes and team effectiveness.
Mentor and support the development of planning best practices while serving as a trusted resource and strategic thought partner across the organization.