Retail Planning Specialist: Inventory & Merch Strategy

Al Tayer Insignia; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Al Tayer Insignia is seeking an Associate Planner to join our Retail Planning team. This role develops and delivers merchandise plans to maximize sales, margin, and inventory performance across our retail stores, collaborating with Buying, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Finance, and Leadership.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced retail environment, turns data into business decisions, and leads Open-to-Buy processes while optimizing stock across departments and stores.

Qualifications

• 7-8 years of experience in Merchandise Planning or Retail Planning.
• Hands-on Open-to-Buy (OTB) management experience.
• Strong forecasting, inventory planning, and trading analysis.
• Experience collaborating with Buying and Merchandising teams.
• Strong KPI knowledge: sales, margin, sell-through, stock turn, markdown.
• Experience planning across multiple stores or regions.
• Advanced Excel and analytics capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage seasonal, annual, and departmental merchandise plans.
• Drive sales, gross margin, sell-through, and inventory performance.
• Own and manage OTB process for stock investment and control.
• Review trading performance and provide recommendations.
• Identify risks and opportunities via sales and stock analysis.
• Lead markdown and promotional planning to reduce aged stock.
• Monitor inventory levels, stock cover, and replenishment across stores.
• Collaborate with Buying on range planning and decisions.
• Manage stock allocation, replenishment, and inter-store transfers.
• Partner with Supply Chain and vendors to improve delivery and stock availability.
• Produce planning reports and communicate performance updates.
• Drive continuous improvement across merchandise planning processes.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Stock optimization

Analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Excel

Retail ERP

Job description

Al Tayer Insignia is seeking an Associate Planner to join our Retail Planning team. This role develops and delivers merchandise plans to maximize sales, margin, and inventory performance across our retail stores, collaborating with Buying, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Finance, and Leadership.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced retail environment, turns data into business decisions, and leads Open-to-Buy processes while optimizing stock across departments and stores.