Strategic Merchandise & Inventory Lead

Sportscraft; Sydney; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Sportscraft is seeking an experienced Planning professional to maximise profits by managing merchandise from conception to sale across store and digital channels. You will forecast KPIs, manage open-to-buy and inventory flow, and deputise for the Planning Manager when required.

You will lead budgeting, seasonal plans, and cross-channel stock management while collaborating with Design, Retail Ops, Finance and eCommerce to optimise stock and margins.

Qualifications

• 5+ years' experience in retail merchandise planning, forecasting or inventory management.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with planning/BI tools (Power BI, Tableau).
• Familiarity with AI-assisted planning is a plus.
• Strong understanding of open-to-buy, stock turn and margin KPIs.

Responsibilities

• Establish budgets for sales, markdowns, purchases, stock levels, stock turn and margin targets.
• Develop seasonal option plans and manage the OTB across channels.
• Own full WSSI forecasts for sales, markdowns, stock and purchases.
• Lead weekly trading meetings with analysis and recommendations.
• Provide performance analysis and identify risks/opportunities for lines.
• Maintain stock coverage and oversee weekly replenishment across channels.
• Coordinate with international managers on stock selection.
• Drive markdowns and manage seasonal clearance levels.
• Improve sell-through through allocation, sizing and store profiling.
• Set divisional grading and store cluster strategies for stock ROI.
• Collaborate with VM and Retail Ops on store stock builds and openings.
• Plan inventory with eCommerce/Digital teams for consistency across channels.
• Monitor inventory across stores and online, identify issues and opportunities.
• Develop direct reports and deputise for the Planning Manager as needed.
• Contribute to planning projects including AI analytics tool rollouts.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Open-to-buy (OTB)

AI-assisted planning

Excel advanced

BI tools

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Style Arcade

Job description

Sportscraft is seeking an experienced Planning professional to maximise profits by managing merchandise from conception to sale across store and digital channels. You will forecast KPIs, manage open-to-buy and inventory flow, and deputise for the Planning Manager when required.

You will lead budgeting, seasonal plans, and cross-channel stock management while collaborating with Design, Retail Ops, Finance and eCommerce to optimise stock and margins.