Manager, Merchandise Financial Planning

PET VALU; Markham; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail organization in Canada is looking for a Merchandise Planning Analyst to develop and manage financial plans that optimize product sales and inventory health. The ideal candidate has a strong background in retail planning with over 2 years of experience, a bachelor's degree in business or a related field, and excellent communication skills for cross-functional collaboration. This full-time role offers an opportunity to drive financial performance in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in retail planning, buying, or analytics in a high-growth environment.
• Strong understanding of retail financial metrics and inventory management.
• Experience partnering with merchandising or buying teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage Merchandise Financial Plans.
• Analyze key performance indicators to drive financial performance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support product execution.

Skills

Financial planning principles

Merchandise planning

Inventory management

Data analysis

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field

Tools

Excel

Business intelligence tools

Job description

Overview

This role is central to shaping how merchandise planning informs product, inventory, and financial decisions in a fast-paced retail environment, focused on optimizing sales, margins, inventory health, and shipments, while collaborating deeply with Merchandising, Proprietary Brands, Pricing, Promotions, FP&A and Supply Chain teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage Merchandise Financial Plans :
• Develop merchandise financial plans which optimize product category sales, financial, margin, and inventory goals, including tactical margin, shipments and sales building blocks to reach annual financial targets.
• Accountable for delivering against key business metrics such as sales, gross margin, sell-through, inventory turn, and weeks of supply.
• Responsible for optimizing inventory investment and driving ROI across product categories and channels.
• In-season management of the financial plan, collaborating closely with merchants and FP&A team
• Work closely with merchandising teams to develop and track sales, margin and shipment building blocks / tactics, identify gaps and collaborate with merchants to close financial gaps.
• Develop and deliver performance analysis across the business that measures achievement of sales, margin, and inventory plans on weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
• Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) like sales, margin, and inventory at sub-category / category levels to identify areas for improvement and drive financial performance.
• Influence key stakeholders by delivering insights and recommendations that support strategic product and investment decisions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Proprietary Brands, Merchandising, Pricing, Promotions and Supply Chain to ensure cohesive business strategies and product execution.
• Support the buy review process for new products with forecasting and analysis including halo and cannibalization estimates, required for inventory investment and store distribution decisions.
• Support the forecasting for carryover and new product launches and new store openings.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Business, Merchandising, Finance, etc.).
• 2+ years of experience in retail planning, buying, or retail business analytics — ideally in a high-growth or multi-channel environment.
• A strong understanding of retail financial metrics and inventory management principles.
• Experience partnering with Merchandising or Buying teams and bringing structure to decision-making in environments that are less process-driven.
• Strategic thinking and the ability to distill complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and change — with a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset.

Skills

• Strong understanding of financial planning principles and processes, including forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis.
• Proven experience in merchandise planning, inventory management, and retail operations.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and develop actionable insights.
• Excellent communication skills, especially in influencing cross-functional stakeholders and presenting to leadership.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and business intelligence tools
• Cross-functional Collaboration

Working Conditions

Full-time role with limited travel to the Head Office and Mock Store at the Bolton DC