Associate, Business Planner

Ralph Lauren Corporation; Watford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global fashion company is seeking a Business Planner for their EMEA direct-to-consumer team, located in Watford. This hybrid role involves data analysis, forecasting, and reporting for outlet stores. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment and possess strong Excel and communication skills. A commitment to detail and the ability to build cross-functional relationships are essential. This position is a 12-month Fixed Term Contract.

Qualifications

• Experience in a retail merchandising, data or financial role.
• Highly organised and comfortable with deadlines.
• Ability to work in fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities

• Collate and report data for EMEA outlet stores.
• Provide analytical support for business planning initiatives.
• Maintain forecasts for KPIs at store level.

Skills

Retail merchandising experience

Strong attention to detail

Data-driven mindset

Strong communication skills

Advanced Excel skills

Tools

Analytics tools

Job description

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

Position Overview

An exciting role within the direct-to-consumer business planning team for EMEA. The role is varied and will include analysis, forecasting and reporting on the outlet stores across the region. This position will suit a highly numerate & commercial person who is excited to learn and work cross-functionally.

This role is a 12 month Fixed Term Contract and hybrid working spending 40% in our office based in Watford.

• Collate data from numerous sources to produce daily, weekly, monthly reporting and circulate to wider business.
• Attend weekly trade calls & communicate performance wins & misses
• Maintain daily forecasts for all KPIs at store level
• Maintain comp structures and store profile data and ensure uploaded into central systems.
• Manage trading calendars for EMEA regions.
• Analyse& monitor the overall delivery of financial targets on a daily basis and report back to the business with recommendations as necessary to support trade.
• Provide analytical support to various cross-function initiatives and ad hoc projects.
• Build relationships in monthly calls with senior regional leads to understand & capture nuances across markets, including performance within ecosystem & wider retail trading environment.
• Run ad hoc reports to support the business planning team with decision making and analysis.
• Ensure store development updates are correctly reflected in forecasting and flag any discrepancies.
• Work with country specialists to maintain store calendars across EMEA.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

• Experience in retail merchandising, data or financial role
• Highly organised, comfortable working to deadlines in a fast paced environment
• Strong attention to detail, quality and accuracy imperative
• Data driven mindset & keenness to learn new tools & models
• Strong communication skills, able to package results into digestible and actionable messages
• Enthusiastic team player in building relationships cross functionally with flexible approach
• Advanced Excel skills, experience in analytics tools to process & interpret data all essential
• Understanding of retail maths & KPIs is a plus