Director of Merchandise Planning & Trading @NET-A-PORTER

YOOX S.p.A.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan

Staff discounts

Private medical insurance

Flexible working

Employee discounts

Job summary

NET-A-PORTER is seeking a Director of Merchandise Planning & Trading to actively trade the business and drive performance across categories, channels and customer segments. You will shape buyings, inventories, and pricing in collaboration with Buying, Merchandising, Website Trading and Finance.

The role demands significant experience in merchandising, planning and analytics, with a strong commercial mindset and the ability to influence senior stakeholders in a fast-paced luxury fashion ecommerce

Qualifications

• Significant experience in merchandising, planning, trading or commercial analytics.
• Excellent understanding of sales, margin, inventory, sell-through, intake and budget planning.
• Highly numerate with strong data analysis skills.
• Ability to turn complex data into actionable recommendations and influence senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Trade the business daily and weekly across sales, margin, inventory and KPIs.
• Analyze performance by category, designer, channel and customer segment to identify opportunities and risks.
• Lead pricing, promotions and stock planning in coordination with Buying and Merchandising.
• Collaborate with Website Trading, Marketing and Finance to align targets and execution.

Skills

Merchandising

Planning

Trading

Commercial analytics

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Luxury fashion

Ecommerce

Tools

Forecasting tools

BI / reporting tools

Job description

NET-A-PORTER is the leading luxury fashion destination for women. The first digital platform of its kind, NET-A-PORTER has revolutionised the way women shop, delivering fashion, fine jewelry & watches and lifestyle collections to the world’s most discerning women. Today, NET-A-PORTER continues to own discovery, inspiration, exceptional curation, customer experience and engaging storytelling. NET-A-PORTER creates exclusive, personalised experiences for its EIPs (Extremely Important People), with dedicated Personal Shoppers and invitation-only moments. PORTER, the editorial voice of NET-A-PORTER, entertains and inspires women through daily content, and tells the stories of incredible women across the globe. NET-A-PORTER is part of LuxExperience, the leading digital, multi-brand luxury group.NET-A-PORTER are now seeking The **Director of Merchandise Planning & Trading** to join the team.The Director of Merchandise Planning & Trading is expected to actively trade the business, identify opportunities and risks early, and influence decisions that improve performance. **Key Responsibilities** Trade the Business* Drive daily and weekly trading performance across sales, margin, inventory, and key commercial KPIs against targets and budget.* Analyze performance drivers across categories, designers, channels, and customer segments to identify risks and commercial opportunities.* Translate insights into proactive trading actions to accelerate revenue, maximize margin, and manage overall P&L impact.Sales & Demand Planning* Own category and departmental sales plans.* Analyze sell-through, rate of sale, and demand signals to evaluate performance gaps and revenue opportunities.* Partner with Buying to optimize investment, align assortments to customer demand, and adjust buying commitments.* Own the pre-season sales, margin, intake and stock plan, set the open-to-buy, and run the in-season reforecast cycleInventory & Stock Productivity* Maximize stock productivity by actively managing inventory levels, intake flow, and sell-through.* Mitigate inventory risk by proactively managing aged and slow-moving stock.* Recommend strategic markdown and promotional activities that clear stock while protecting gross margin.* Own availability targets by category and size, actively optimising stock levels to capture the full sales opportunity while balancing capital needs and markdown risk.Commercial Performance & Insights* Deliver clear, actionable commercial reporting that articulates performance drivers, root causes, and recommended solutions.* Evaluate performance across designers, product groups, price points, and geographies to identify growth drivers and underperformers.* Translate customer behavior data into commercial insights that inform trading and strategy decisions.Pricing and Commercial Optimization* Lead the pricing function, developing competitive pricing strategies across categories and regions that balance sales, margin, and brand equity.* Monitor competitor pricing and market dynamics to identify strategic risks and price elasticity opportunities.* Oversee promotional pricing and initial price architecture in partnership with Buying and Merchandising.Cross-Functional Partnership* Work closely with Buying and Merchandising to ensure commercial targets are translated into actionable plans.* Partner with Website Trading, Marketing and Personal Shopping to maximise key trading moments and customer demand.* Work with Finance to ensure financial targets are aligned.* Collaborate with Operations to ensure stock availability and flow support the commercial plan.* Be a strong commercial voice in weekly trading meetings, bringing recommendations rather than simply data.Leadership & Strategic Evolution* Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence.* Adapt team structure and processes to meet the evolving needs of the business, ensuring scalability and agility.* Apply objective critical thinking and problem-solving to complex challenges, providing a fresh perspective that drives structural and operational improvement.* Champion a collaborative environment, bridging the gap between data-driven insights and strategic decision-making. **What Success Looks Like** * Sales and margin consistently meet or exceed plan.* Inventory productivity and sell-through improve.* Less aged and slow-moving inventory.* Faster reaction to changes in customer demand.* Clearer and more decisive weekly trading actions.* Stronger alignment between Buying, Merchandising, Website Trading, Marketing and Finance.* The business is increasingly proactive rather than reactive. **What We’re Looking For** * Strong commercial and analytical mindset with a genuine passion.* Significant experience in merchandising, planning, trading or commercial analytics, ideally within luxury fashion or ecommerce.* Excellent understanding of sales, margin, inventory, sell-through, intake and budget planning.* Highly numerate with strong data analysis skills.* Ability to turn complex data into simple, actionable recommendations.* Commercially curious, constantly asking *why* and looking for opportunities to improve performance.* Comfortable challenging assumptions and influencing senior stakeholders.* Highly organized, agile and able to operate at pace in a constantly changing environment.* Strong communicator who can tell the story behind the numbers.* An owner, not a reporter. **Besides a competitive salary, we can offer you:** * A pension that both you and the company contribute to.* A portal with an array of discounts on things like theme park and cinema tickets.* Our famous staff discount along with exclusive staff sales.* Private medical insurance.* Flexible working