Store Opening Inventory Planner — 12-Month Contract

Sephora; West End; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Healthcare

Life Assurance

Private Pension

Annual salary reviews

Employee discount

Job summary

SEPHORA UK is seeking a New Store Inventory Planner on a 12-month fixed-term contract to lead end-to-end inventory planning for all new store openings. You will define opening stock strategies, create scalable planning templates, and partner with Demand and Supply Planning to ensure timely launches.

You will drive replenishment settings, monitor stabilisation, and hand over stores to business-as-usual inventory management, delivering a seamless rollout of new locations.

Qualifications

• Experience in inventory planning, merchandise planning, supply chain planning or a similar retail or FMCG environment.
• Strong understanding of inventory management principles, stock flow and replenishment processes.
• Excellent analytical capability, with advanced Excel skills and confidence working with large data sets.
• Experience managing projects, timelines and multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify risks, assess options and recommend solutions.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a structured approach to planning and execution.
• Ability to build effective relationships and influence stakeholders across Supply Chain, Commercial, Retail and Project teams.
• Strong communication skills, with the confidence to present plans, risks and recommendations clearly.
• A proactive, self-motivated mindset and a passion for continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end inventory planning process for all new store openings across Sephora UK.
• Develop opening stock plans tailored to store size, format, assortment strategy, fixture capacity and commercial objectives.
• Build and maintain inventory planning templates, frameworks and assumptions to create a scalable and repeatable new store process.
• Partner closely with Demand Planning to align opening forecasts, trading assumptions and launch plans.
• Collaborate with Supply Planning teams to ensure stock requirements are operationally achievable and risks are identified early.
• Own the inventory planning critical path for each store opening, ensuring key milestones are delivered on time.
• Support stock ranging, sizing, balancing and ordering activities to ensure strong availability for launch.
• Establish initial replenishment parameters and inventory settings to support successful trading from opening.
• Monitor store performance during the stabilisation period, reviewing sales, stock cover and availability to identify improvement opportunities.
• Coordinate the handover of stores into business-as-usual ownership, ensuring a smooth transition into ongoing inventory management.
• Drive continuous improvement across new store planning processes, reporting and tools.
• Maintain clear documentation of planning assumptions, decisions, risks and handover criteria.

Skills

Inventory planning

Merchandise planning

Supply chain planning

Excel

Project management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Continuous improvement

Tools

Excel

Job description

SEPHORA UK is seeking a New Store Inventory Planner on a 12-month fixed-term contract to lead end-to-end inventory planning for all new store openings. You will define opening stock strategies, create scalable planning templates, and partner with Demand and Supply Planning to ensure timely launches.

You will drive replenishment settings, monitor stabilisation, and hand over stores to business-as-usual inventory management, delivering a seamless rollout of new locations.