Asst. Manager- Category Retail Planner

The Souled Store; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

The Souled Store is seeking a data-driven Category Manager to plan and manage offline retail assortments, using retail metrics, consumer trends, and sales data to drive performance. You will work closely with buying, VM, and marketing to optimize inventory and execute in-store strategies.

Ideal candidates bring 4–6 years in category planning, experience in fashion retail, and strong skills in data analysis, communication, and presentation to influence range finalizations.

Qualifications

• 4-6 years of experience in category - OTB creation, Buy Plan development, or Range Architecture design.
• Experience in retail planning (preferably in fashion/lifestyle).
• Ability to analyze sales data and optimize SKU mix and inventory.
• Familiarity with key retail KPIs (sell-through, margins, stock turn, etc.).
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Trend awareness and understanding of consumer preferences.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category-level assortment strategies at stores to maximize sales and inventory efficiency.
• Collaborate with buying teams to define category targets and optimize product selections.
• Track and manage category KPIs including sell-through, margin, stock turn, LFL and inventory productivity.
• Work with VM and marketing teams to align promotional calendars and in-store execution.
• Present performance insights and action plans to stakeholders during business reviews and range finalizations.

Job description

The Souled Store is a homegrown youth casual-wear brand founded in 2013. Today, we are one of India’s largest online merchandising platforms, with licensing partnerships including Disney, Warner Bros., WWE, IPL and Viacom18 among others. We create products inspired by pop culture - superheroes, movies, TV shows cartoons—while also staying deeply rooted in evolving youth fashion and lifestyle trends. Alongside our core men’s and women’s apparel categories, we are actively expanding into new product lines such as activewear, Supima products, personal care (perfumes), footwear and backpacks. While we began as a digital-first brand, we have steadily expanded into offline retail and currently operate 70 stores across India, with further pan-India expansion underway. The Souled Store was built on a simple belief: people do their best work when they love what they do. We believe work should be driven by ownership, curiosity, and leadership at every level - not just by titles. Over the years, we’ve built a team of like-minded individuals who work smart, take accountability, and grow with the business. If you resonate with our culture and want to be part of an aggressively scaling, consumer-first brand, we’d love to have you join us.

Role Overview

We are looking for a data-driven and trend-aware individual to join our growing Category team. In this role, you will be responsible for planning and managing category-level assortments for offline retail, using a strong understanding of retail metrics, consumer trends, and sales data. You will work closely with the buying, VM, and marketing teams to drive product performance, optimize inventory, and ensure efficient in-store execution.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category-level assortment strategies at stores to maximize sales and inventory efficiency.
• Strong understanding of OTB creation, Buy Plan development, or Range Architecture design.
• Analyze sales trends to recommend SKU mix and depth by location.
• Collaborate with buying teams to define category targets and optimize product selections.
• Track and manage category KPIs including sell-through, margin, stock turn, LFL and inventory productivity.
• Work closely with VM and marketing teams to align promotional calendars and ensure strong in store execution.
• Present performance insights and action plans to stakeholders during business reviews and range finalizations.

Requirement

• 4-6 years of experience in category - OTB creation, Buy Plan development, or Range Architecture design
• Experience in retail planning (preferably in fashion/lifestyle).
• Ability to analyze sales data and optimize SKU mix and inventory.
• Familiarity with key retail KPIs (sell-through, margins, stock turn, etc.).
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Trend awareness and understanding of consumer preferences.