Apparel Planning & Forecasting Strategist

Kroger Family of Companies; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Kroger Family of Companies seeks a Category Planner/Buyer to collaborate with buyers, forecast and coordinate weekly, period, and annual GM sales. You will ensure profit budgets align with corporate goals and supervise direct reports, providing performance feedback and reviews.

You will create financial plans by period, manage assortment and allocation, analyze promotions, and support advertising initiatives. Travel to markets and vendor appointments may be involved.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in business or a related field with two years of combined assistant buyer and assistant planner experience.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to handle high, moderate, and low complexity scenarios in items, promos, regionality, and growth goals.

Responsibilities

• Create/manage financial plans by period (sales, gross margin, turnover) for department store formats and classes.
• Develop assortment plans and perform product allocation for department, marketplace and food stores.
• Provide analysis to drive sales, margin and inventory strategies.
• Support advertising/display plans and on-floor presentations.
• Re-forecast in-season sales, margins and turnover; propose improvement actions.
• Reconcile open-to-buy and communicate status to stakeholders.
• Analyze seasonal/fashion categories and plan for the following season.
• Lead team meetings and coordinate with replenishment to manage inventory.
• Create/manage sales markdown reports and forecasts for department stores.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Microsoft Office

Organization & prioritization

Retail industry knowledge

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Tools

Retail forecasting tools

Job description

Kroger Family of Companies seeks a Category Planner/Buyer to collaborate with buyers, forecast and coordinate weekly, period, and annual GM sales. You will ensure profit budgets align with corporate goals and supervise direct reports, providing performance feedback and reviews.

You will create financial plans by period, manage assortment and allocation, analyze promotions, and support advertising initiatives. Travel to markets and vendor appointments may be involved.