Associate Merchandise Planner

Madewell; New York (NY); On-site; USD 64,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the fashion industry seeks a Merchandise Planner to drive sales and inventory strategies. The role involves analyzing trends, collaborating with teams, and presenting financial strategies. Ideal candidates possess strong analytical and communication skills, along with a Bachelor's degree. Join a community-focused company that values diversity and offers competitive benefits.

Benefits

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

Associate Discount

Flex Fridays

Community Impact Programs

Winter Break

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of experience in merchandise planning or business analytics.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Create preseason sales and inventory plans by analyzing previous results.
• Provide updates on business trends and suggest changes to strategies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams for financial strategy presentations.

Skills

Analytical Skills

Financial Modeling

Problem Solving

Communication

Presentation Skills

Technical Aptitude

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Our Story

Simply put, we make great jeans and all the cool stuff you wear with them. And, beyond our devotion to premium denim, we believe in putting people and planet first in everything we do from our commitment to sustainable production to our focus on broadening opportunity and building belonging.

Whether you’re taking the first step in your career or are looking for an exciting new opportunity, we have a wide array of challenging and creative roles for you. We foster a collaborative, community-driven and innovative environment in our stores, home office, and distribution and call centers. Want in?

The Role + Purpose:

PRESEASON

• Create preseason sales, margin and inventory plans by department, class, style and color. Analyze previous quarter results; identify “missed sales” and growth drivers over prior year.
• Summarize the opportunity and risk of a product plan as it relates to trend and financial metrics: initial mark-up, average unit retail, average unit cost, net margin dollars/rate.
• Present to cross-functional team in quarterly investment review meetings, as needed.
• Recommend style count, cc count and flow of goods for optimal margin results within a quarter.
• Collaborate with manager to develop & present the financial strategy associated with growth and diminish categories to cross-functional team in quarterly investment review meetings based on current trend, historical findings or related categories.

IN SEASON

• Provide daily and weekly updates on business as it relates to last forecast, identifying trends, and highlighting selling that exceeds or falls short of expectation.
• Initiate conversations with cross functional partners regarding potential risk or opportunities and begin to suggest changes to course of action for both current and future quarters.
• Prepare sales, margin and inventory forecast and partner with manager in monthly OTB forecast meetings for current year; provide sales trend opportunity for future quarters, validate stock-to-sales relationships, maximize receipt flow to improve turn, reconcile receipts and suggest pricing strategies to drive profitability.
• Monitor basic style selling trends and partner with merchandising and allocation to select monthly order quantities.
• Generate and manage style level weekly unit sales plans in season to inform total department sales expectation by week/month/quarter and identify styles contributing to a +/- to forecast.
• Partner with manager to propose markdown and promotional strategies to maximize profitability on the life of an item or category; provide pricing and margin dollar gain/loss scenarios.

Qualifications:

• Strong analytical, financial modeling and problem solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple work streams/projects with tight deadlines.
• Strong technical aptitude, including advanced competency in Microsoft Excel and ability to quickly master new applications and systems.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 1-2 years of merchandise planning, allocation, merchandising, financial planning, strategy or business analytics.

We welcome you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes. Our passion is scouting life-long learners who are driven by curiosity, and who feel connected to our brands and share our desire to make an impact. We’re always seeking bright new talent who leverage their unique experiences to discover, grow and evolve with our teams.

Benefits + Perks

• Health & Well-being - Eligible associates and family members receive medical, dental, prescription and vision insurance, family planning (fertility, adoption & surrogacy support), fitness discounts, medical travel and more.
• Associate Discount - We love our products just as much as you do! That’s why we offer a great associate discount across all of our brands (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell).
• Flex Fridays - In addition to our hybrid work model, we also close our office at 1:00 PM every Friday year-round.
• Community Impact - We support the communities where we live and work through our philanthropic efforts and the J.Crew Cares Program.
• Winter Break - In addition to our PTO package, J.Crew Group offers a winter break at the end of December to eligible full-time associates at the Home Office to provide time to refresh and recharge.

Note: Availability of these benefits and perks may be subject to work location & employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements.

Salary Range: $64,200.00 - $77,000.00

At J.Crew Group (JCG) we aim to pay competitively for our company’s size and industry. The base salary offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region of work premises, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. The base salary is just one component of J.Crew Group’s competitive total rewards strategy that also includes the opportunity for bonus, competitive benefits and perks.

One of our core focuses here at JCG is creating a community and culture that builds belonging. We are deeply committed to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, and we warmly welcome job applicants of all backgrounds.

JCG is proud to affirmatively provide equal opportunity to all associates and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin or citizenship, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, legally protected physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected under applicable law.