Associate Planner

Kith Women's; New York (NY); On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Kith Women’s in New York, NY is seeking an Associate Merchandise Planner to drive sales, optimize inventory, and maximize profitability across our collections and multibrand partners. The role is highly analytical and collaborates with cross-functional teams to meet financial targets and execute inventory plans.

The position involves managing Open-to-Buy, analyzing historical data and demand trends, and monitoring stock across ecommerce and brick-and-mortar channels to minimize stockouts and

Qualifications

• 2+ years in merchandise planning, buying, or retail analytics.
• Proficient with key retail metrics (GM, Sell-Through, WOS, IMU, OTB).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel (XLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, macros; Power Query a plus).
• Experience with planning systems, ERP/POS systems, and BI tools is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Open-to-Buy (OTB) support – update forecasts for sales, inventory and receipts.
• Analyze historical data and demand trends to identify opportunities.
• Monitor stock levels across channels to minimize stockouts or overstocks.
• Analyze slow-moving inventory and coordinate markdowns to protect gross margin.
• Partner with buying/merchandising to build seasonal assortment plans aligned to financial targets.
• Build category-level bottoms-up forecasting using historical data and market trends.
• Generate and analyze monthly, quarterly, and yearly business reports (best/worst sellers, sell-through %, gross margin ROI).
• Collaborate with operations/logistics to manage warehouse projections and alert spikes in receipts/releases.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Retail analytics

Open-to-Buy (OTB)

Excel proficiency

Data analysis

Tools

Planning systems

ERP systems

POS systems

BI tools

Job description

Location: HQ - Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Status: Full-time / 100% on-site

Compensation: $65,000 - $75,000 annually

Position Summary:

The Associate Merchandise Planner is a pivotal role in driving sales, optimizing inventory, and maximizing profitability across our Kith collections and Multibrand vendors. This role is highly analytical and works in close partnership with cross functional teams to be the point person for high level financial targets and ground level inventory execution. This person will also manage historical data analysis and reporting, support in the Open to Buy process, maintain inventory flow across multiple regions, and recommend and maintain markdown or promotional strategies.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Open-to-Buy (OTB) support - Assist in managing the monthly OTB reporting by updating sales, inventory, and receipt forecasts.
• Analyze historical data and demand trends to identify opportunities.
• Monitor stock levels across various channels (e-commerce, brick & mortar) to minimize out-of-stocks or over-stocks.
• Analyze slow-moving inventory and partner with the buying team to target markdown strategies, and to manage liquidation inventory while protecting gross margin.
• Partner with the buying and merchandising teams to build seasonal assortment plans that align with financial targets.
• Build and maintain category-level bottoms-up forecasting based on historical data and current market trends.

Special Projects/Tasks:

• Generate and analyze monthly, quarterly, and yearly business reports (e.g., best/worst sellers, sell-through percentage, gross margin ROI) to share with cross-functional teams.
• Partner with the operations and logistics teams to manage warehouse projections to alert warehouse teams on spikes in receipts and big releases.

Experience:

• 2+ years in merchandise planning, buying, or retail analytics role.
• Deep understanding of key metrics and retail math proficiency (Gross Margin, Sell-Through, IMU, WOS, Inventory Turn, OTB).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (XLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, macros and power query are a plus).
• Experience with planning systems, ERP and POS systems, and BI tools preferred.

Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to synthesize large sets of raw data into actionable business recommendations.
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to explain complex financial data to non-financial partners
• Capacity to pivot quickly in a fast-paced retail environment where the traditional seasonal model is more drop based and frequent.