Associate Planner

Crate & Barrel; Northbrook (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Crate & Barrel in Northbrook, IL seeks an Associate Planner to steer inventory strategy and financial forecasts for a key product category, aligning with the Merchandising team and Divisional Planning to drive profitable sales growth while satisfying customer demand.

The role is on-site in Northbrook with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays, supporting pre-season planning, budgeting, and ongoing stock optimization to maximize margins and ensure timely product availability.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in merchandising, planning/allocation, buying, or equivalent area.
• Experience with inventory management, IT systems, product pipeline process design, and promotional strategy.
• Strong financial analysis skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Manage inventory strategy for product category including new product buys, reorders and markdowns
• Develop pre-season plans in coordination with department and company targets
• Forecast sales, margins and inventory at a category level based on trends and business climate
• Lead monthly business review (OTB) to optimize sales and gross margin
• Provide business analysis to influence future purchases and assortment strategies
• Build cross-functional partnerships with Allocation, Merchandising, Sourcing, Supply Chain, and vendors
• Drive item planning and forecasting for ordering, allocation and cross-functional needs
• Foster a collaborative work environment within Merchandising focused on distinctive product and customer experience
• Manage category planning operations, including deadlines, coding, hunt paths and lead-times

Skills

Financial acumen

Data analysis

Excel

Planning tools

Job description

The Associate Planner is responsible for the inventory strategy and financial forecasts for their segment of the business. This role supposts the goal of maximizing company sales growth and profitability by working closely with the Divisional Planning Manager and merchandising team on designing and implementing thoughtful inventory and merchandise strategies that promote profitable sales growth and satisfy customer demand.

This is an on-site position (Monday through Thursday) based out of our Northbrook, IL offices with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

A day in the life as an Associate Planner...

• Manage inventory strategy for product category including new product buys, reorders and markdowns
• Develop pre-season plans in coordination with department and company targets
• In collaboration with Buyers, forecast sales, margin and inventory at a category level based on changes in trend, strategy or business climate
• Lead monthly business review (OTB) to determine actions that will optimize sales and gross margin
• Develop and provide appropriate business analysis to influence future purchases and assortment strategies
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships with Allocation, Merchandising, Sourcing, Supply Chain, and vendors to enable successful business strategies and flawless execution
• Drive item planning and forecasting for ordering, allocation and cross-functional needs
• Foster a collaborative work environment within the Merchandising Department focused on distinctive product and an engaged customer experience
• Manage category planning operations, including critical deadlines, coding, hunt paths and product lead-times

What You'll Bring To The Table...

• Strong financial acumen and experience analyzing data
• Proficiency with spreadsheets and planning tools
• Proven ability to work with attention to detail and accuracy

We'd love to hear from you if you have...

• 2+ years of experience in merchandising, planning/allocation, buying, or an equivalent area
• Experience with inventory management, IT systems, product pipeline process design, and promotional strategy