Director, Merchandise Planning, Intimates - International

Victoria's Secret & Co.; Reynoldsburg (OH); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Victoria’s Secret International seeks a Director of Planning to lead the Merchandise Planning team, directing the order/buy process and optimizing investments to maximize sales worldwide.

The role serves as the link between Merchants, Finance, Marketing, Store Operations, Sourcing, and Demand Planning to craft plans (volume/markdowns, IMU, MMU, receipts, inventory) that meet financial targets for designated books of business.

Responsibilities

• Partner with North America Planning and Merchant teams to translate assortment strategies into aligned inventory buys for International markets.
• Develop, manage, and approve comprehensive merchandise and financial plans across multiple businesses and formats.
• Lead category planning processes, including assortment distortion, pricing strategy, events, markdowns, and inventory optimization.
• Analyze historical and current performance, market trends, and regional insights to inform forward-looking strategies.
• Support global inventory processes within the VS Global production and sourcing model with timely commitments and projections.
• Partner with deployment teams to ensure optimal in-region inventory availability and priority management.
• Review weekly sales, demand, margin, and inventory results to drive continuous improvement.
• Build consensus with merchants and cross-functional partners on forecasts and financial outcomes.
• Lead and approve financial implications of pricing changes, promotions, and exit strategies for discontinued product.
• Assess price positioning relative to category strategy, top-line growth, and margin objectives.
• Participate in enterprise Victoria’s Secret International initiatives focusing on technology implementation and process optimization.
• Foster a culture of teamwork, transparency, and accountability aligned with VS Global values.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top planning talent; lead team strategy and succession planning.

Job description

Your Role

Director of Planning for Victoria’s Secret International leads the Merchandise Planning team to manage the order/buy process and ensure the best investments to maximize sales in Victoria’s Secret businesses around the world. The director serves as the key liaison between Merchants, Finance, Marketing, Store Operations, Sourcing, and Demand Planning in the development of the plans (volume / markdowns, IMU, MMU, receipts, and inventory) to achieve agreed upon financial targets for specified books of business. The director manages the merchandise planning for the VS business which requires analyzing current business trend, market data and feedback, historical data and recommend course corrections and improvements based on these assessments.

Your Impact

• Partner with North America Planning and Merchant teams to translate assortment strategies, launch cadence, and category objectives into aligned inventory buys for International markets.

• Develop, manage, and approve comprehensive merchandise and financial plans (sales, margin, profit, receipts, inventory, and markdowns) across multiple businesses, operating models, and store/ecommerce formats.

• Lead category planning processes, including assortment distortion, pricing strategy, events, markdowns, and inventory optimization to maximize growth and margin realization.

• Analyze historical and current performance, market trends, and regional insights to inform forward looking strategies; proactively identify risks and opportunities and recommend corrective actions.

• Support global inventory processes within the VS Global production and sourcing model, ensuring timely, accurate commitments and projections.

• Partner withdeployment teams to ensure optimal in region inventory availability, daily execution, and priority management that aligns to partner’s financial budgets and targets.

• Review weekly sales, demand, margin, and inventory results, incorporating regional feedback to drive continuous improvement in performance.

• Build consensus with merchants and cross functional partners on forecasts financial outcomes; including revenue, margin, receipts, and inventory levels by partner, region, and operating model.

• Lead and approve financial implications of pricing changes, promotional events, and exit strategies for discontinued product.

• Assess price positioning relative to category strategy, top line growth, and margin objectives.

• Participate in enterprise Victoria’s Secret International initiatives, with a focus on technology implementation & adoption and business process optimization.

• Foster a culture of teamwork, transparency, and accountability aligned with VS Global values.

• Recruit, develop, and retain top planning talent; lead team strategy and succession planning to ensure organizational excellence.

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