Director of Planning, Retail Merch & Inventory Strategy

Foot Locker; Gardena (CA); Hybrid; USD 152,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Life Insurance

Medical Coverage

Dental Coverage

Vision Coverage

Self-Development & RecognitionPrograms

Advancement Opportunities

401k Retirement Plan

HSA Contributions

Employee Discount

Job summary

Foot Locker in Gardena, CA is seeking a senior Merchandising Planning leader to drive financial plans, forecasts, and inventory strategy across brands. You will partner with Merchandising, Allocation, Finance, and Store Ops to optimize sales, margin, and turns while leading a planning team.

You have 8–10+ years in merchandise planning, strong Excel skills, and a track record of developing teams in multi-store retail.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field.
• 8–10+ years of progressive experience in merchandise planning, financial planning, inventory management, or a related retail function.
• 3–5+ years of leadership experience with a track record of building planning teams.
• Strong experience with merchandise financial planning, forecasting, open-to-buy management, inventory optimization, sales and margin analysis, and seasonal planning.
• Experience in a multi-store, specialty retail, footwear, apparel, or consumer-focused environment is preferred.
• Proven ability to partner with senior leaders across Merchandising, Buying, Allocation, Finance, and other cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in retail planning systems and Microsoft Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of annual, seasonal, and in-season merchandise financial plans, including sales, margin, inventory, receipts, and turn objectives.
• Oversee forecasting and open-to-buy management to align inventory investments with sales trends, financial targets, and business priorities.
• Analyze business performance, identify sales, margin, inventory, and profitability opportunities and risks, and recommend actions.
• Partner with Merchandising and Allocation leadership to develop category, assortment, and inventory strategies that support demand and objectives.
• Provide strategic guidance on inventory investments, receipt flow, markdowns, promotions, and other actions impacting sales and inventory productivity.
• Lead business reviews and communicate trends, financial performance, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Collaborate with Finance to align merchandise plans with financial objectives and develop scenario plans.
• Establish and monitor KPIs such as sales, gross margin, inventory turnover, weeks of supply, sell-through, and markdowns.
• Drive continuous improvement of planning processes, reporting, tools, and methodologies to improve accuracy and decision-making.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Planning team, building capabilities to support current and future business needs.
• Partner cross-functionally with Merchandising, Allocation, Finance, Store Operations, Supply Chain, and other teams to support priorities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical skills

Financial acumen

Communication

Multi-store retail

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Merchandising, Economics, or a related field

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Retail planning software

Job description

Foot Locker in Gardena, CA is seeking a senior Merchandising Planning leader to drive financial plans, forecasts, and inventory strategy across brands. You will partner with Merchandising, Allocation, Finance, and Store Ops to optimize sales, margin, and turns while leading a planning team.

You have 8–10+ years in merchandise planning, strong Excel skills, and a track record of developing teams in multi-store retail.