Merchandise Planner

JD Finish Line; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

JD Finish Line is seeking a Merchandise Planner to oversee the development and execution of product plans from planning through allocation. This role requires collaboration across buyers and finance to optimize SKUs, pricing, and profitability.

Responsibilities include creating annual to weekly plans, forecasting receipts, and generating reports that drive business results. A Bachelor’s degree and 3–5 years of allocation or planning experience are needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail, or Finance.
• 3–5 years’ merchandise allocation experience and/or Financial/Product Planning experience.
• Internal JD Finish Line experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop annual, seasonal, monthly and weekly merchandise plans in cost of goods and units.
• Manage weekly markdown forecasts with buyers to agree on SKUs and price points.
• Develop and communicate department financial and product strategies.
• Develop pre-season plans and forecast receipts.

Skills

Merchandise Planning

Forecasting

Data Analysis

Stakeholder Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Retail/Finance

Tools

Google Suite

Microsoft Word

PowerPoint

Microsoft Excel

Job description

The Merchandise Planner oversees the development and execution of the product plans from merchandise planning through the merchandise allocation stage. This individual should effectively exhibit JD Finish Line’s core values of Customer, People, Winning, Community, and Financial Responsibility in everything they do while performing the following main duties:

• Manage the development of annual, seasonal, monthly and weekly merchandise plans in cost of goods and units
• Manage weekly markdown forecasts by collaborating with buyers to agree on SKUs and price points
• Develop and communicate comprehensive department financial and product strategies
• Develop pre-season plans and recommend purchase/investment quantities and develop accurate receipt flow forecasts
• Analyze historic performance and planned strategies to identify areas of opportunity or risk
• Develop, maintain and update tools, reports, etc. to support the needs of the business
• Manage product allocations to ensure right stock, right place, right quantities, right stores, right time
• Actively participate in assortment development and review, providing data and analysis to support decision-making
• Collaborate on best strategies to address product liabilities and develop action plans to liquidate in a timely and profitable manner such as cancels, RTVs, and markdown
• Provide periodic reporting on business performance
• Evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable information to drive results
• Build constructive and effective relationships with a broad and diverse group of business partners
• Identify and articulate the processes necessary to accomplish tasks efficiently and align resources effectively
• Anticipate risks and identify contingency plans and processes to prevent disruptions when risks occur
• Additional duties and projects as required

Required Education and/or Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Retail, or Finance from a four-year college or university; at least 3-5 years’ merchandise allocation experience and/or Financial/Product Planning experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Internal JD Finish Line experience strongly preferred.

Required Computer and/or Technical Skills:

Should have basic knowledge and abilities with Google Suite, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and abilities with Microsoft Excel.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Sit for more than 6 hours per shift
• Use hands to finger, handle and feel
• Reach with hands and arms
• Talk and/or hear
• Walk or move from one location to another
• Occasionally may need to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, or crouch
• Lift and/or move up to 10 pounds regularly and up to 50 pounds occasionally
• Punctuality and regular attendance consistent with the company’s policies are required for the position.
• The average work week is (40-50) hours, which can vary depending on business need.
• The work environment for this position is a moderately noisy office setting.

The company reserves the right to modify this job description with or without notice. Employees may be asked to perform additional duties outside of normal job scope on a temporary basis per company policy.