Merchandise Planner

Sporty & Rich; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sporty & Rich is seeking a highly analytical, entrepreneurial Merchandise Planner in Los Angeles to own the analysis, forecasting, reporting and planning work across eCommerce, Retail and Wholesale.

You will build planning tools, translate sales targets into inventory plans, and partner with cross-functional teams to optimize stock and performance in a fast-moving business.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of merchandise planning, retail planning, inventory planning or similar experience in fashion or multi-channel brands.
• Strong experience with merchandise financial planning, OTB, forecasting and inventory management.
• Advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills and ability to build planning models from scratch.
• Experience with ERP, planning or BI systems; NetSuite and Shopify experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own weekly and monthly merchandise planning reporting across channels.
• Build and maintain seasonal merchandise financial plans by channel, category and product group.
• Develop Open-To-Buy (OTB) plans based on performance, forecasts and inventory position.
• Monitor inventory levels, weeks of supply, inventory turn and stock cover.
• Collaborate with Buying, Merchandising, Finance, Production, Retail and eCommerce to translate sales targets into actionable buy and inventory plans.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Inventory management

Excel

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

NetSuite

Shopify

ERP systems

Job description

Department: Planning

Employment Type: Full-Time, Hybrid / In-office

Founded by Emily Oberg in 2014, Sporty and Rich began as a mood board for life; a collection of images from past and present that represent a life surrounded by beauty.

It soon expanded into a print magazine, covering design, iconic figures, creativity, and forgotten moments and places. Now, we offer a collection of simple, yet thoughtfully designed products that emphasize longevity over momentary relevance.

Sporty & Rich is a unisex brand that gathered a cult following. We emphasize health, fitness and the overall well-being of ourselves and our planet. Our messaging is rooted within each of these ideas with the hope that it will encourage people to live better and consume more consciously.

About the Role

Sporty & Rich is looking for a highly analytical, entrepreneurial and hands‑on Merchandise Planner to join our growing team in Los Angeles.

As Sporty & Rich continues to scale, we are building the planning processes, tools and reporting needed to support the next stage of the business. This role is an opportunity for someone who is excited by that journey: someone who doesn’t expect every process to already exist, loves getting into the details and wants to help build better ways of working while executing the day‑to‑day planning needs of the business.

This is a highly executional, individual contributor role. You will personally own the analysis, forecasting, reporting and planning work rather than managing a team. We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable building an OTB or planning tool from scratch, digging into SKU‑level performance, identifying an inventory issue and working cross‑functionally to get it resolved.

Working closely with Buying, Merchandising, Finance, Production, Retail and eCommerce, you will translate our sales targets and product strategy into actionable buy and inventory plans across eCommerce, Retail and Wholesale.

The right person is entrepreneurial, resourceful and solutions‑oriented, with a genuine willingness to roll up their sleeves and get things done.

What You’ll Do:

Build Our Planning Foundation

• Help build and continuously improve Sporty & Rich’s merchandise planning processes, tools, reporting and ways of working as the business scales.
• Create practical planning tools and reporting where processes do not yet exist, rather than relying on established infrastructure.
• Establish consistent planning methodologies across eCommerce, Retail and Wholesale.
• Improve the quality and accessibility of the data used for merchandise and inventory decisions.
• Identify gaps or inefficiencies in current processes and proactively develop solutions.
• Help create scalable processes without overcomplicating the needs of a fast‑moving business.
  

Merchandise & Financial Planning

• Build and maintain seasonal merchandise financial plans by channel, category and product group, aligned with company revenue, margin and inventory targets.
• Develop and actively manage seasonal Open‑to‑Buy plans based on actual performance, updated forecasts and inventory position.
• Translate company sales budgets into category, channel and inventory plans.
• Partner with Buying and Merchandising to determine appropriate investment by category, style, color and size.
• Use historical performance, current trends and forward‑looking forecasts to recommend buy quantities.
• Ensure seasonal buys reconcile to approved financial plans and inventory targets before purchase orders are placed.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure merchandise plans align with company budgets, cash flow and overall financial targets.

Forecasting & Inventory Management

• Own sales and inventory forecasting across eCommerce, Retail and Wholesale.
• Monitor inventory levels, weeks of supply, inventory turn and stock cover.
• Identify potential stock shortages, excess inventory and aging stock early and recommend actions.
• Build replenishment forecasts for core and carryover products and recommend reorders based on demand.
• Develop size curves and SKU‑level forecasts where appropriate.
• Monitor incoming inventory and work with Production, buying and Operations to recommend changes to delivery timing based on demand and inventory needs.
• Get into the details when something doesn’t reconcile or performance doesn’t make sense, and work through the data to identify the underlying issue.

In‑Season Performance

• Personally own the weekly analysis of sales, inventory and product performance across channels.
• Track sell‑through, weeks of supply, margin, markdowns and inventory productivity against plan.
• Identify risks and opportunities and translate them into clear actions.
• Recommend reorders, cancellations, delivery shifts, transfers and markdowns based on performance in partnership with buying.
• Partner with Retail and eCommerce to ensure inventory is positioned where demand is strongest.
• Support markdown and promotional planning to maximize sell‑through while protecting gross margin.
• React quickly when actual performance differs from plan rather than waiting for the next planning cycle.

Reporting & Analysis

• Own and produce weekly and monthly merchandise planning reporting.
• Report on sales vs. plan, inventory, sell‑through, margin, OTB and other key planning KPIs.
• Conduct seasonal hindsight and post‑season analysis and translate learnings into future buys.
• Analyze performance at channel, category, style, color and size level.
• Develop reporting that gives the broader team a clear and consistent view of merchandise performance.
• Turn data into clear recommendations and actions rather than simply reporting numbers.
• Continuously improve reporting as the business and our systems evolve.

Cross‑Functional Execution

• Work closely with Buying and Merchandising to ensure assortment decisions are supported by financial and historical performance.
• Partner with Finance to reconcile merchandise plans with company revenue, gross margin, inventory and cash‑flow targets.
• Work directly with Production and Operations on purchase orders, delivery timing and inventory flow.
• Partner with Retail and eCommerce on channel demand, allocation and replenishment.
• Follow issues through from identification to resolution rather than simply escalating them.
• Be comfortable moving between strategic planning conversations and highly detailed execution depending on what the business needs.

What We’re Looking For

• 3‑5+ years of merchandise planning, retail planning, inventory planning or similar experience, ideally within fashion, apparel or a multi‑channel consumer brand.
• Strong experience with merchandise financial planning, OTB, forecasting and inventory management.
• Experience planning across eCommerce and Retail; Wholesale experience is a plus.
• Strong understanding of retail KPIs including sell‑through, weeks of supply, inventory turn, AUR, markdowns, gross margin and GMROI.
• Advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills and confidence building planning models and tools from scratch.
• Experience with ERP, planning or BI systems; NetSuite and Shopify experience is a plus.
• Highly analytical with exceptional attention to detail and a willingness to dig into the numbers.
• Entrepreneurial and resourceful. You see something that needs to be built or fixed and take ownership of getting it done.
• Comfortable operating in an environment where processes are still evolving and not every answer is already documented.
• A hands‑on mindset and willingness to work at both a high level and in the details.
• Commercial understanding of product and the ability to balance data with brand considerations.
• Strong communicator who can turn complex analysis into simple, actionable recommendations.
• Collaborative, low‑ego and comfortable working across functions.
• Excited by the opportunity to help build the infrastructure behind a growing global brand.

This Role Is a Great Fit If you:

Enjoy building as much as maintaining. You don’t need a fully developed planning infrastructure to be effective and are comfortable creating the tools you need to do your job. Are a doer. You enjoy personally working through the spreadsheet, investigating discrepancies, updating the forecast and following through on actions. Think like an owner. You consider sales, margin, inventory and cash together and understand how merchandise decisions affect the broader business. Are comfortable with change. Sporty & Rich is growing quickly, and our systems, processes and ways of working will continue to evolve. Like being close to the business. We are a very lean team, and it is an opportunity to have meaningful impact through strong individual execution, analysis and cross‑functional collaboration.

What Success Looks Like

Success means Sporty & Rich has an increasingly clear, reliable and scalable planning function that helps us make better inventory decisions as we grow.

You will help us understand what we should buy, how much we should own, where inventory should sit and when we need to take action.

Over time, you will help improve forecast accuracy, inventory turns, full‑price sell‑through and inventory productivity while reducing excess stock and ensuring our inventory investment supports both our commercial targets and our growth.