Merchandise Planner (Fashion)

Blackwomenintech; Great Falls Crossing (VA); Remote; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Merchandise Planner to drive financial success through strategic inventory management and sales planning. In this dynamic role, you will collaborate with buying partners to create effective merchandising strategies and open-to-buy plans. Your analytical skills will be crucial in evaluating trends and projecting future performance, while your ability to communicate and build partnerships across teams will enhance execution. If you are passionate about fast fashion and thrive in a fast-paced environment, this opportunity offers a chance to make a significant impact in a growing company.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of retail merchandise planning or inventory management experience.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage sales, gross margin, and inventory turn goals to exceed financial objectives.
• Develop promo and pricing strategies to drive sales and margin performance.

Skills

Retail Merchandise Planning

Inventory Management

Financial Analysis

Business Partnership Building

Creative Problem-Solving

Organizational Skills

Advanced Excel

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Excel

Job description

Role: Merchandise Planner (Fashion)

Location: Remote (Company HQ is PST. Employees in PST and MT preferred)

Salary: $80K – $90K

Overview

The Merchandise Planner is responsible for managing the pre-season and in-season sales and inventory plans for a brand. The Merchandise Planner collaborates closely with their Buying partners to develop brand merchandising strategies and open-to-buy plans, allowing for smart buying decisions in the delivery of fast fashion.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible to drive the financial success by managing sales, gross margin, and inventory turn goals to meet or exceed financial objectives.
• Analyze records of past and present financial data and trends to project future KPI performance, sales and merchandise margins at the monthly, weekly, and daily level.
• Drive pre-season and in-season strategies by identifying company level opportunities.
• Develop promo and pricing strategies that support brand strategies and drive sales and margin performance to meet financial goals.
• Responsible for open-to-buy activities for an entire brand; manage the reconciliation of bottoms-up plans and tops-down Company Planning forecasts and budget; present OTB forecasts to the Head of Planning.
• Ensure timely reaction to business trends in-season with appropriate shifts in sales and inventory forecasts and develop action plans to maximize opportunities and mitigate risk.
• Proactively identify business opportunities and communicate cross-functionally to ensure effective execution of plans and course correction when necessary.
• Create and maintain ad hoc reporting tools.
• Develop processes to ensure consistency in the use of best practices and deliveries within deadlines.
• Take an active role in brand initiatives in optimizing systems and tools to maximize efficiency.
• Lead discussions in key milestone meetings including weekly business updates, monthly OTBs, and quarterly hindsight meetings.
• Collaborate closely with and build trust among cross-functional partners in Merchandising, Finance, Marketing, and Site Merchandising to build best practices and execute against brand strategies.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of retail merchandise planning or inventory management experience.
• Demonstrated success at building business partnerships and ability to influence and effectively negotiate with cross-functional teams.
• Ability to evaluate business trends and draw actionable conclusions to maximize business opportunities; anticipate risks and develop plans and processes to reduce exposure.
• Ability to set priorities and clear objectives that ensure team goals and objectives are met or exceeded.
• Demonstrated success in identifying and communicating opportunities in process improvement.
• Ability to organize and present complex ideas.
• Ability to move analysis into action; can leverage learnings to build brand plans and strategies.
• Creative approach to problem-solving with a focus on driving sales; demonstrated ability to track performance and measure results.
• Possess exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• Passion for fast fashion retail; possess the agility, attention to detail, and sense of urgency required to work in a fast-paced and changing environment.
• Broad-based business acumen.
• Proficient in retail math.
• Advanced Excel skills and ability to work with large sets of data and produce ad hoc reports and tools.