Planner, Apparel

Kroger Family of Companies; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Kroger Family of Companies seeks a Category Planner/Buyer to collaborate with buyers, forecast and coordinate weekly, period, and annual GM sales. You will ensure profit budgets align with corporate goals and supervise direct reports, providing performance feedback and reviews.

You will create financial plans by period, manage assortment and allocation, analyze promotions, and support advertising initiatives. Travel to markets and vendor appointments may be involved.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in business or a related field with two years of combined assistant buyer and assistant planner experience.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to handle high, moderate, and low complexity scenarios in items, promos, regionality, and growth goals.

Responsibilities

• Create/manage financial plans by period (sales, gross margin, turnover) for department store formats and classes.
• Develop assortment plans and perform product allocation for department, marketplace and food stores.
• Provide analysis to drive sales, margin and inventory strategies.
• Support advertising/display plans and on-floor presentations.
• Re-forecast in-season sales, margins and turnover; propose improvement actions.
• Reconcile open-to-buy and communicate status to stakeholders.
• Analyze seasonal/fashion categories and plan for the following season.
• Lead team meetings and coordinate with replenishment to manage inventory.
• Create/manage sales markdown reports and forecasts for department stores.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Microsoft Office

Organization & prioritization

Retail industry knowledge

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Tools

Retail forecasting tools

Job description

Work closely with buyers to create category financial plans. Plan, forecast and coordinate each division's weekly, period and annual sales for general merchandise (GM); ensure profit budget is consistent with corporate/division goals. Perform analyses; recommend actionable steps to improve/enhance category performance. Demonstrate the company's core values of respect, honesty, integrity, diversity, inclusion and safety. RESPONSIBILITIES - Supervise and coach direct reports in the performance of their duties; complete performance reviews and provide feedback to direct reports

• Create/manage financial plans by period, including sales, markdowns, gross margin and turnover at sub-class level for department store formats and class level for other formats

• Create/manage assortment plans; perform product allocation for department, marketplace and food stores

• Provide analysis based on quantitative/qualitative sources to drive enterprise sales, margin and inventory strategies

• Support advertising/display plans and optimization of on-floor presentations and turnover

• Re-forecast in-season sales, margin and turnover based on current trends/market dynamics; recommend actions to address improvement opportunities

• Reconcile department store open-to-buy; communicate status to key stakeholders

• Analyze seasonal/fashion categories; recommend courses of action; create a strategy for the following season

• Facilitate team meetings; provide timely communications to the planning team regarding process strategies Work closely with Replenishment team to manage store/warehouse inventory

• Create/manage sales markdown reports/forecasts for department stores

• Determine plan-o-gram minimums by utilizing store volume and with input from GM/divisional merchandise managers, buyers and replenishment analysts; communicate results to vendors

• Conduct enterprise-wide store tours

• Maintain awareness of industry trends, the competitive landscape across enterprise and regional needs

• Analyze results of promotions/markdowns; make recommendations to support business goals

• Ensure new/remodeled stores are planned correctly and inventory is allocated to maximize sales

• Travel to markets and for vendor appointments

• Must be able to perform the essential job functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation

QUALIFICATIONS Minimum

Bachelors Degree business or a related field plus two years of combined assistant buyer and assistant planner experience or a combination of relevant education/experience

Ability to complete tasks with a high level of accuracy and a strong attention to detail

High complexity in terms of item difficulty, promo intensity, regionality, category innovation, vendor difficulty, sales/EBITA and growth goals (Lvl 11)

Moderate complexity in terms of item difficulty, promo intensity, regionality, category innovation, vendor difficulty, sales/EBITA and growth goals (Lvl 10)

Low complexity in terms of item difficulty, promo intensity, regionality, category innovation, vendor difficulty, sales/EBITA and growth goals (Lvl 9

Highly motivated/selfdirected

Ability to function in a fastpaced retail/office environment

Proficient Microsoft Office skills

Familiar with retail industry technical terms/processes

Ability to organize/prioritize tasks/projects

Desired

Computer systems knowledge

Experience directing/participating on project teams

Familiarity with financial systems