URBN Merchandise Planning Manager

Urban Outfitters, Inc.; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

URBN is seeking a skilled Merchandise Planning Manager to enhance its digital-first product strategy. You will collaborate with Merchandising and Production teams to improve inventory management and optimize order flows, making a significant impact on how products reach customers. Preference will be given to candidates with a proven track record in fast-paced retail environments and a strong analytical background. Join a dynamic team focused on innovation and growth!

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Generous employee discounts

Retirement savings plan

Paid time off

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in merchandise planning or inventory management.
• Strong background in digital retail or fast-cycle merchandising.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain rolling merchandise plans and unit forecasts.
• Work with Production to model IMU and track landed cost.
• Develop and maintain dashboards to monitor sales velocity and inventory flow.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Agility & Flexibility

Proactive Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Excel

Google Sheets

Looker

Tableau

Job description

Role Summary

URBN is looking for a skilled and strategic Merchandise Planning Manager to support a growing area of the business focused on digital-first, trend-responsive product. In this role, you’ll partner closely with Merchandising, Product Development, Production, and Analytics to help inform order quantities, manage IMU and cost targets, and ensure timely flow of goods.

Unlike traditional planning roles, this position is tailored to support a fast-paced, digital-only assortment with no allocation or store distribution. The ideal candidate brings a mix of analytical thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and a strong understanding of how to build unit-level plans that are responsive to real-time inputs. This is a great opportunity for someone who thrives in dynamic environments and enjoys bringing structure and insight to fast-evolving product strategies.

Role Responsibilities

Role Responsibilities

• Merchandise Planning & Forecasting:
• Contribute to the foundational planning structure and tooling for an evolving digital assortment model
• Create and maintain rolling merchandise plans and unit forecasts tied to rapid design, sampling, and launch cycles
• Translate merchant, trend, and demand signals into action-oriented order plans; leverage demand data to test, learn, and adjust quickly

• Cost & Margin Management:
• Work with Production to model IMU by style or capsule and track landed cost
• Partner with Merchant and Product teams to align cost targets and pricing strategy
• Collaborate with Technology teams to support data input optimization for improved system outputs
• Order & Delivery Flow:
• Maintain visibility into open orders and production timelines from commitment through delivery
• Flag risks and bottlenecks early to support timely trend-driven launches
• Collaborate with Logistics and Ops to ensure product is ready to sell within expected timelines
• Reporting & Analytics:
• Develop and maintain dashboards to monitor sales velocity, margin, inventory flow, and receipt pacing
• Provide performance reporting that supports both current decision-making and longer-term tool and process development
• Provide weekly performance recaps and decision support tools to enable nimble shifts in direction
• Surface insights to improve planning accuracy, product profitability, and cross-functional alignment
• Cross-Functional Partnership:
• Work closely with Merchandising, Product Development, Production, Engineering, and Analytics partners to shape the role of planning in a digital-first environment
• Contribute to early-stage thinking and workflows that enable greater planning speed, visibility, and collaboration across teams
• Drive alignment on assortment scope, order quantity, and timing to maximize impact with speed
• Bring a test-and-learn mindset to refine tools and planning processes as the model evolves.

Role Qualifications

Role Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in merchandise planning or inventory management
• Background in digital retail, direct-to-consumer, or fast-cycle merchandising preferred
• Strong proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets; experience with planning and BI tools (e.g., Looker, MicroStrategy, Tableau) is a plus
• Solid understanding of IMU, cost modeling, and margin management
• Demonstrated ability to build models, interpret trends, and turn insights into action
• Excellent cross-functional communication and stakeholder management skills
• High comfort level with ambiguity, iteration, and speed

Core Competencies

• Agility & Flexibility – Thrives in evolving environments and adjusts quickly to shifting priorities
• Analytical Acumen – Uses data and modeling to uncover insights and drive financial discipline
• Operational Awareness – Understands the importance of timing, flow, and delivery milestones
• Collaborative Problem Solving – Works cross-functionally to align teams and overcome roadblocks
• Digital-First Thinking – Builds plans grounded in eCommerce realities, customer behavior, and trend velocity
• Proactive Communication – Surfaces risks early, presents solutions clearly, and facilitates alignment

#LI-LR3

The Perks

Why Join URBN?

As Merchandise Planning Manager, you’ll help shape the financial strategy and flow behind a fast-moving, digital-first product assortment. This is a hands-on role where your insights and planning skills will directly impact how we build and deliver trend-driven product to our customers. If you’re energized by cross-functional collaboration, planning at the unit level, and bringing structure to creative environments, URBN offers the opportunity to make an impact in a dynamic and evolving part of the business.

Join us in helping shape the financial strategy behind a digitally native assortment. Contribute to a nimble, high-impact environment where planning plays a role in how we deliver compelling product to our customers.

URBN offers comprehensive Perks & Benefits to employees. Availability and eligibility to specific benefits may be subject to your location and employment status. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, PTO, generous employee discounts, retirement savings and much more! For additional information visit www.urbn.com/work-with-us/benefits

EEO Statement

URBN celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression), religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. We believe strongly in fostering a safe, fair and respectful work environment. To ensure compliance with our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, we offer anti-harassment training to managers and employees.