Strategic Merchandise Planner — Lead Seasonal Growth

Cape Union Mart Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Cape Union Mart Group’s Outdoor Merchandise Team is seeking a confident, energetic Senior Merchandise Planner to own end-to-end planning with strong analytical and numerical abilities. You will manage seasonal and in-season merchandise financial plans, budgets, and Open-to-Buy (OTB) using performance data and trading insights.

The role requires resilience and agility in a fast-paced retail environment, with cross-functional collaboration across Stores, Supply Chain, IT, Marketing and Ecommerce.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in BCom, Economics, Supply Chain or related field.
• 3+ years’ experience in Retail Merchandise Planning.
• Microsoft Office proficiency with advanced Excel experience is essential.
• Working knowledge of merchandise planning and reporting systems.
• Proven experience within a retail environment.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage seasonal and in-season merchandise financial plans (sales, margin, markdowns, stock and turn) at department and category level.
• Develop and regularly review budgets, forecasts and Open-to-Buy (OTB) using historical performance, trend analysis and trading insights.
• Drive assortment, range and size-curve planning aligned to store clusters, customer demographics and channel requirements.
• Actively manage in-season trading, identifying risks and opportunities and implementing timely corrective actions such as markdowns, re-phasing and stock transfers.
• Control inventory levels in line with plans to maximise profitability and achieve financial and stock KPIs.
• Manage replenishment lines to ensure optimal availability and sell-through.
• Deliver and implement post-season analysis, translating insights into actionable improvements for future seasons.
• Drive departmental strategy execution in collaboration with Buying, Allocation and cross-functional teams.
• Partner effectively with Stores, Supply Chain, IT, Marketing and Ecommerce to ensure accurate and on-time execution.
• Support, guide and mentor the departmental allocator, ensuring accurate stock allocation and strong administrative discipline.
• Maintain accurate planning data and reporting within merchandise planning systems and advanced Excel models.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Stakeholder management

Education

BCom / Economics / Supply Chain

Tools

Merchandise planning systems

Excel modelling tools

Job description

Cape Union Mart Group’s Outdoor Merchandise Team is seeking a confident, energetic Senior Merchandise Planner to own end-to-end planning with strong analytical and numerical abilities. You will manage seasonal and in-season merchandise financial plans, budgets, and Open-to-Buy (OTB) using performance data and trading insights.

The role requires resilience and agility in a fast-paced retail environment, with cross-functional collaboration across Stores, Supply Chain, IT, Marketing and Ecommerce.