MD PLANNER

JOB PURPOSE

The Retail Merchandise Planner drives sales plan through a consistent focus on studying the business, monitoring inventory and sales performance, and providing analysis necessary to bring in new products to fit the needs of the customer. Track sales performance of existing products and assist in the determination of next steps; this includes developing in-season forecasts of sales and inventory and future merchandise plans for a given gender / class. Work closely with Merchandising and Allocations, to optimize store assortments.

Create and maintain financial targets and track open-to-buy.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESULTS

• Create and maintain financial targets and OTB at gender/brand level
• Participate in weekly / monthly in-season forecast and OTB meetings
• Analyze historical data and current trends to identify risks and opportunities; compare sales data of the planned gender / category to company sales and provide action plans to reconcile deviations
• Partner with the Merchants to actively manage inventory levels by increasing and decreasing inventory, taking markdown, transferring products, and/or cancelling orders
• On a monthly and quarterly basis, recap and report back on the sales and inventory results to plan, and LY, and forecast in-season sales and inventory
• Partner with Director of Merchandising to maintain store clusters using velocity, capacity, geography by gender / category
• Review orders with in-store date 30 days out to identify any changes required. Prioritize key styles/categories for delivery. Ensure pre-allocations meet store/cluster targets.
• Partner with wholesale and franchisees to manage seasonal price change process and implement it properly.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• No

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 3 years Merchandise Planning experience in retail - preferably within Footwear
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
• Advanced computer skills (Excel - pivot tables/v-lookups/etc., Word, Internet)

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Strong aptitude with numbers and clear understanding of retail math
• Strong organizational skills - ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize, and meet deadlines
• Ability to communicate persuasively, influentially, and responsibly across a cross-functional team
• Excels in team environments and in building / developing strong interpersonal relationships, while maintaining an individual determination to accomplish goals
• Ability to travel 0-10% of time
• Passionate about customer service (internal)
• Driven to excel and succeed, taking full ownership of his or her success
• Problem Solving
• Time Management
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Self-motivated
• Persistent

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The skills, abilities and physical demands described are representative of those duties that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities, who are otherwise qualified for the job position, to perform the essential functions.