Overview
Merchandise Planner (Apparel and Fashion) Jobs in United States at Aquent
Title: Merchandise Planner (Apparel and Fashion)
Company: Aquent
Location: United States
Role: Merchandise Planner (Fashion and Apparel)
Location: Remote (Team 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 our e-commerce 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 trend 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 use of best practices and deliveries within deadlines
Take active role in brand initiatives in optimizing systems and tools to maximize efficiency
Lead discussions in key milestone meetings including weekly business update, monthly OTBs, and quarterly hindsight meetings
Collaborate closely with and build trust among cross functional partners in Merchandising, Finance, Marketing, Site Merchandising to build best practices and execute against brand strategies
Skills & Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
4+ years of e-comm retail merchandise planning or inventory management experience (fashion preferred)
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 h…
