Merchandise Planner

Merchandise Planner

We are seeking an experienced Merchandise Planner to support high-visibility planning initiatives within a fast-paced retail environment. This role will focus on managing footwear or apparel planning for in-line retail stores across multiple seasons simultaneously, including in-season management, inventory optimization, transition planning, and pricing actions. The ideal candidate is highly analytical, detail-oriented, and comfortable working with large datasets to drive strategic business decisions.

This position requires strong collaboration across merchandising, ecommerce, retail, and cross-functional business teams.

• Develop and manage merchandise plans that support financial and consumer-driven objectives
• Analyze sales, inventory, margin, and forecasting data to maximize profitability and optimize inventory flow
• Manage in-season business performance including inventory actions, transitions, pricing strategies, and sales forecasting
• Create seasonal line plans grounded in profitability, consumer insights, and strategic business goals
• Recap and analyze actual sales results against plan and recommend actionable solutions
• Collaborate with merchandising, ecommerce, retail, and business partners to align assortment and inventory strategies
• Support assortment planning by providing historical and current selling data across category, gender, class, and location clusters
• Identify risks and opportunities within assortment and inventory plans and communicate recommendations proactively
• Drive reporting and storytelling through data to support smart business decisions
• Contribute to process improvements and planning consistency across documentation and execution
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to support go-to-market and retail planning initiatives

• 58 years of experience in merchandise planning, retail planning, inventory planning, or related field
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Experience working within retail planning environments
• Ability to analyze large data sets and communicate insights effectively
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and manage timelines effectively

• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required
• Experience working with AI tools or large-scale data environments
• Familiarity with brick-and-mortar retail planning environments
• Experience supporting footwear or apparel categories preferred

• Ability to work effectively in ambiguous environments
• Strong time management and prioritization skills
• Team-oriented mindset with collaborative working style
• Ability to tell compelling business stories using data and insights