Associate Merchandise Planner

Associate Merchandise Planner

We are seeking an analytical, detail-oriented Associate Merchandise Planner to support the merchandise planning team in driving sales, inventory, and profitability across assigned categories. This entry-level role is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys working with numbers, identifying trends, and partnering with cross-functional teams to make data-driven business decisions.

The Associate Merchandise Planner will help analyze sales and inventory performance, maintain reporting, support forecasting and planning activities, and identify opportunities to optimize inventory and maximize sales.

• Analyze weekly and monthly sales, inventory, and product performance.
• Assist with open-to-buy sales, inventory, and gross margin forecasting.
• Prepare and maintain recurring reports, dashboards, and business analyses.
• Analyze sales trends and historical performance to support future plans.
• Partner with Category Merchants, Replenishment and Operations teams.
• Help identify opportunities to improve inventory productivity, sell-through, and profitability.
• Support seasonal planning, promotional analysis, and post-season reporting.
• Maintain accurate planning files and ensure data integrity across reporting tools.
• Present findings and recommendations to planning and merchandising leadership as needed.
• Take on ad hoc analyses and projects that support business priorities.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Analytics, or a related field.
• 0–2 years of relevant experience; internships or academic experience in retail, analytics, finance, or merchandising are welcome.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, pivot tables, and basic data analysis.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Curiosity and willingness to learn in a fast-paced retail environment.

• Previous retail, merchandising, planning, buying, allocation, or e-commerce experience.
• Familiarity with retail KPIs such as sales, gross margin, sell-through, weeks of supply, inventory turnover, and markdowns.
• Experience with reporting or business intelligence tools.
• Basic understanding of forecasting and inventory planning.

Success in This Role

The ideal candidate is highly analytical and eager to learn. They are comfortable working with large amounts of data, can translate numbers into actionable insights, and are willing to ask questions and collaborate with partners across the organization.

Why Guitar Center? Here's just some of the rewards:

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave--take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.

Pay Rate: $60,000 - $70,000/yr depending on background and experience.

With a career at Guitar Center, you become part of the world's largest multichannel musical instrument retailer. Whether at our Stores, Contact Centers, Distribution Centers, or Support Center, Guitar Center employees have a common goal: to help people find their sound and fill the world with more music.

Guitar Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‐related requirements.