Merchandise Planner

• Pay or shift range: $70,000 USD to $120,000 USD
  The estimated range is the budgeted amount for this position. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, location, qualifications and other job-related reasons.

Join our team and live the Ollie-tude!: (
Ollie’s Core Values
)

• BE A TEAM PLAYER- Associates are expected to be supportive and work together.
• BE CARING- How do I treat others with courtesy, dignity, and respect?
• BE VALUE OBSESSED- Live the “good stuff cheap” mindset.
• BE COMMITTED- Operate with grit, passion, tenacity, and action.
• BE GROWING- How do we get better every day?
• BE REAL- Associates should be honest, transparent, genuine, trustworthy, and sincere.
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and RX coverage after 30 days of employment.
• 401K, Company match begins at Associate enrollment
• 20% Associate discount on all Ollie’s purchases.
• Vast array of voluntary benefits

Position Overview:

The Merchandise Planner is responsible for analyzing business risks & opportunities utilizing retail science and technology to achieve sales and margin goals while maintaining proper inventory levels. Creating a business partnership with the Buying team to execute a variety of assortment mixes and merchandise strategies to improve cash flow and increase profit margins. Participate in the execution of strategies to mitigate plan shortfalls and / or maximize overages to accomplish sales, margin and inventory turn objectives.

Primary Responsibilities:

Formulate and manage Dept/Sub-Dept level merchandise forecasts, in partnership with the Merchant, through development of forecasts and analysis to assist with higher level strategies.

• Provide purchase analysis recommendations, observations and conclusions to assigned buying team to assist in purchase decisions and forecast impacts.
• Assist in the development of Assortment Plans to achieve plan goals and ensure a proper inventory balance of the overall assortment and store inventory.
• Create inbound/outbound forecasts to assist the supply chain and allocation teams in executing the flow of products to the stores.
• Review open-to-buy with merchants to analyze receipt timing and recommendations based on forecast trend and plan.
• Assist the merchant team with promotional forecasts and recommendations while working with marketing and allocation to ensure execution of promotional strategies.
• Actively identify opportunities to exploit sales and margin opportunities. Work with Buyer, Allocation, Marketing and Supply Chain to ensure execution.
• Assist in the regular review and identification of aged / distressed inventory to recommend promotional or markdown strategies to liquidate inventories most profitably.
• Develop and present analysis that assesses strategies with observations, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Develop and maintain a positive relationship with planning, merchandise, and allocation team members through a collaborative team atmosphere and active communication.
• Assist the team in achieving Sales Dollar, Margin Dollar and Inventory Turn targets for assigned product areas.
• Achieve forecast accuracy targets for sales, promotional, and inventory forecasts.
• Others as established by the Management Team.

Qualifications:

• 3+ years of prior merchandise planning and/or allocations experience required.
• Strong retail math and analytical skills, as evidenced by:
  • Ability to develop logical recommendations with limited data in a closeout environment
  • Ability to develop comprehensive forecasts and planning strategies
• Strong Business development skills and judgment, as evidenced by:
  • Ability to conceptualize future opportunities and initiatives
  • Translate ideas into actionable tasks
  • Ability to identify, quantify, and communicate opportunity and risks.
• Strong Organizational…