Assistant Merchandise Planner

Company Description

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:

RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through:
Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

The assistant merchandiser supports the merchandising team in planning, analysing and executing product strategies that drive sales, margin and product inventory. The assistant merchandiser plays a key role in supporting with reporting and trackers so the department can ensure the right products are available at the right time and in the right quantities to meet customer demand.

• Operation/Financial
  • Update reports on a weekly, monthly, and ad hoc basis.
  • Actualise the department's WSSI weekly.
  • Attend and prepare for weekly trade meetings and be able to formulate and deliver a trade message independently.
  • Provide accurate data to support analysis for key seasonal meetings including hindsight and sign-offs.
  • Update and forecast department line cards to maximize sales potential and optimise stock availability across channels.
  • Systematically update seasonal recodes.
  • Own department stock delivery schedule and communicate updates to team.
  • Responsible for actioning seasonal markdowns & communication to stores.
• Commercial Awareness
  • Participate in regular store visits, collating store reports prior and assisting in creating follow-up presentations.
  • Undertake competitor analysis on a regular basis and present any relevant points.
• Training and Development
  • Adopt a positive and proactive approach to own training and development as well as that of peers.
  • Proactively promote improvements to working practices and systems.
  • Participate in company initiatives as appropriate.
• Communications & Partnerships
  • Create and maintain strong working relationships within cross‑functional teams:
    Buying, Allocations, ECOM and the retail store teams.
  • Liaise with Assortment Planning and Buying partners to review and assist in the formation of the seasonal lessons learned, influencing future buys, using analysis and historical data to ensure commercial decisions are made.

• Commercial and analytical.
• Effective communicator – able to communicate messages clearly and concisely to a variety of audiences.
• Able to work autonomously.
• Delineate logical analysis and problem‑solving skills.
• Organize, prioritise tasks and manage time well to meet deadlines.
• Build and maintain productive relationships within a team environment.
• Competent in using Microsoft Excel.
• Attention to detail.
• Show aptitude in retail mathematics and ability to learn technical applications quickly.
• Demonstrate resilience and remain positive during challenging periods.
• Desire to have fun at work and an appreciation for product.
• Allocation experience preferred.