Planner

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Overview:
Planners are responsible for the overall financial direction of a category or department(s) with the goal of meeting/ exceeding sales, margin and turn targets.

Major responsibilities include:
• Developing seasonal merchandise financial plans and by-door plans, identifying and planning replenishment items, developing and managing to allocation strategy and supporting the Buyer with a department(s) open to buy.
• Work with Buyers in assortment and buy planning by facilitating layering of assortments and validating the integrity of initial allocation volumes.
• In-season, Planners provide in-depth analysis of product performance and make recommendations to maximize business opportunities.

Essential functions:
• Develop merchandise financial plans, vendor or class as appropriate.
• Provide analytical inputs to support the Buyer in merchandise strategy planning, assortment planning and buy planning processes.
• Develop replenishment budget and provide analytics required for planning and managing replenishment items.
• Analyze sales, margin, turn and open-to-buy/ forecast performance against pre-season strategies and goals.
• Provide forecasts and recommendations to support the Buyer in open-to buy process to manage business in season and maximize opportunities.
• Re-forecast replenishment budget to inform Open-to-Buy.
• Oversee the creation of store plans.
• Reconcile merchandise and by-door plans against top-side goals and assortment plans.
• Oversee the development of allocations by store and replenishment analysis/forecasting.
• Oversee style/SKU count analysis.
• Develop and maintain vendor matrix.
• Build a high quality planning team by developing partnerships, leading, coaching and providing constructive feedback.
• Travels to all major markets and store trips as necessary.

Education and experience:
• Bachelors degree strongly preferred.
• 4-7 years of retail experience, 2-3 in merchandise or financial planning.
• Proficient in business-related computer software (Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, etc).

Competencies:
• Possesses strong merchandising, product and marketing skills.
• Demonstrates strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Is highly organized and able to multitask.
• Builds and maintains productive relationships with peers and members of the merchant team.
• Demonstrates leadership and decision-making skills.
• Takes calculated risks to achieve results.
• Demonstrates strong listening, written and oral communication skills.
• Analyzes business to the lowest level to identify opportunities in sales, inventory and margin by store, department, and class.
• Reacts to business trends in a timely and efficient manner.
• Adapts to shifting circumstances in a business environment.
• Maintains professionalism in work relationships and habits.
• Provides direction, counseling and coaching to staff.
• Develops creative solutions to business issues.
• Works effectively with staff and Divisional/BSS management to achieve sound financial and merchandising solutions based on analysis, input and experience.
• Communicates effectively with stores and vendors.

Physical requirements:
• Available and able to travel.
• Computer proficient.
• Able to sit for long periods of time and enter, review and revise analytical data.