Lead Merchandise Planning team including prioritizing, assigning and directing workload, and managing performance to ensure that they are receiving the training and development that they need to be successful.
Own the OTB process at a category, Subclass, division, product type and model level
Lead planning for pre-season sales and receipt guidance, in-season trading and post-season hindsight to drive category sales making recommendations at the channel and category level to influence business decisions that align with trends and channel targets & profitability
Work with DP and Omni Inventory team to develop CDG and break out by Planned Production, GFO and Excess Targets
Produce buy plans by quarter/season to meet top line sales, margin, and inventory turn targets
Provide recommendations for space planning, pricing/markdowns and promotional strategies
Partner with buying teams to provide feedback on assortment strategies and buy depth as part of buy review and GTM milestones
Contribute to the go-to-market process by aligning high level BU strategies and initiatives with Financial planning team and key cross functional partners
Partner with SLT of FO Buying, Planning and Allocation to deliver Executive Buy Sign off to SVP of Retail
Work with the Planning team to help develop new business processes and tools that meet the needs of the business and increase efficiency, productivity and profitability
Deliver accurate and timely reports and analysis (historical results, forecasts, budgets) on an ad-hoc, monthly, quarterly and annual basis
Develop best practices for the planning team to ensure that we are getting the best and necessary data to analyse the business and inform actions
Key Relationships:
Channel buying and allocation teams
Channel and Market financial planning teams
Channel Visual excellence & Visual direction Teams
Global sales & Retail operations teams
Market Business Units
Market CS and eCom buying teams
Market sales & channel Operations teams
Market Demand Planning team
Market supply chain & omni team
xcellent interpersonal and communication skills, including strong and flexible personality, to build relationships
Complex decision making abilities based on a strong understanding of Retail KPIs and retail math and ability to analysis and comprehend this information and to report on it in order to make business decisions based on this analysis
Proficiency with MS Office Suite and familiarity with merchandising systems/applications
A demonstrated ability to remain calm, positive and approachable during times of stress
Requires ability to be able to present information and respond to questions from various groups and diverse range on individuals and personalities
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists
Ability to synthesize large amounts of data and create reporting tools from data
Ability to successfully multi-task and problem-solve while managing multiple projects at the same time
Ability to travel by air domestically and internationally as needed
Proven ability to lead and develop teams
Proven financial acumen and inventory management
Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:
University degree in business, finance or a related field or equivalent professional experience