Job Description
THIS ROLE IS 4X/WEEK ONSITE IN CARLSBAD, PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU CANNOT COMMIT AS THERE IS NO FLEXIBILITY!
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Merchandise Planner – Apparel & Accessories
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Confidential Opportunity
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Reports to: Director, Planning & Retail Operations
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Key Partners: Merchandising, Ecommerce, Retail, Wholesale, Finance
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Position Overview
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The Merchandise Planner will drive sales, margin, and inventory productivity across a multi-channel apparel and accessories business. This individual will own a broad scope spanning demand planning, inventory planning, merchandise planning, wholesale planning, and retail allocation, using data and business insights to ensure the right product is available in the right place at the right time.
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This is a highly cross-functional role partnering with Merchandising, Ecommerce, Retail, Wholesale, Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance.
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While the scope is intentionally broad given the lean structure of the organization, the size of the business and retail fleet keeps the overall workload manageable. The team is also open to candidates who may not check every box and is willing to train and develop around gaps in experience.
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Demand & Inventory Planning
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- Own in-season forecasting across sales, margin, inventory health, turns, aging, and weeks of supply.
- Maintain forecasting models incorporating historical performance, business inputs, and market trends.
- Partner across Ecommerce, Wholesale, Retail, Merchandising, Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance to align forecasts and inventory plans.
- Identify risks and opportunities between demand and financial plans and recommend appropriate actions.
- Analyze inventory levels, sell-through, turnover, and aging to identify stockouts, overstocks, and slow-moving inventory.
- Manage stock levels and replenishment strategies to optimize availability while controlling inventory investment.
- Review forecasts and current orders to assess upcoming production needs.
- Recommend markdown and pricing actions based on WOS, sell-through, aging, and seasonality.
- Develop size-curve analysis to improve preseason and in-season inventory buys.
- Build reporting for in-season analysis and post-season hindsight.
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Merchandise Planning
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- Align inventory with seasonal strategies, product launches, and promotional plans.
- Partner with Merchandising on SKU planning and productivity.
- Analyze ongoing business performance to identify key drivers, risks, and opportunities.
- Provide quantitative and qualitative hindsight for quarterly business reviews and senior leadership.
- Identify product and delivery-flow risks and recommend solutions.
- Maintain accurate product and inventory information within company systems.
- Partner cross-functionally to ensure item, cost, origin, and other product changes are accurately reflected across systems.
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Financial Planning
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- Partner on inventory budgeting and financial planning.
- Align inventory investments with financial goals and performance metrics.
- Support monthly inventory audits and reconciliations.
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Wholesale Planning
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- Support annual and seasonal category plans through bottoms-up forecasting of sales, inventory, margin, markdowns, discounts, returns, and related KPIs.
- Partner with Sales on seasonal planning based on current trends and annual business objectives.
- Support monthly shipment planning and wholesale forecasting.
- Assist with pre- and post-market planning, including final inventory buys and purchase-order adjustments.
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Retail Allocation
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- Manage merchandise allocation across the retail fleet using historical sales, current trends, and performance metrics.
- Monitor store-level inventory and stock-to-sales ratios.
- Identify over- and under-stock situations and execute transfers, replenishment, and inventory rebalancing.
- Coordinate new-product rollouts with Product, Marketing, and Retail Operations.
- Monitor fill rates, size-level stockouts, sell-through, and inventory turns to continuously improve allocation strategies.
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Qualifications
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- 3+ years of merchandise planning experience within apparel, accessories, retail, or a related consumer business.
- Strong understanding of retail math, including markup, margin, sales, inventory productivity, and related KPIs.
- Experience with demand forecasting and inventory management.
- Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
- Ability to identify business risks and opportunities and influence cross-functional partners.
- Strong product and assortment sensibility.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Strategic, solutions-oriented mindset with a focus on profitability and inventory productivity.
- Strong attention to detail, organization, and time management.
- Comfortable operating within a lean, highly collaborative environment.
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This search is confidential. Additional company and opportunity details will be shared with qualified candidates during the interview process.