Planner

Overview

The Planner's main function is to unite the buyer's merchandise vision with the divisional financial strategies to generate sales, profit and liquidation levels.

The translation of the buyer's vision into an actionable plan is key to the role. The Planner is accountable for the development, coordination, and review of planning and inventory management from total company level down to store level, with the objective of improving turnover and gross margin.

Responsibilities

With the customer at the center of our vision, the planner plays an important role in facilitating the creation a deeper, more relevant connection to our customers. The planner will have a key role in building a customer specific assortment plan in line with the merchandise strategies and ensuring the constant flow of fresh product to all channels of distribution.

One of the key planner responsibilities is to establish effective working relationships with vendors to strengthen business and support company strategies. Past and predicted vendor & product performance will help the planner determine departmental strategy for the coming seasons. To be successful in this role, you will need commercial awareness, excellent analytical and communication skills

Pre/In-season Planning

• Create pre-season department/vendor omnichannel sales, markdowns, receipts and margin plans that support the merchandise strategy.
• Reconcile bottom-up and top-down plans, in line with established financial targets
• Recognize and identify departmental trends to provide the business with accurate weekly sales, markdowns, receipts and margin forecasts.
• Drive the Open to Buy process for the buyer, clearly identifying opportunities whilst managing inventory levels.
• Recommend product/brand actions to key business partners (markdowns, cancellations, VA's and RTV's).
• Lead weekly product performance review with team and identify key actions.

Assortment Planning

• Build omnichannel assortments together with buyer, ensuring distribution of most relevant product to locations, in line with space and financial plans.
• Validate product ROS and weeks of supply prior to creating buys. Ensure input from buying cycle fit within monthly financial plans.
• Ensure the monthly sku count flow fits within space capacity.
• Review product distribution plans prior to intake, adapting to trend shifts and new opportunities.
• Attend vendor pre and final lines to align with buyer on product strategies

Vendor Management

• Track purchase orders with vendors to ensure timely and accurate deliveries
• Resolve discrepancies prior to intake for quantities, cost prices and packaging (orderbook reconciliation)
• Ensure launch and campaign product is delivered on time
• Develop understanding of vendor trade terms to comply to rules of engagement
• With buyer, compile and analyze departmental vendor results and strategies

Qualifications

• University or College degree in Business Administration, Economics, Supply Chain or equivalent education and experience.
• Minimum 3 years' experience in a trend driven, high volume company
• Experience with constructing financial plans
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Problem solving and decision making abilities
• Advanced Excel skills are a must, experience using planning tools (Marketmax, Arthur, SAP etc) is preferable
• Understanding of the UK consumer and regional differences
• Business mathematical skills required
• Ability to work under pressure and with own initiative
• Sound business/commercial awareness, high concern for effectiveness, entrepreneurial
• Enthusiastic, goal oriented team player with a desire to join the biggest in the business
• Superior communication skills and ability to influence across all levels of a complex, culturally diverse matrix organization: natural ability to engage others into buying into a vision or a solution, while keeping an open mind to others opinions.
• Proactive communication, conveys healthy confidence, energy and inspires trust
• Understands and is passionate about sneaker culture