Merchandise Planner

Job Purpose:

The Merchandise Planner is responsible for actively contributing to the development of his/her brand, focusing on the buying process and new product development for the brand's established stores. He/she is responsible for achieving sales and profit targets for the stores by maximizing profitability.

Responsibilities:

• Develop close relationships with the shops and maintain daily communication with the franchisor.
• Select collections or products aligned with current market trends and cultural influences. Analyze the targeted market segment for the store's products, ensuring appropriate pricing markup and margins.
• Oversee the entire buying process and manage product flows throughout the season, ensuring seamless operations and alignment with sales goals.
• Engage with buyers to discuss seasonal trends, collaboratively establishing agreements on the seasonal launch plan, product selection, and sizing distribution.
• Monitor orders placed against monthly open-to-buy targets on the buy plan, ensuring they are placed promptly and in accordance with assortment plans (weekly/monthly).
• Ensure the availability of all replenishment items by reviewing and placing replenishment orders on a weekly basis to prevent stock-outs.
• Assist in the analysis and planning of the Open-To-Buy (OTB) and agree on the budget provided by the retail analysis team, ensuring alignment with financial goals and market trends.
• Manage stock levels by aligning them with forecasted seasonal sales and product follow-up, including commercial calendar planning. Supervise stock availability and collaborates with the brand manager to formulate the brand's pricing strategy based on comparative reports.
• Conduct regular sales reporting in close coordination with the shops to identify margin opportunities and risks, ensuring strategic adjustments are made as needed.
• Conduct weekly forecasts at territory/subclass levels to identify and address exceptions, such as over-performance or under-performance in sales patterns.
• Manage weekly stock holdings, forward covers, and inflows, and propose necessary actions in consultation with the commercial team when needed.
• Monitor product flow by identifying both slow sellers and best sellers, ensuring appropriate allocation or relocation as necessary to optimize sales and inventory management.

Qualifications :

• Fluency in English, Arabic is a plus
• Proficiency in MS Office
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, or a related field
• Two to four years of experience in Fashion Retail, or a similar role.
• Experience in purchasing is a plus.