Merchandise Planner

SUPERDRUG; Croydon; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job description

Why Superdrug?

Passionate about Beauty and Health? Want to be part of an innovative, trend setting retailer? Our vibrant Head Office, based by East Croydon station is a fantastic environment filled with hundreds of brilliant personalities.

We're a team that puts our customers and our teams at the heart of everything we do. At Superdrug, we aim to be the best in accessible health & beauty, loved by our customers for value, choice, friendly advice, service and fun.

Our success comes from our people - they make the difference. We're all about personality, we have fun, and we work hard to deliver That Superdrug feeling.

Here's the exciting bit...a day includes:

Role Purpose:

A unique hybrid role handling the end-to-end planning, forecasting, trading and exiting of our beauty accessory and gifting categories.

To challenge and support the buying teams in making commercially-sound decisions relating to stock, that maximise sales, margin and income, whilst minimising stock risk.

To ensure that department, business and cross-functional strategies are explored and implemented through category analysis and planning.

To take ownership of the monthly intake forecasting from our Far East portfolio, liaising with our Hong Kong business partners.

Responsibilities:

1. Planning the optimal range/assortment by store group, alongside the buying team.
2. Owning and managing the range review process ensuring the critical path is adhered to.
3. Managing the category stock budgets, ensuring the quality of stock is constantly reviewed and optimised.
4. Effectively managing discontinued lines out of the business, minimising any margin impact.
5. Helping ascertain and support the strategic direction for space and agreeing the associated budget impacts.
6. Setting customer focused merchandising principles, ensuring fixture is right for the category & the business guidelines.
7. Analysing trials and initiatives to provide clear insights and proactively suggest next steps.
8. Undertaking various other tasks for the role, and where required, to support others within the merchandising team.
9. Undertaking other business projects as and when required, liaising with departments including commercial finance, data insights, marketing, supply chain, property and store operations.

This job is a good fit for you if:

1. You can work effectively and efficiently in an ever-changing environment.
2. You enjoy delving into performance and behaviours/insights to drive strategies and decisions.
3. You know you add value through collaborative working, and ensuring people feel engaged.
4. You understand how important 'right stock, right place, right time' is to retail businesses.
5. You are adept at looking at the bigger picture.
6. You can easily adapt to new environments, and working with many different stakeholders.
7. You get satisfaction through realising your strategies and seeing the results.

What you'll need:

1. You will have experience in merchandising or comparable area (such as demand planning, category insight).
2. You will demonstrate good attention to detail and data integrity.
3. You will have good verbal reasoning skills and the ability to understand and interpret the bigger picture as well as present to key stakeholders in the business.
4. You will be numerate and analytical.
5. You will be positive and proactive, and use analytical skills to seek solutions.
6. You will have an aptitude to challenge the status quo, and figures that appear misleading.
7. You will be team focused and be able to work collaboratively with other departments.
8. You will be customer focused.
9. You will be confident with the Microsoft Office suite - in particular Excel; and demonstrate an aptitude for working with spreadsheets.

Benefits:

• 33 days holiday rising to 38 days with length of service (inclusive of bank holidays).
• 2 staff discount codes for yourself and a family member or friend.
• 30% discount on Superdrug Own Brand Products both in store and online.
• Hybrid working patterns available depending on role responsibilities with 2 days working from home and 3 days in our stylish, modern and collaborative office close to East Croydon Station.
• Company pension matching and bonus.
• We offer Wagestream - a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it.
• Being part of more! We are part of a group who work closely with Savers, The Perfume Shop and Three UK.
• We are part of A.S. Watson Group, the world's largest international health and beauty retailer with over 15,700 stores in 25 markets!
• Unrivalled Learning and Development programmes.
• Enhanced maternity/shared parental/adoption leave, company sick pay and pregnancy loss and support.

Come and be part of something special.

Hours: 37.5 | 9.00am - 5.30pm - Hybrid working available depending on role responsibilities with 2 days working from home and 3 days in our stylish, modern and collaborative office close to East Croydon Station.