Merchandise Planning Manager

Job Purpose

The Merchandise Planning Manager is responsible for leading the Company's merchandise planning strategy by driving demand forecasting, inventory planning, store allocation, and replenishment across all retail stores and online channels. The role ensures optimal inventory investment, product availability, and sales performance through data-driven planning and strategic decision-making.

As a key member of a fast-growing startup, the Merchandise Planning Manager is expected to build scalable planning processes, optimize inventory productivity, and provide commercial insights that support sustainable business growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Company's merchandise planning strategy by developing sales forecasts, inventory plans, and merchandise allocation across retail stores and e-commerce channels.
• Own inventory deployment by determining the optimal allocation of stocks from the warehouse to retail stores and e-commerce fulfillment based on sales demand, inventory health, and business priorities.
• Develop demand forecasts using historical sales, seasonality, product launches, promotions, and market trends to support purchasing and inventory investment decisions.
• Drive replenishment planning to maintain optimal stock availability while minimizing stock-outs, overstocks, and excess inventory.
• Monitor inventory performance, including sell-through, inventory turnover, stock aging, Weeks of Supply (WOS), and product availability, and implement corrective action plans.
• Analyze sales and inventory performance by SKU, category, channel, and store, providing strategic recommendations to maximize sales, gross margin, and inventory productivity.
• Prepare and present merchandise planning, allocation, and inventory performance reports to Management, including actionable insights and recommendations.
• Partner with Product Development, Purchasing, Warehouse, Retail Operations, Marketing, E-Commerce, and Finance to align inventory strategies with business objectives.
• Establish and continuously improve merchandise planning, allocation, replenishment, and reporting processes to support the Company's growth and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Statistics, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of progressive experience in Merchandise Planning, Inventory Planning, Allocation, Demand Planning, or Category Planning within the retail, beauty, fashion, or FMCG industry, with at least 2 years in a leadership or managerial capacity.
• Strong background in demand forecasting, inventory optimization, store allocation, replenishment planning, and retail analytics.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; experience with ERP, POS, or inventory management systems is highly preferred.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical thinking, and strategic decision-making skills.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Willing to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment and build scalable planning processes from the ground up.