Junior Planner

Overview

We invite a commercially astute and analytical Junior Planner to become part of our Planning team at Ounass. This role focuses on aiding the creation and execution of merchandise strategies within your designated domain, leveraging data and commercial insights to boost sales, enhance margins, optimize sell-through rates, and maintain balanced inventory.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in crafting seasonal and yearly merchandise plans utilizing past sales data, customer behavior insights, market tendencies, and business priorities.
• Oversee and track sales, gross margin, sell-through, and inventory metrics pertinent to your assigned sectors.
• Develop and update detailed financial plans and forecasts on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Contribute to Open-To-Buy (OTB) planning and budgeting processes to ensure inventory spending aligns with sales and profit objectives.
• Reforecast business performance continuously throughout the season based on current trends and emerging opportunities.
• Provide detailed analyses to assist in business budgeting and forecasting.
• Analyze sales, stock, and sell-through data to recognize trends at category, brand, and product levels.
• Collaborate closely with Buying and Commercial teams to devise assortment plans that reflect customer demand and company goals.
• Identify growth potentials and localization prospects through review of customer, regional, and historical data.
• Manage replenishment operations and Never Out of Stock program in cooperation with Buying to optimize product availability.
• Evaluate markdown and promotional scenarios and offer recommendations grounded in performance data.
• Maintain oversight of inventory health including turnover rates, stock aging, and terminal stock with recommendations for improvement.
• Track in-season trading performance across various categories and campaigns, adjusting forecasts as necessary to maximize outcomes.
• Support OTB strategy refinements to seize commercial opportunities as they arise.
• Identify risks and prospects in trading, proposing clear guidance for Planning and Buying leadership.
• Partner with Buying teams to resolve supplier, brand, and product-related issues.
• Ensure inventory remains within established financial and stock parameters.
• Build and sustain strong working relationships across multiple departments including Buying, Commercial, Merchandising, Finance, Operations, and Logistics.
• Convert complex data into actionable commercial intelligence to aid decision-making.
• Mentor Assistant and Associate Planners by sharing expertise and helping grow their planning proficiency.

Candidate Profile

• A Bachelor’s degree in Fashion, Business, Finance, Economics or a related discipline.
• Between three to four years of experience in merchandise planning, preferably within fashion, luxury goods, retail, or e-commerce contexts.
• Solid knowledge of retail planning concepts such as sales, margin, Open-To-Buy, sell-through, stock turnover, forecasting, and inventory control.
• Exemplary analytical and critical thinking aptitudes with an ability to translate data into effective commercial strategies.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and confident handling of large data sets.
• Strong business acumen, attuned to customer preferences and product trends.
• Excellent communication abilities and skillful stakeholder engagement.
• Highly organized, detail-focused, and skilled in juggling multiple priorities within a dynamic environment.
• A collaborative approach, capable of working effectively across Buying, Commercial, and Finance teams.
• A genuine passion and interest in luxury fashion and e-commerce sectors.