Merchandise Planning Assistant / Specialist

Role Overview

Seeking a detail-oriented and commercially savvy Merchandise Planning Assistant / Specialist to assist with assortment optimization, inventory control, and sales performance monitoring across various product lines. The goal is to ensure optimal product availability aligning with customer demand while balancing profitability and inventory levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Support merchandise planning for designated product categories, sales seasons, and channels.
• Evaluate historical data including sales, stock levels, sell-through rates, and markdown impacts.
• Assist in forecasting demand, inventory planning, and maintaining stock sufficiency.
• Help curate product assortments aligned with business goals and customer preferences.
• Track inventory status, including replenishment requirements and overstock risks.
• Generate reports, dashboards, and summaries on merchandise performance regularly.
• Monitor sales and stock against targets and flag significant deviations.
• Contribute to open-to-buy budgeting, stock allocation, and replenishment planning.
• Analyze product and seasonal performance to identify growth opportunities and risks.
• Collaborate across departments such as buying, merchandising, supply chain, and retail operations for cohesive planning.
• Support key seasonal launches, promotions, and sales events management.
• Assess markdown and clearance activities to understand their influence on sales and inventory.
• Identify product velocity trends including slow and fast movers, underperforming and top potential items.
• Assist in optimizing inventory to maximize availability while reducing excess stock.
• Maintain comprehensive records of planning data, forecasts, and documentation.
• Engage in scenario planning and provide insights for informed commercial decisions.
• Identify areas to enhance sales, margins, stock turnover, and customer satisfaction.
• Drive continuous improvements in merchandise planning processes, tools, and reporting.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Business, Retail Management, Merchandising, Fashion, Economics, Supply Chain, or related discipline.
• Sound knowledge of merchandise planning, retail operations, inventory management, and sales analytics.
• Strong numerical acumen to interpret sales and inventory datasets effectively.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and familiarity with data analysis or planning software.
• Experience or knowledge of ERP, merchandise planning, inventory, BI, or retail systems valued.
• Understanding of retail KPIs such as sell-through, stock turnover, gross margin, markdowns, inventory coverage, and sales growth.
• Capability to analyze trends for forecasting and merchandise decision-making.
• High attention to detail paired with excellent organizational abilities.
• Competence in spotting inventory risks, sales gaps, and commercial opportunities.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and critical reasoning.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills across multiple teams.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines efficiently.
• A proactive, business-focused, and results-driven mindset.
• Adaptable to shifting market dynamics and consumer trends.
• Passionate about retail products, customer behavior, market trends, and data-driven merchandising.