Associate Planner

Company Overview

Gabe’s is a rapidly growing off-price retail brand known for offering desirable labels and styles at strong value. Established in 1961 in Morgantown, West Virginia, the company has earned a reputation for delivering savings along with an engaging in-store shopping experience. Today, it operates 127 stores across multiple states, including Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The organization offers a fast-moving retail setting where team members can help shape growth and innovation.

Role Summary

The Associate Planner plays a key role in building and maintaining financial and unit assortment plans that support merchandise strategy and help improve sales, profit, and inventory turnover. This role analyzes performance, provides context for results, and supports assortment decisions that contribute to business growth while acting as a bridge between merchant strategy and customer needs. The Associate Planner also assists with allocation planning to help ensure stores are stocked appropriately.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the creation of financial assortment plans for current and upcoming seasons, translating merchant direction into a monthly plan tied to key performance indicators.
• Help prepare quarterly planning presentations for senior leadership to support merchandise strategy discussions.
• Update in-season plans as performance changes and merchandise availability shifts.
• Assist with Open-To-Buy management in collaboration with the Planner and DMM partner to support profitable sales.
• Analyze performance data clearly, identify meaningful trends, and suggest actions that can improve sales and profitability.
• Work closely with Allocation Managers and business-specific Allocators so that merchant direction and unit plans align with allocation strategy.
• Support allocation approaches for specific businesses, including warehouse holdback of goods.
• Help interpret sales results from the customer’s perspective and maintain regular communication with Merchant and Allocation teams.

Experience and Education

A bachelor’s degree is preferred, ideally in a related discipline. Candidates should bring 1 to 3 years of relevant experience in retail planning, allocation, merchandising, or buying.

Skills and Abilities

• Background in planning, allocation, or merchandising within a retail environment is preferred; multi-unit or off-price experience is an advantage.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills and comfort learning new systems and applications.
• Analytical mindset with strong attention to detail and the ability to juggle several projects at once.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, plus strong organization and a willingness to learn.
• Good understanding of retail math.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in team settings and build productive cross-functional relationships.
• Solid product knowledge.
• Professional approach to resolving conflict respectfully.

Location

This role may be based in New York City, New York, or Morgantown, West Virginia.