Planner

We are seeking a results-driven Merchandising & Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP) Manager with deep, direct experience in premium women’s apparel and ecommerce to lead Open-to-Buy (OTB), inventory optimization, and seasonal line planning. Sitting at the cross-section of finance, operations, design, and retail, you will take direct accountability for maintaining inventory health, aligning receipt flows to cash targets, and turning historical data into actionable product strategies.

Key Responsibilities: Financial Planning & OTB Management: Own and maintain monthly Open-to-Buy (OTB) plans by class and drop. Track sales, margin, and inventory performance against targets, managing receipt flows to align with cash flow goals while partnering with finance on reforecasting and strategic planning.

Inventory Health & Replenishment Architecture: Monitor weeks of supply (WOS), sell-through, and inventory lifecycle phases from launch through sell-down and exit. Maintain yarn tracking systems, build yarn consumption into core item forecasts, and issue data-backed reorder recommendations by style and color.

Seasonal Line Planning & Assortment Strategy: Construct robust seasonal assortment frameworks across six annual drops (Pre-Spring, Spring, Summer, Pre-Fall, Fall, Holiday). Analyze productivity across categories, silhouettes, and colors to optimize the mix of carryover, reorders, and newness.

Process Engineering & Reporting: Build and refine core planning architecture (ladder plans, PO trackers) and seasonal hindsight analyses. Streamline cross-functional workflows across design, operations, and finance to drive data consistency across the business.

Store Planning & Location Optimization: Develop and manage store-level inventory and sales plans for physical retail. Track location performance vs. plan and tailor replenishment and product flow to match specific brick-and-mortar demand.

Cross-Functional Alignment: Lead merchandising integration across bi-weekly production and finance syncs. Serve as a strategic thought partner to internal stakeholders to keep product, supply chain, and financial targets fully aligned.

• Apparel & Ecommerce Industry Experience: Direct, hands-on experience scaling ecommerce operations and merchandise planning specifically within premium or luxury women’s apparel.
• 3+ Years in Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP) or Retail Planning: Direct experience managing multi-drop OTB models, seasonal ladder plans, and lifecycle strategies in a fast-paced apparel or retail brand.
• Strategic Vision & Rigorous Execution: Demonstrated ability to balance high-level strategic planning with meticulous attention to detail. Candidates must show a track record of complete follow-through on all analytical deliverables and project assignments.
• Advanced Inventory & Supply Chain Analytics: High fluency with inventory health metrics (WOS, sell-through, gross margin return on investment) and raw materials tracking (e.g., yarn consumption and commitment monitoring).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Process Improvement: Proven track record of bridging communication gaps between Finance, Operations, Production, and Design to maintain data integrity and align cash flow targets.
• Multi-Channel & Retail Planning Expertise: Hands-on experience building location-level sales and inventory plans alongside DTC/e-commerce line plans.
• Technical QA & Spreadsheet Proficiency: Expert-level capability in Excel/Google Sheets, data modeling, and custom planning tool development.

• Raw Materials / Yarn Accountability Experience: Specialized background in tracking raw materials and integrating component-level consumption into core product forecasting.
• Multi-Store / Brick-and-Mortar Scaling: Experience expanding store-level planning systems from a single location to a multi-store footprint.
• Enterprise ERP / Planning Software: Familiarity with dedicated MFP software, ERP integrations, and automated inventory management platforms.

• Primary Deliverables: Monthly OTB & KPI Summaries, Updated Receipt Tracking & Inventory Position Reports, Drop-Level Collection Plans & Seasonal Hindsights, Replenishment & Lifecycle Recommendations, Weekly Sales & Store-Level Inventory Reports.
• Core Tech & Tools: Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP) Systems, Ladder Plans, PO Trackers, Inventory Management/ERP Software, BI/Reporting Dashboards, Excel/Google Sheets.