Merchandise Planning Manager

Job Description

One of our major streetwear clients is currently seeking a Merchandise Planning Manager to join their team on a temp to perm basis. They are looking to hire ASAP.

Role is 2 days in office and 3 remote.

Pays $45-$55/hr depending on years of experience and seniority.

The brand is seeking a highly analytical, detail-oriented, and commercially minded

Merchandise Planning Specialist to support the North American merchandising organization.

This position will play an integral role in supporting corporate merchandising operations, product

planning, inventory allocation, shipment tracking, and business performance analysis across retail and e-commerce channels.

The ideal candidate combines strong retail planning fundamentals with an understanding of product merchandising, inventory management, and operational execution. They will be comfortable working with financial data, identifying business opportunities, and collaborating across functions to support sales growth, inventory productivity, and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

 Merchandising & Business Performance

 Support day-to-day corporate merchandising activities, including assortment analysis, product

performance reporting, and seasonal business reviews.

 Analyze weekly and monthly sales performance to identify trends, risks, and opportunities across

product categories and channels.

 Monitor key merchandising KPIs, including sales, gross margin, sell-through, inventory turnover,

and weeks of supply.

 Support seasonal assortment planning, product lifecycle management, and category

performance evaluations.

 Develop and maintain reporting tools that improve visibility into business performance and

support data-driven decision-making.

 Partner with merchandising leadership to identify opportunities to maximize product performance

and inventory productivity.

 Assortment Planning & Inventory Management

 Support the development and maintenance of Open-to-Buy (OTB) plans, tracking sales, receipts,

inventory, and margin performance against financial targets.

 Assist in developing and maintaining item ladders to support assortment productivity, inventory

depth, and sales forecasting.

 Analyze inventory positions and identify opportunities to improve stock productivity, turn, and

minimize excess inventory exposure.

 Evaluate receipt timing, product flow, and inventory investments to support sales and profitability

objectives.

 Support margin optimization initiatives through analysis of pricing, promotional activity, product

mix, and markdown performance.

 Assist with forecasting, financial reporting, and scenario planning to inform merchandising

decisions.

Weekly Allocation & Shipment Management

 Support weekly product allocation activities to ensure inventory is appropriately distributed

across retail locations and e-commerce channels.

 Analyze store-level sales performance, sell-through, and inventory availability to support

replenishment and allocation recommendations.

 Partner with Allocator to Monitor weekly shipment schedules, purchase order status, and product

deliveries to ensure alignment with planned launch dates and business needs.

 Track incoming receipts against planned inventory commitments and communicate changes that

may impact sales plans or product availability.

 Support inventory transfers, replenishment strategies, and product redistribution to maximize

selling opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Process Improvement

 Collaborate with merchandising, finance, allocation, logistics, retail operations, and e-commerce

teams to ensure alignment between product strategies and operational execution.

 Support the preparation of weekly business recaps, monthly financial reviews, and merchandising

presentations.

 Identify opportunities to improve reporting accuracy, inventory visibility, and operational

efficiency.

 Assist in developing scalable tools and processes to strengthen merchandising and planning

capabilities.

 Proactively communicate business risks, inventory challenges, and opportunities to

merchandising leadership.

Qualifications

o 3–5 years of experience in retail planning, merchandise planning, buying, merchandising

operations, allocation, or a related function.

o Expert understanding of retail financial metrics, including sales, gross margin, inventory turnover,

sell-through, and Open-to-Buy.

o Advanced Excel proficiency, including pivot tables, lookups, financial modeling, and data analysis.

o Experience analyzing sales and inventory performance to support business decisions.

o Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities and

deadlines.

o Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate eectively across cross-functional

teams.

Preferred

o Experience supporting monthly OTB planning, assortment architecture, or item-level sales

forecasting.

o Proactive, solution-oriented approach with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced

environment.

o Background in fashion, footwear, streetwear, or specialty retail.

o Experience with store planning, allocation, replenishment, shipment tracking, or inventory

management.

o Experience supporting multi-channel retail businesses, including brick-and-mortar and ecommerce.

o General proficiency in leveraging AI-powered tools, such as Claude, to enhance data analysis,

reporting efficiency, and business insights

Key Competencies

o Analytical & Financial Acumen: Ability to interpret sales, margin, and inventory data and translate

findings into actionable business recommendations.

o Commercial Mindset: Understanding of how product assortment, inventory investment, and

merchandise flow influence financial performance.

o Operational Excellence: Strong attention to detail, accuracy, and ability to execute against weekly

and monthly business priorities.

o Problem Solving & Initiative: Proactive approach to identifying challenges, improving processes,

and recommending solutions.

o Adaptability: Comfortable navigating changing business priorities and working in a dynamic,

entrepreneurial environment