Merchandise Planner I

SUMMARY

The Merchandise Planner is responsible for owning planning, forecasting, and the open to buy process for a given shop. This includes the development and preparation of merchandise pre-season financial plans, merchandise in-season financial forecasts, assortment plans, Ladder plans, buy plans, open to buy and ad hoc analysis.

This person is also a key member of the Category Management Team providing recommendations consistent with company inventory and financial goals.

SCOPE

The Merchandise Planner is the owner of the open to buy process : manager of all inputs of Sales, Margin, Receipts and Inventory for assigned area.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for construction, development and management of financial plans : both pre-season and in-season.
• Resolve issues around open to buy including : forecast accuracy, sell-thru, inventory concerns, selling velocity, markdown management, and any other business driving challenges.
• Provide recommendations and feedback during the assortment planning process by analyzing article / program performance, strategizing how the buy fits into the assortment plan, and ensuring the right stores will receive the product.
• Analyze basic and fashion purchases doing post-season analysis, price point reviews, and inventory flow reviews to inform future purchases.
• Store performance analysis that drives recommendations for assortment changes and / or store re-profiling. This includes a deep dive of item / store combinations to determine how to increase sales, margin dollars and inventory productivity
• Develop and present financial / strategy documents to senior leadership that articulates the vision of the Category Management Team in conjunction with cross functional partners.

SKILLS / COMPETENCIES

• Drives Performance
• Strategic Planning and Analysis
• Business Acumen
• Analytical Capability
• Communication and Relationship Building
• Teamwork
• Experience with MS Office programs, specifically Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint
• Experience with inventory management : merchandising and planning functions
• Knowledge of replenishment, forecasting, and allocation fundamentals
• Functional experience with retail business systems; Preferred experience with SAP, JDA, Enterprise Planning or similar Inventory Management software
• Team player with excellent communication skills, knowledge of retail industry, analytical skills, financial acumen, independent decision making, problem identification, and resolution skills
• Ability to execute initiatives and balance priorities, results driven and sales focused, organized with an ability to prioritize a variety of tasks

EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE

• Education Minimum : Bachelors degree in Major-Finance / Accounting, Marketing, Merchandising, Business, Statistics, Logistics, Economics or related field
• Experience Minimum : 3-5 year's experience in field or retail with a focus on merchandising, financial analysis, replenishment, forecasting, allocation, merchandise planning, store operations, and supply chain management.
• Experience Preferred : Supervisory experience is preferred

This position will be located at :

5555 Darrow Road Hudson, OH 44236*JOANN is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. This job summary is intended to be brief and does not list all duties for this position.

Nothing in this job description should be construed as an express or implied contract of employment. JOANN is an at-will employer, which means that your employment may be terminated by JOANN or yourself with or without notice or cause unless the at-will arrangement is modified by a written agreement signed by both you and and authorized representative of JOANN.*

locationCleveland, Ohio