Merchandising & Planning
Overview
The Merchandising & Planning position is responsible for developing, managing, and optimizing merchandise plans to achieve sales targets, maximize profitability, and ensure healthy inventory levels. This role plays a critical part in aligning sales performance, production planning, and inventory execution across stores, warehouses, and factories.
Key Responsibilities
Merchandise & Sales Planning
Analyze historical sales data and trends to forecast future product demand and identify risks and opportunities.
Develop comprehensive merchandise plans on a weekly, monthly, half‑yearly, and yearly basis.
Prepare and manage:
Sales targets aligned with overall store sales objectives
Initial allocation plans
Inventory plans, including store‑level quantity distribution
Production plans
Inventory & Store Collaboration
Collaborate with in‑store Merchandising teams to ensure effective product display and store layout execution.
Plan and execute promotion, marketing, price actions, and inter‑branch transfers, particularly for slow‑moving items.
Create efficient and practical assortment boxes for stores, warehouses, and factories in accordance with production guidelines.
Performance Monitoring & Business Control
Monitor sales performance, gross profit, and inventory conditions on an ongoing basis.
Make timely business decisions and corrective actions based on sales trends and market conditions.
Cross‑Functional Coordination
Coordinate closely with production, factory, and logistics teams to ensure timely product delivery (targeting receipt 1–2 weeks before launch dates).
Continuously review and adjust production quantities and delivery schedules based on sales performance and demand trends.
Requirements
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Statistics, Finance, Business Studies, Geography, or related fields.
Minimum 3 years of experience in the retail industry, preferably at a supervisory level.
Skills & Competencies
Strong analytical skills with a passion for data analysis, trend identification, and risk/opportunity assessment.
Comfortable working with basic statistics and large datasets.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to work confidently across teams, including senior management, factories, and store operations.
Resilience under pressure, with the ability to remain calm and make sound decisions in fast‑changing, deadline‑driven environments.
Quick thinking and decision‑making ability to respond effectively to shifting business conditions.
High computer literacy, with the ability to work with internal systems for data analysis, reporting, and performance tracking.
Strong commercial awareness, including understanding market trends, customer behavior, competitor activity, and broader economic conditions.