Planner, Merchandise

Five Below - Philadelphia, PA

Full-time - Mid Level

Philadelphia, PA

10,001+ employees

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers

About the position

The Planner, Merchandise role at Five Below focuses on leveraging corporate financial targets to develop and manage seasonal sales, inventory, and margin plans. This position is integral to assortment planning, demand forecasting, and inventory management, ensuring optimal stock levels and profitability. The role requires collaboration with various teams to analyze performance and make strategic recommendations, ultimately contributing to the company's growth and success.

Responsibilities

• Leverage corporate financial targets to develop seasonal sales, inventory, and margin plans by Department-Classification and store groups.
• Determine style-color and depth targets by attribute and store group for each area of business to support product selection in market.
• Manage SKU & style intensive category and location intensive assortments.
• Develop sales forecasts and buy quantity estimates to determine appropriate inventory levels for each product.
• Manage the open-to-buy (OTB) budget for a category of business, ensuring inventory investment funds sales and margin plans.
• Manage inventory levels and receipts to ensure optimal stock vs. sales levels, monitoring in season to minimize stockouts and overstocks.
• Manage markdown and MOS budgets to balance inventory ownership and margin objectives.
• Collaborate with key partners to identify pricing and liquidation opportunities.
• Analyze sales performance and make recommendations for pricing adjustments, promotions, and markdowns to optimize profitability.
• Analyze sales, inventory, and margin performance to assess the effectiveness of merchandising strategies and identify areas for improvement.
• Leverage weekly business insights to understand item level performance to maximize in season opportunities.
• Generate regular reports and analysis to provide insights into sales, inventory, and profitability metrics to senior management.
• Create and maintain alignment among peers on merchandising and allocation teams on forecast changes and inventory strategies.
• Participate in regular meetings and strategic discussions to provide input on merchandise planning strategies.

Requirements

• 3-5 years of experience in a retail or wholesale environment, including 2-3 years as a planner.
• Bachelor's Degree.
• Demonstrated retail math and business acumen, including margin planning, sales forecasting, and inventory productivity measures.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work with peers and partners.
• Demonstrated organizational skills with an attention to detail.
• Adaptable to feedback and pivot based on changing organizational priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines while maintaining a positive attitude.
• Resourceful with the ability to prioritize, problem-solve, and make decisions.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of PowerBI, Microstrategy, 09 MFP, and Oracle RMS is a plus.