Merchandise Planner

Type: Contract

Start Date: ASAP

End Date: 4/23/2025

Reason for Position: To cover for an employee on a LOA

Location: Glendale, CA (HYBRID; In-Office Mondays-Thursdays and Remote on Fridays)

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm PST (40 work hours per week)

Pay Range: $28 to $34 per hour

Overview: As a Merchandise Planner you will drive a multichannel quarterly and annual financial strategy and assortment for categories based on detailed knowledge of business insights and analytics, trends within the marketplace and demographic profile across all regions. In this role you will evaluate the assortment and respond to in-season performance, trends, and learnings to inform & adjust future season’s assortment and inventory position. You will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of all financial key performance indicators.

Additional Information:

This position is part of a team that handles the sales/inventory plans for a leading entertainment company's stores (toys) to include Brick & Mortar, Amazon, and Online website. The Hiring Manager would like to see candidates with merchandise planning experience within retail - preferably omnichannel. This is not an account role and not for someone who is looking for a buyer/merchant focused role. This position reports to the Manager, Merchandise Planning.

What You Will Do:

• In partnership with leader, strategize & develop financial plans to achieve growth and profitability that align with key product strategies and initiatives for all channels.

• Own pre-season plans that align with grow/maintain/downtrend positioning for merchandise and category initiatives.

• Manage category product releases on all channels to mitigate financial gaps year over year.

• Understand and manage in-season performance and identify trends to inform future seasons.

• Leverage weekly business insights to understand item level performance to maximize in season opportunities and minimize liability.

• Create high-level revenue benchmarks to achieve growth and profitability that align with cross category initiatives for all channels.

• Provide benchmarks with understandable comp to deliver range of products to achieve financial objectives.

• Partner with Buyer to rank newness to determine sales plans and inventory buys with clear understanding of product lifecycle.

• Manage and input retail category plans for Annual Operating Plans

• Develop stratification of items to determine cannibalization, optimize SKU efficiency and ensure inventory management of item/category.

• Own category Profit & Loss; drive the business with full accountability to revenue and cost of goods.

• Re-forecast sales, inventory and margin on a monthly basis based on category performance through open to buy (OTB) process.

• Provide cause of change for monthly OTB meetings.

• Understands and uses tools available to purchase, analyze and react to trends in the business.

• Proactively provide communication on stock availability.

• Seek understanding of Store Assortment Plans across all channels.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, or equivalent is required.

• 2+ years of merchandise planning experience.

• Proficient in Microsoft tools & Business Objects.

• Financial and analytical skills.

• Verbal and written communication skills, including comfort with executive-level presentations.

• Organizational skills with attention to detail.

• Adaptable to feedback and pivot based on changing organizational priorities.

• Flexible and adaptable with an ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Resourceful with ability to prioritize, problem solve and make decisions.

• Ability to collaborate with peers and partners.