Merchandise Planner - Watford, United Kingdom - Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Verified Company

Watford, United Kingdom

1 week ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Ref #:
W136706

Department:
Merchandising & Planning

City:
Watford

State/Province:
Hertfordshire

Country:
United Kingdom

Pay Range Max

Pay Range Min

Company Description

Ralph Lauren Corporation (

NYSE:
RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality.

For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets.

The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all.

We foster a culture of inclusion through:
Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.
Position Overview

In season forecasting, trading and future season planning, inventory and OTB management, in order to maximise sales and profitability

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Pre Season Planning

Responsible for developing annual financial plans on a quarterly basis, in accordance with corporate goals, utilizing historical performance, trend analysis, and input from buyers. Oversee the omni channel WSSI to project sales, margin, and inventory for the quarter at the month/week level.
Present quarterly financial projections at a department/brand/channel level to senior management for approval. Provide buyers with appropriate OTB at category and channel level to support financial KPI's & inventory targets.
Partner with buyers to provide option and range plans that deliver a commercial assortment. Present financial projections to Senior Management for final signoff.
Prepare final fiscal plans at the week/department level for sign off from Planning Leads and senior management.

In Season

Responsible for trading department, identifying and mitigating risks and maximizing opportunities, taking action quickly on critical issues. Focus on protecting or maximizing profit.
Develop and manage MD strategy.
Forecast sales, margin, and inventory at a department/brand/channel level by week on a monthly basis. Reforecast financial projections based on changes in business strategies, the overall retail environment, and the receipt flow. Present 90 day forecast to Senior Management in monthly forecasting meeting.
Monitor intake, OTB position & terminal stocks across the department feeding back any opportunities or risks to sales. Manage inventory through tactical trade decisions, or dereserving of sales contract.
Review on order with Buying team on a weekly basis. Work with buyer to ensure that receipts are in line with projections and that any changes are reflected in the WSSI and any associated risks are highlighted to the business in the monthly forecast meeting.
Reforecast and/or create "What If" scenarios to support changes in business strategies. Present financial components (sales, margin, and inventory) to key stakeholders in order to determine the financial impact with respect to strategy changes.
Oversee forecast of continuity styles. Ensure the flow of receipts supports the current and future business strategies.

Further Responsibilities

Prepare adhoc analysis to support the Planning Leads as required.
Deputise for senior manager.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

Skills:

Proven ability to lead, coach and develop talent. Confident in managing difficult/ under performance.
Having the ability to plan people succession, allowing the team to flourish under guidance
Able to deliver strong presentations which include financial information and business strategies. Able to tailor level of detail in presentations to reflect the audience (i.e. cross functional team or Senior Management).
Possess excellent problem solving skills. Able to develop several business strategies to solve the problem, create a financial forecast associated with each strategy and, through analysis, determine the most profitable solution to the problem.
Demonstrate highly developed listening, written and oral communication skills. Able to make persuasive arguments both in written and oral form. Able to reflect the appropriate sense of urgency and determine the proper business partners to resolve problems and share information.
Able to foster relationships with other members of the cross functional team. Demonstrate strong leadership and negotiating skills. Exhibit ability to develop relationships and partner with members of the organization outside of the cross functional team (i.e. human resources, marketing, visual, retail and