Senior Merchandise Planner

at  New Balance

WHO WE ARE:

Since 1906, New Balance has empowered people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world. We innovate fearlessly, guided by our core values and driven by the belief that conventions were meant to be challenged. We foster a culture in which every associate feels welcomed and respected, where leaders and creatives are inspired to shape the world of tomorrow by taking bold action today. At New Balance, We Got Now.
We are seeking a Senior Merchandise Planner to join our team in Amsterdam. The Senior Merchandise Planner leads the planning, analysis, and purchasing of the seasonal ranges from initial planning to sell-through in the Full Price DTC channels. You will collaborate with different partners to meet consumer demand, maximise sales and margin and optimize the inventory level.
You will embed sales & inventory management principles across our key commercial moments (e.g. financial planning, seasonal product sell-in, in-season trading).

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Support and be part of the DTC Planning Team in developing financial strategies and seasonal product assortment plans. Meet consumer demand by optimising stock availability and maximise sales opportunities across Retail, Digital Market Place, and Ecom.
• Translate the overall merchandising strategy to assortment strategy in order to determine the right product mix.
• Work closely with Product Merchandising to ensure an accurate option assortment plan is produced. Building the range plans according to the global/regional directions and ensuring timely submission of the seasonal plans.
• Responsible for the monthly re-forecasts on sales, inventory, and intake by GBU (WSSI). Creation of ladder plans for non-seasonal products including risk assessment.
• Drive conclusion and propose trading activities to reduce the inventory level and maximise sales and margin.
• In-season analysis to aid strategic decisions on product mixes, marketing campaigns, product launches, and markdowns.
• Ad hoc analysis on all channels and GBU’s and for other partners within the business.
• Be responsible for report development in Spotfire, working closely with the BI Team.
• Support the Planning Manager with topliner analysis and forecasts.
• Support the junior members of the Team and be directly responsible for the training and development of one Junior Planner.
• Build a strong relationship with the different partners (Demand Planning, E-commerce – Retail and MP Teams, Merchandising and Allocation).
• Be a soundboard for the wider business regarding planning topics.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS:

• Several years of experience in a planning/analytic role, preferably within product-financial merchandising.
• Excellent Retail math and analytical skills within a consumer-focused industry.
• Advanced Excel user.
• Great communication skills at all levels.
• Experience within the digital environment will be considered as an advantage.
• Ability to cope with multiple active projects.
• Enjoys working collaboratively, as part of a team, and building strong working relationships.
• Entrepreneurial and process-building mentality.

Please refer the Job description for details