Retail Planner

Role overview

The Retail Planner will shape sales growth, inventory efficiency, and margin delivery by building strong merchandise plans, demand forecasts, replenishment rules, and stock optimization strategies. This role partners with Buying, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Retail Operations to make sure the right products reach the right stores, at the right time, and in the right quantities.

Core responsibilities

• Build annual, seasonal, and monthly merchandise plans that support overall business goals.
• Create category-level budgets for sales, margin, intake, and inventory.
• Own Open-to-Buy planning and manage inventory investment decisions.
• Develop sales and stock forecasts using historical data and market understanding.
• Measure plan performance regularly and recommend corrective actions when needed.
• Keep inventory levels efficient across categories and store locations.
• Track stock cover, weeks of supply, and inventory ageing closely.
• Take action to raise inventory productivity and reduce markdown exposure.
• Improve stock turns and limit the build-up of slow-moving merchandise.
• Plan end-of-season stock disposal and liquidation approaches.
• Create store-level allocation and replenishment plans.
• Maintain healthy stock availability across stores and channels.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain to support timely replenishment.
• Monitor fill rates and stock availability across stores and warehouses.
• Support size and assortment optimization at store level.
• Study category and store performance using dashboards and business metrics.
• Track KPIs such as sales, sell-through, gross margin, stock turns, and markdowns.
• Spot business opportunities and suggest actions to improve results.
• Lead weekly and monthly business reviews with cross-functional teams.
• Work with Buying teams on assortment planning and intake choices.
• Collaborate with Retail Operations to understand store-level needs and opportunities.
• Partner with Supply Chain for inventory movement and stock continuity.
• Support Finance in budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Prepare recurring business reports and management dashboards.
• Perform demand forecasting and trend analysis.
• Analyze customer, category, and store data to guide decisions.
• Share insights and recommendations that improve sales and profitability.

Performance measures

• Sales achievement against plan
• Gross margin achievement
• Inventory turnover
• Sell-through percentage
• Stock availability and fill rate
• Weeks of cover
• Markdown percentage
• Inventory ageing
• Forecast accuracy
• Open-to-Buy adherence
• Working capital efficiency

Education and experience

A graduate degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Engineering is required. A post-graduate qualification such as MBA or PGDM in Retail, Finance, or Supply Chain is preferred. The role calls for 3 to 8 years of experience in Merchandise Planning, Retail Planning, Demand Planning, or Inventory Management. Experience in Fashion, Kids, Apparel, Lifestyle, or Specialty Retail is an added advantage. Candidates should have a strong grounding in retail metrics and inventory planning principles.

Key competencies

• Merchandise planning and forecasting
• Financial understanding
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving
• Inventory control
• Advanced Excel and data analysis
• Commercial awareness
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Stakeholder coordination
• Business planning
• Communication and presentation
• Ability to perform in a fast-moving retail environment