Sr. Planner, Merchandise - Now Hiring

At Five Below our growth is a result of the people who embrace our purpose: We know life is way better when you are free to Let Go & Have Fun in an amazing experience, filled with unlimited possibilities, priced so low, you can always say yes to the newest, coolest stuff! Just ask any of our over 17,000 associates who work at Five Below and they'll tell you there's no other place like it. It all starts with our purpose and then, The Five Below Way, which is our values and behaviors that each and every associate believes in.

It's all about culture at Five Below, making this a place that can inspire you as much as you inspire us with big ideas, super energy, passion, and the ability to make the workplace a WOWplace!

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Merchandise Planner owns sales, margin, and inventory forecasting for a department with high complexity and sales >$150M annually in an omni-channel environment. They are a leader on the Planning Team, providing peer support and developing a direct report Associate Planner. This role is highly detail-oriented, incorporating top-down, bottoms-up, and demand planning. The ability to work closely with cross-functional partners on the merchandising and allocation teams, creating alignment through the share out of detailed analysis and recommendations is also critical to success in this role.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Merchandise Financial Planning:

• Leverage corporate financial targets to develop seasonal sales, inventory, and margin plans by Department-Classification and store groups

Assortment Planning:

• 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
• Manage location intensive assortments

Demand Planning:

• Develop sales forecasts and buy quantity estimates to determine the appropriate inventory levels for each product considering factors such as lead times, seasonality, and turn targets to optimize inventory investment

Open-to-Buy Management:

• Manage the open-to-buy (OTB) budget for a category of business, $50-150M, to ensure inventory investment funds sales and margin plans, adjusting as necessary

Inventory Management:

• Manage inventory levels and receipts to ensure optimal stock vs. sales levels, monitoring in season to minimize stockouts and overstocks

Markdown and End-of-life Management:

• Manage markdown and MOS budgets to balance inventory ownership and margin objectives
• Collaborate with key partners to identify pricing and liquidation opportunities to manage the transition of products

• Analyze sales performance and make recommendations for pricing adjustments, promotions, and markdowns to optimize profitability

Performance Analysis:

• Analyze sales, inventory, and margin performance to assess the effectiveness of merchandising strategies and identify areas for improvement, providing insights and recommendations to Buyers for optimizing assortment and inventory levels
• Leverage weekly business insights to understand item level performance to maximize in season opportunities, minimize liability, and inform future seasons
• Generate regular reports and analysis to provide insights into sales, inventory, and profitability metrics to senior management
• Test multiple business strategies simultaneously, quantifying & communicating business impacts and be able to report results clearly and concisely to Executive management

Leadership:

• 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
• Grow and develop Associate Planner, providing appropriate opportunities for training, career development, and talent retention

 

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7 years of experience in a retail or wholesale environment, including time spent as a planner
• Bachelor's Degree
• Demonstrated retail math and business acumen, including margin planning, sales forecasting, and inventory productivity measures
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including ability to present complex information in a clear and compelling manner

• Peer leader capable of creating alignment among cross-functional stakeholders by building strong business cases and driving execution
• Attention to detail and strong time management, organizational, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Knowledge of PowerBI, Microstrategy, 09 MFP, and Oracle RMS a plus

Five Below is an Equal Opportunity Employer

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us!

Five Below is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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