Merchandise Planner

• Influence merchandise performance across more than 200 stores nationally and our online channel

• Partner closely with Buying to drive sales, margin and inventory outcomes

• Join an established Australian retail business with a national footprint

About Spendless Shoes

For over 30 years, millions of customers have walked through our doors to find great-value footwear for the whole family. With more than 200 stores across Australia and a growing online presence, Spendless Shoes is one of Australia’s leading footwear retailers.

We are now looking for an experienced and commercially focused Merchandise Planner to join our Support Centre team in Gillman.

About the Role
Reporting to the Head of Planning, the Merchandise Planner will support the delivery of profitable sales, gross margin and inventory outcomes across the Spendless Shoes retail network and online channel.

Working closely with Buying, Merchandise Allocators, Retail, Finance, Marketing, eCommerce, Supply Chain and the Distribution Centre, you will develop and manage merchandise plans that align inventory investment with customer demand and commercial priorities.

You will combine strong analytical capability with commercial judgement to identify risks and opportunities, recommend decisive trading actions and ensure the right product is available in the right quantity, size and location at the right time.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain seasonal, annual and rolling merchandise financial plans.

• Plan and forecast sales, units, gross profit, margin, inventory, stock turn, weeks of cover and markdowns.

• Manage open-to-buy within approved budgets and merchandise strategies.

• Partner with Buyers to develop range architecture, assortment plans, option counts, price-point strategies and initial buy recommendations.

• Analyse daily and weekly trade performance across products, categories, stores and online.

• Identify risks and opportunities and recommend repeats, cancellations, transfers, promotional activity, pricing changes and markdowns.

• Develop allocation and replenishment strategies based on demand, store profiles, size requirements and channel priorities.

• Monitor stock availability, aged inventory, excess stock, stock turn and weeks of cover.

• Prepare clear and accurate planning, trade and inventory reports.

• Complete seasonal, campaign and category post-analysis to improve future planning decisions.

• Contribute to improvements in planning processes, reporting, systems and data quality.

About You

You are commercially minded, highly analytical and comfortable turning complex data into clear recommendations and actions. You enjoy working collaboratively, constructively challenging decisions and taking ownership of commercial outcomes in a fast-paced retail environment.

You will bring:

• Previous experience in merchandise planning, demand planning, inventory planning or a related retail planning role.

• Experience developing merchandise financial plans, sales forecasts, inventory plans and open-to-buy budgets.

• Strong knowledge of assortment planning, forecasting, allocation, replenishment, stock turn, sell-through and markdown management.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience working with large data sets.

• Experience using merchandise planning, reporting or business intelligence systems.

• Strong commercial understanding of sales, gross profit, margin, inventory investment and profitability.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management and influencing skills.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.

• High attention to detail and a proactive, solutions-focused approach.

Experience within footwear, fashion, apparel, specialty retail or another national multi-site retail environment will be highly regarded.

A qualification in Business, Commerce, Finance, Economics, Supply Chain, Data Analytics or a related discipline is desirable but not essential where equivalent practical experience can be demonstrated.

Why Join Spendless Shoes?
This is an opportunity to influence merchandise performance across a large national retail network and work closely with experienced leaders across Planning, Buying and Retail.

You will join a collaborative Support Centre environment where your analysis, commercial recommendations and planning decisions will have a direct impact on sales, profitability and the customer experience.

Apply Now
If you are an experienced retail planner who enjoys combining data, commercial thinking and collaboration to deliver results, we would love to hear from you.

Please submit your application, including your current résumé and a brief cover letter outlining your relevant merchandise-planning experience.

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