Merchandise Planner

Brief Description

Lids Sports Group is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, operating 1,300+ brick and mortar locations across the US and abroad. Headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, they sell officially licensed headwear and apparel from collegiate and professional sports teams, plus top brands like Nike, New Era, Lululemon, and Mitchell & Ness. They also specialize in on-demand customization.

About Our Company

Lids has built partnerships and collaborations with iconic global brands, fostering a community where fans, fashion, and culture collide.

Position Summary

The Merchandise Planner is responsible for building financial sales, gross margin, and inventory plans for both pre-season and in-season time periods. They partner with Buying & Merchandising to create and deliver local assortment strategies maximizing sales and profits. They are responsible for the successful development, execution, and communication of financial and inventory plans. They provide analytics and support to the Merchandising organization and Executive leadership on business performance.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate the development of annual, seasonal, monthly, and weekly merchandise plans.
• Construct merchandise purchase schedules, initial product deliveries, and in-season merchandise flow.
• Manage monthly department level open-to-buy activities.
• Provide expert analysis on trends and recommendations to influence cancellations, future purchases, and assortment strategies.
• Analyze historic performance to identify areas of opportunity or risk.
• Prepare preseason promotional and markdown strategy through partnership with buyer and merchandising teams.
• Develop, maintain, and update set of tools & reports to support business needs.
• Establish appropriate processes & tools to review product assortments; provide data & analysis to support decision making.
• Maintain business processes and serve as subject matter expert for process improvements.
• Partner with allocation & supply chain teams to implement consistent and profitable in-season replenishment strategies and practices.
• Develop enterprise-wide risk mitigation plans and execute when appropriate.
• Coincide product assortments and allocations with store needs.
• Manage hot market events by communicating and quantifying opportunities.
• Manage location intensive assortments.
• Manage local/regional relevant assortments and business solutions.

Additional Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Partner with allocation & supply chain teams to implement consistent and profitable in-season replenishment strategies and practices.
• Develop enterprise-wide risk mitigation plans and execute when appropriate.
• Coincide product assortments and allocations with store needs.
• Manage hot market events by communicating and quantifying opportunities.
• Manage location intensive assortments.
• Manage local/regional relevant assortments and business solutions.

Job Required Knowledge and Skills

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, Fashion Merchandising, or related field.
• 3–5 years merchandising, planning, buying, or equivalent experience.
• Strong understanding of retail math and measures used in financial reporting.
• Proven ability to perform independently with minimal supervision.
• Advanced capabilities in Microsoft Excel; proficiency in Access, PowerPoint, and Word; ability to learn technical applications quickly.
• Ability to think objectively and interpret meaningful themes from qualitative & quantitative data.
• Ability to evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable insights.
• Ability to use rigorous logic to solve problems with effective solutions.

Preferred Job Required Knowledge and Skills

• Able to build constructive and effective relationships across broad groups.
• Able to balance conflicting priorities and deliver meaningful results.
• Effective in various presentation settings to peers and executives.
• Can present ideas and direction that lead to action.
• Demonstrated ability to meet and exceed goals.
• Identifies and communicates risks; recommends changes to prevent disruptions.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.