Bridal Planner

SUMMARY

The Bridal Planner role at Show Me Your Mumu is responsible for buying, analyzing and forecasting for our eCommerce division.  This role’s focus is to create seasonal buying & planning strategies, OTB’s and demand planning for the eCommerce channel. This individual maintains the monthly divisional OTB and can speak to both pre-season and in-season plans. To excel in the position, this person must be a self-starter, have established buying and planning experience with excellent retail math and analytical skills, loves to think outside the box, and enjoys working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.

CORE DUTIES 

Product & Assortment Planning

• Build Bridal core and fashion assortments; provide prepared ideas on editing process based off hindsight’s and current sales trends.
• Maintain the buy plans & line sheets to ensure accuracy, act as the point person for the rest of the team.
• Partner with Planning Advisor on the determination of receipt plans, margin and IMU goals, and flow strategies to drive assortment execution
• Work closely with Wholesale Partners to align on company strategy, as well as achieve production mins to maximize costs benefits
• Directs the buying function for the Bridal Division and is responsible for the assortment, market coverage, pricing, and margin performance
• Create a Bridal Pricing Strategy based on current market trends and historical Mumu bestseller data/price range. 
• Present analysis by style/sku, delivery, & category to team and to understand prior performance & develop future goals.
• Review and recommend changes to current assortment mix, shifts of receipts when needed.
• Ensure that receipt goals are met each month and are reflected as new assortments are delivered online.
• Recap monthly hindsight learnings to help guide future business
• Recap monthly reconciliation of receipts to hit turn plans; make recommendations for styles to pull forward, cancel, push out and quantities for chase.

Forecasting and Analysis

• Drives the development of pre-season merchandise plans, in-season OTB, product assortments, and profitability in conjunction with the founders and leadership team.
• Identifies opportunities and executes strategies to increase sales, margin, and turn to meet or exceed plan.
• Develop strategic seasonal business plans to drive the Bridal business.
• Forecasting demand sales for the core Bridal business to ensure production/sourcing are ahead of the curve for buys.
• Develops sound department and class level financial plans; re-forecasts in season based on current trend.
• Analyzes product performance in season, monitors demand, and adjusts forecasts to establish inventory levels that drive sales and maximize profitability.
• Develop analysis to understand significant variances to plan and develop action plans that mitigate additional risk.
• Utilize historical data and current trends to capitalize on new opportunities and identify risks.
• Complete SKU forecasts in conjunction with buying team. Align detailed forecasts with merchandise financial plans by month.
• Partner with founders and design team on assortment strategies based on hindsight analysis.

Open-to-Buy/ Inventory Management

• Maintain monthly OTB, reforecast sales, margin, receipts and inventory on a monthly basis. Speak to changes and variances.
• Communicate the state of the business in weekly meetings and monthly OTB meetings. Recommend strategic actions to maximize sales and margin, optimize inventory, and mitigate risk.
• Ensure that on-order and committed receipts are delivering on time to support forecasts. Identify risks and drive action plans. Recommend “chasing” or “reflowing” receipts as appropriate.

Weekly/Monthly Business Management

• Communicate state of the business to leadership and cross-functional teams within season action plans to drive sales.
• Manage sku level inventories and replenishment forecasting based on sales performance
• Analyze stock levels and present “action points” for the management of inventory and receipts.
• Work with cross functional team and supply chain to create ATS orders as needed to drive sales.
• Manage sku level inventories and replenishment based on sales performance
• Create and maintain reports for the team as needed.

Assortment Planning (Buy Plans)

• Maintain divisional buy plans to achieve sales, sell thru, and receipt strategies
• Review historical performance at the category and key item level and make assortment recommendations to founders.
• Present analysis by style (APS), delivery, & category to understand prior performance & develop future goals.
• Review and recommend changes to current assortment mix
• Lock plans seasonally & ensure that re-forecasting is reflected as new assortments are delivered.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• 5-8 years’ experience working in a buying or planning function
• Full Circle or any ERP Systems experience a PLUS
• Advanced MS Excel skills required
• Strong Analytical and Business knowledge of retail and merchandising concepts
• Advanced experience with Planning and Merchandising applications
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Strong organizational skills and excellent communication skills
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills
• Results-oriented and self-motivated with a strong sense of urgency
• Able to independently organize and prioritize broad workload to meet deadlines.
• Collaborative ability to lead and motivate team
• Bachelor’s Degree