Sr. Director, Merchandise Planning - Retail

OverviewGet AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.This range is provided by Vuori. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.Base pay range$200,000.00/yr - $250,000.00/yrVuori is redefining athletic apparel with a casual aesthetic suitable for everyday life. We draw inspiration from an active coastal California lifestyle—an integration of fitness, creative expression and life. Our high energy, fast-paced retail environment is reflected in the clothes we make. We aim to inspire others to approach all aspects of their lives with clarity, enthusiasm and purpose while having fun. We are committed to opportunity, personal growth, and success. Job descriptionSenior Director, Merchandise Planning - Retail will focus on building and developing a high performing Merchandise Planning function and lead the successful development, communication, and execution of sales and inventory strategies that support the Retail financial plan. This role is responsible for developing strategic merchandise plans and targets for key categories to maximize sales, optimize inventory, and increase margin through analysis of historical sales trends, current in-season patterns, and future forecasts. The ideal candidate will have experience with inventory planning processes for Retail Stores (including open-to-buy, replenishment, category planning, and gross margin) for an apparel business or similar. You should be flexible, able to multi-task, comfortable with high SKU counts, and able to prioritize under tight deadlines. The role requires cross-department collaboration with merchandising, production, finance, and marketing to support evolving business needs. The candidate will demonstrate strong Planning and Allocation, Category management, Assortment Analytics, analytical capability, business judgment, and curiosity about operations. What you’ll get to do Manage open-to-buy process for assigned categories, providing top-down guidance around key initiatives. Manage the creation, review, and execution of the Open To Buy budget to meet revenue and margin expectations. Analyze the business to identify core drivers, opportunities, and risks; partner with cross-functional leaders to respond appropriately. Provide qualitative and quantitative insights at seasonal hindsight and investment reviews to inform product line architecture. Build annual plans with senior leadership to support sales and margin growth and development of assigned product categories. Provide high-level analysis, reports, and actionable feedback to senior leadership, including contributions to hindsight and investment reviews. Lead strategic financial objectives for assigned product categories through forecasting of sales, margin, and inventory levels to achieve targets for Vuori Retail. Develop merchandise analysis to inform decisions on buys, promotions, marketing, opportunities, and risk management scenarios. Develop comprehensive merchandise planning strategy, forecasting and reporting by category, class, and Style/Color/Size. Partner with Merchandising on core items, timing, and quantity of new and existing products to flow to stores and balance inventory. Coordinate with Inventory Deployment & Allocation, Production and Merchants to ensure appropriate inventory levels. Evolve product line architecture and develop pre-season range plans aligned to topline strategies. Collaborate with Finance and Merchants to develop seasonal margin targets and drive margin improvements. Create short- and long-term product assortment strategies aligned with Brand vision, financial targets, and customer experience goals. Foster strong cross-functional relationships with Merchandising, Production, Product Development, and Finance; drive planning process improvements. Qualifications 15+ years of analytical experience in merchandise planning or inventory management. 7+ years of experience directly leading teams. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience preferred. Hands-on, results-driven mentality with knowledge of Retail Metrics (Sales, Inventory, Sell Through, Weeks of Supply, forecast revenue/margin) and scenario planning. Comfort with ambiguity and passion for building new tools and processes. Proven ability to think creatively to improve processes. Strong retail math and business acumen, including markup, margin planning, selling and inventory productivity. High level of conceptual creativity with proven experience in guiding product assortments and investment strategies. Self-starter, decisive, and able to move quickly to implement ideas. Comfort with fast-paced environments and relationship-building; ability to work through ambiguity in a startup context. Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills with a track record of building and coaching teams. Additional information Health Insurance Savings and Retirement Plan Employee Assistance Program Generous Vuori Discount & Industry Perks Paid Time Off Wellness & Fitness benefits The salary range for this role is $200,000 per year - $250,000 per year. This role is bonus eligible. Vuori is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Seniority levelDirector Employment typeFull-time Job functionOther IndustriesRetail Apparel and Fashion #J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2025-09-21