Job description
Role Overview
Associate Merchandise Planner - Level Shoes at Chalhoub Group. This role supports the Own Brand footwear business across the Middle East region.
Company Overview
Chalhoub Group is a luxury retailer and partner operating for over seven decades across the Middle East, with presence in LATAM. The Group curates a portfolio of over 10 owned brands and distributes over 400 international names across luxury fashion, beauty, jewellery, watches, eyewear, and art de vivre categories. It operates more than 950 stores, online platforms, and mobile apps, and employs over 16,000 professionals across eight countries. The Group is committed to sustainability, is a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles, and has pledged to reach Net Zero by 2040. Chalhoub Group holds Great Place to Workยฎ certification in several markets.
Role Purpose
The Associate Merchandise Planner delivers sales, profitability, and inventory performance for the Own Brand footwear business through effective range and assortment planning, Open to Buy management, critical path ownership, and inventory planning. Using data-driven insight and strong commercial awareness, the role translates range plans into profitable, on-time stock delivery across all channels within a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Key Responsibilities
Product Planning
- Support development of sales plans and Open to Buy by collaborating with Buying, Finance, Retail, and Ecommerce teams.
- Utilize sales data, market conditions, and supplier inputs to inform merchandise strategies and support profitable decision-making.
- Maintain and understand Monthly and Weekly Sales and Stock Intake plans to ensure stock levels are optimized and maximize sales and margin.
- Own forecasting and re-forecasting efforts by analyzing sales performance and market trends.
- Assist in adjusting plans to align with current business conditions.
- Support inventory management by ensuring accurate stock tracking and alignment with sales and stock forecasts.
- Assist in allocation and replenishment processes to maintain healthy stock levels across business channels.
- Identify and address aging stock, working to improve liquidation processes and solve inventory discrepancies.
- Own range and assortment planning by channel, region, or store, including line card management.
- Ensure width and depth decisions align with merchandise strategy and commercial targets.
- Track and manage critical path from range sign-off through delivery, flagging slippage risk.
- Coordinate with Design, Product Development, and Sourcing to protect key dates.
- Manage lead times across both short and long lead-time supplier models.
- Adjust buy and reorder strategy to reflect supplier capability and seasonal cadence.
- Perform basic option count analysis and depth analysis, providing insights and recommendations.
- Conduct trade analysis to understand market trends and consumer preferences.
- Communicate potential sales, stock risks, and opportunities to the wider team.
- Highlight risks and opportunities on planned sales, gross margin, and inventory based on supply or demand gaps.
- Suggest possible solutions and actions.
- Support presentations to management with recommendations.
Performance Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
- Monitor key planning KPIs, including Full Price Sell-Through, DOI, OTIF, NOS/ISA, GM, and allocation efficiency.
- Conduct post-mortem analyses of previous seasons to identify insights and best practices.
- Inform future planning cycles with findings.
Team Leadership and Development
- Mentor and develop Merchandise Planning Assistant.
- Foster a culture of collaboration and best practices in planning.
Qualifications & Experience
- 4โ6 years of experience in merchandise or product planning.
- Experience ideally gained within a monobrand or own-brand environment where you owned range planning, line cards, critical path, and lead-time management end-to-end.
- Experience spanning both monobrand and multibrand planning is a strong plus.
- Hands-on experience managing both short and long lead-time supplier models.
- Understanding of planning tools such as Blue Yonder, SAP, or equivalent systems.
- Proven ability to plan and manage continuity product balancing availability and cover.
- Experience across Retail and Digital is preferred; any true omnichannel experience (locally or globally) would be beneficial.
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills for inventory and supply optimization.
- Good communication capabilities to manage and align cross-functional teams.
- Time management and prioritization.
- Understanding of Open to Buy planning, inventory management principles, and markdown strategies.
- Excellent problem-solving capability and attention to detail.
- Knowledge of inventory management principles, Open to Buy calculations, and markdown planning.
- Knowledge of how to leverage artificial intelligence tools in the workplace for day-to-day activities would be a bonus.
Additional Information
- Health care provided.
- Child education contribution provided.
- Remote and flexible working policies available.
- Exclusive employee discounts offered.
- Learning and development opportunities provided.
- Internal mobility and exposure to different assignments within role available.
- Assessments and interviews should be completed independently and without assistance from generative artificial intelligence tools.