The Merchandise Planning Manager leads inventory management and planning strategies, supports team growth, and collaborates cross-functionally to optimize sales and profitability.
We are the champions of childhood
Hanna Andersson is a Portland, Oregon-based premier kids and baby clothing brand. Our clothes are made to play, made to last, and designed to let kids be kids. We have core commitments to design, quality, and sustainability, and we believe in helping families create meaningful everyday moments. These principles guide the Hanna Way, and lead to an experience authentically different from other children’s brands.
We cultivate our unique brand by hiring team members who believe in these values, own a customer service mindset, and who are innovative, results-oriented, and comfortable working in a collaborative and growth-driven work environment. We all share in our brand’s success, and we actively encourage our team members to maintain a healthy balance in their daily lives.
Position Summary
The Merchandise Planning Manager plays an important role in shaping our product range and ensuring our inventory levels are just right across different categories. They work closely with the team to develop smart merchandise strategies, manage open-to-buy processes, and analyze performance to help boost sales and overall profitability. We're looking for someone who is strong in analysis and planning, with leadership experience and a talent for working well with others.
Additionally, this role involves leading a team of planners. The Merchandise Planning Manager is there to mentor, support, and inspire their team, helping each member grow and succeed within our organization.
Essential Duties
- Merchandise Planning / Inventory Management
- Drive sales and inventory strategies across assigned categories, while also personally managing merchandise planning for a smaller product category.
- Lead a team of direct reports, providing regular feedback, coaching, and support to ensure their professional growth and performance.
- Contribute to the evolution of planning tools and processes to drive efficiency and enhance decision-making.
- Develop and manage top-down and bottom-up merchandise plans aligned with strategic business goals and financial targets.
- Partner with merchants, sourcing, and design teams to build pre-season financial plans and detailed style-level forecasts.
- Own the open-to-buy process, ensuring optimal inventory levels to support sales, margin, and inventory turnover goals.
- Reforecast in-season plans based on current performance, identifying risks and opportunities and recommending actions to improve results.
- Provide business insights through regular pre-, in-, and post-season analysis, identifying key drivers and implementing learnings for future planning cycles.
- Evaluate performance at the product level to inform decisions on reorders, cancellations, or inventory shifts.
- Collaborate with sourcing to deliver accurate seasonal and long-range forecasts that support production and delivery timelines.
Qualifications
- Minimum 5 years of merchandise planning experience in a retail environment.
- Experience managing and developing direct reports.
- Strong analytical, mathematical and problem-solving skills and proficiency with retail math.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
- Prior experience working with planning and inventory systems preferred.
- Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills.
- Ability to use sales financial data to make decisions and maximize profitability.
- Ability to maintain highly effective working relationships with cross-functional teams.
- Strong interpersonal skills including ability to influence and negotiate effectively.
- Education & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain or equivalent experience in related discipline.
Location
- Portland, OR (hybrid) highly preferred
- Open to remote (west coast)
Hanna Talent Cultivation Standards:
With a rise in cyber-criminal activity, please note Hanna will never:
-Ask for any sensitive personal information via email, text, or other forms of instant messaging
-Interview you via email and/or send you a list of questions in lieu of an interview
-Extend an offer without speaking to you via phone or video call
-Ask for bank account or financial information during the recruiting process
Legitimate email communication will only be done to and from @hannaandersson.com email addresses. Please examine messages carefully to ensure this is the domain you are receiving messages from, as cybercriminals may also utilize domains that look similar but may have one letter off (such as @hannaandersson.com).
Legitimate candidate application submissions are received directly from the applicant. All unsolicited third-party submissions will be considered illegitimate and will not be reviewed or considered for hire.
Hanna Andersson provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Hanna Andersson prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation of any kind. Hanna Andersson encourages applicants of all ages.
Top Skills
Excel
Retail Planning Systems
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