Merchandise Planning Manager at Disney Experiences

The Domestic Parks Retail Planning organization is responsible for developing a strategic financial plan to drive growth and profitability and deliver on the Guest experience. The team is the foundation of the Domestic Parks Retail Channel and works in partnership with Merchandising, Sourcing and Pricing to deliver a range of items that are relevant to Domestic Parks and Disney Cruise line stories and experiences.

As the Merchandise Planning Manager, you will be responsible for independently managing quarterly/annual financial strategy and assortments for your category based on detailed knowledge of business insights and analytics, trends within the marketplace and guest mix at Theme Parks, Resorts and Cruise line. You will be responsible for reacting to in-season performance/trends/learnings, to adjust future season's assortment and inventory position. The Merchandise Planning Manager demonstrates an understanding of all key retail performance indicators.

This is a full-time role

You will report to the Sr. Manager, Merchandise Planning

• Develop Category/Class plans to achieve growth and profitability that align with Park Retail strategies

• Own pre & in-season planning management for key performance indicators, including sales, margin, turn, assortment refresh, product lifecycle and price value of item range

• Develop thorough understanding of category, utilizing data and analytics to influence future direction of the business

• Manage open-to-buy weekly inputting into MFP, adjusting trends and recommend course of action to maximize sales as well as reduce inventory liability

• Develop stratification of items to determine cannibalization, optimize SKU productivity and ensure inventory management of item/category

• Provide benchmarks with understandable comp to deliver range of products to achieve financial objectives

• Partner with Merchandiser to force rank newness to maximize buys with clear understanding of product lifecycle

• Analyze sales to create demand-based inventory forecast, issue replenishment orders and track product performance

• Formulate solution-minded recommendations through risk and opportunity assessment of your category of business

• Collaborate with Merchandising and Sourcing to evaluate new opportunities and create domestic recovery options

• Manage multiple tasks, prioritize activities, and establish deadlines and work plans to achieve end goals

• Identify pricing and liquidation opportunities for your division to manage inventory liability

• Ensure clear understanding of tools available to purchase, analyze and react to business trends

• Participate in assimilating new cast members into the team through the on-boarding process

• 5+ years' experience in merchandise planning or financial analysis

• Demonstrated proven track record for driving results and influencing change

• Demonstrated strong sense of responsibility, ownership, and understanding business impacts

• Demonstrated analytical skills in forecasting and open-to-buy management

• Ability to articulate performance to plans while defining actions needed to improve performance

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and build collaborative relationships with cross functional partners

• Strong verbal and written communication skills. Proven ability to synthesize data into a concise story, then develop and present fact-based insights and recommendations to various levels of leadership

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to meet deadlines, handle multiple priorities, and perform job responsibilities accurately while working in a fast-paced, changing environment

• Ability to work within a complex, matrix organization and find creative solutions

• Familiarity with retail planning software or systems, computer skills in MS office, high proficiency in excel and understanding of BI tools

• Bachelor's degree, major in business, finance, mathematics or other quantitative fields preferred or equivalent work experience

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