Senior Manager, Merchandise Financial Planning

Centric Brands is a leading lifestyle brand collective that designs, sources, markets and sells high quality products in multiple segments, including women’s, men’s and kid’s apparel, accessories, entertainment and beauty. Centric Brands is focused on our customers and our brands that will drive the company’s future growth. We are defined by innovation as we seize new opportunities and thrive in an environment informed by creativity and thinking that is both analytical and outside the box. Centric Brands reflects a team built on respect, for others and for the hard work it takes to achieve our goals and build our bright future together.

Position Overview: 

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Manager of Merchandise Financial Planning to join our team. In this key position, you will lead various aspects of planning and strategy, implementing both top-down and bottom-up approaches to ensure our company meets and exceeds its financial goals and business objectives. The ideal candidate is data-driven, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and has a deep understanding of merchandise, retail, and inventory planning.

If you are ready to take on a pivotal role in our organization and drive impactful planning strategies, we invite you to apply!

Key Responsibilities:

Sales, Margin, and Inventory Planning

• Collaborate with the sales team to aggregate account forecasts into comprehensive 12-month revenue and margin plans.
• Monitor actual performance against forecasts, making monthly adjustments to key financial metrics based on sales insights and order updates.
• Clearly communicate variances, providing supporting details.
• Ensure alignment between sales and buy levels at all checkpoints.

Merchandise Planning

• Partner with cross-functional teams to analyze historical performance and identify needs for new product introductions to achieve targets.
• Develop merchandise assortment plans that support product line development and meet financial objectives.
• Set seasonal sales and margin goals, reconciling forecasts from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives before finalization.
• Account for changes in assortment due to store count fluctuations, sales trends, product launches, and discontinued products.
• Participate in product reviews with sales, merchandising, and design teams to ensure alignment with detailed plans.
• Secure management consensus on assortment buy-levels and margins for final buy approval.

Account Planning & Analysis

• Create and distribute weekly reports and visualizations on sales and inventory performance.
• Engage regularly with account teams to understand and influence open-to-buy (OTB) forecasts, identifying category opportunities and risks, and making promotional recommendations.
• Lead discussions on business drivers, delivery performance and promotions with sales partners on a weekly basis.
• Utilize historical data and current trends to develop actionable plans and build consensus on strategies.
• Support the market process by preparing order volume and assortment targets by account.
• Monitor vendor allowances to uphold pre-set or in-season agreements.

Demand Forecasting and Order Planning

• Leverage historical data and trend analysis through the SAP IBP system for planning and forecasting.
• Develop 12 to18 month forward-looking projections for basic replenishment SKUs.
• Meet regularly with key accounts to support real-time planning and identify immediate opportunities for monthly consensus forecasts.
• Communicate monthly sales and margin forecasts to management, ensuring a high level of accuracy.
• Manage inventory to target weeks of supply (WOS), implementing monthly buys with production partners via the QuickBase order system.
• Assess SKU performance continuously, championing appropriate rationalization, rollouts, and sunsetting initiatives.

• Advanced Excel skills with the ability to process large datasets to derive insights.
• Experience working with major full-price department store accounts is essential; familiarity with Macy's and/or kids' apparel is a plus.
• Knowledge of ERP and database systems.
• Minimum 3-5 years of replenishment planning experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with cross-functional teams and management.
• 8-10 years of experience in retail planning, inventory management, or related roles, with at least 3 years in replenishment planning.

In return, we provide an industry-competitive salary, along with a comprehensive benefits plan (medical, dental, vision) that includes a matching 401(k), Summer Fridays, generous PTO, merchandise discounts, excellent career development opportunities, and a work environment that reflects our industry leadership. Our social impact program, Centric Cares, focuses on volunteerism to make a difference in communities we live and work in and our D&I committee is shaping the future of diversity, equity and inclusion at Centric Brands though workshops, resources and inspiring conversation.

Salary Range:  $113,000 - $140,000

At Centric Brands, we believe our people are our greatest asset, and we seek to structure competitive compensation offers to ensure that we are able to attract and retain the best talent. Our job postings include an annual base salary range at the time of employment. The stated base salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on several factors, including the selected candidate's educational and professional experience, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the selection process. Base salary is a part of a total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, annual bonus and other Centric Brands sponsored benefit programs.

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Centric Brands is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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Please note that Centric Brands will only reach out to interview, make an offer of employment or conduct onboarding activities for candidates who have applied through our careers site. When interviewing for a position, the candidate experience will include live interaction, such as a video conference or telephone call, with a Recruiter and/or company employee(s). We will never ask for any money or payments from applicants at any point in the recruitment process. Be aware of suspicious recruitment activity. If you think you are a victim of an employment scam, you may contact your local law enforcement agency and/or visit the Federal Trade Commission website here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams.