Fashion Merchandising Career: The Assortment/Merchandise Planner
Importance Of Merchandise/Assortment Planner In Fashion Industry
Another interesting career in the
fashion merchandising
industry is the
Assortment Planner, also known as a
Merchandise
Planner. This role requires excellent analytical skills to monitor and
evaluate the sales of a fashion company’s inventory to manage and
develop merchandise assortment plans with the goal of maximizing sales,
gross margin and inventory turn.
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Fashion Merchandising Career: The Assortment/Merchandise Planner
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The
Assortment Planner’s role is vital to the merchandising marketing
strategy to ensure that all of the styles on a store’s floor flow
together, which make the merchandise more appealing as a whole and
encourages consumers to purchase more than one item. Typically the
Assortment Planner compiles a forecast report called the Open to Buy
(OTB) report, collaborating with the
Buyers and
Allocators to develop
proper store assortment and inventory mix.
Leading fashion brand, J.Crew describes the qualifications of the
Assortment Planning team as “the team that makes sure the forecast looks
good.”
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| Coordinating styles on the sales floor at J.Crew. Image courtesy of style.com. |
The J.Crew
Assortment Planner “projects consumer behavior, analyzes
productivity and makes recommendations to drive the business on a
weekly, monthly and quarterly basis in conjunction with cross-functional
partners,” according to the brand’s
Careers page.
Another leading fashion retailer,
Anthropologie, lists key job duties for this merchandise marketing role (
Assortment/Merchandise Planner) including:
- Manage OTB and present monthly results in business assessment meetings
- Develop assortment plans and work with buyers on initial and reorder quantities
- Monitor and evaluate sales of current styles on a weekly basis,
partnering with the buyer and the Divisional Planner to effectively
manage receipts and inventory
- Analyze and revise the financial strategy based on current trend or
actual performance on a monthly basis to maximize sales and
profitability.
- Formulate guidelines for style and customer choices based on business analysis
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| Merchandise marketing: assortment plan. Image courtesy of www.sas.com. |
