Associate Merchandise Planner

Serving the needs of all families with young childrenCarters Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children encompassing Carters OshKosh Bgosh Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work constant learning genuine people and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carters.

How youll make an impact:

The Carters Retail Planning team is responsible for developing short and mid-range merchandise strategies buy quantification and financial plans working cross-functionally with our Merchandising Marketing Pricing Allocations and Location Planning teams to achieve key financial objectives for CRI.

The Associate Planner is a critical member of the team focusing on the day-to-day operations of the Planning office and contributes directly to supporting company-wide initiatives that will ensure Carters remains a leading childrens brand.

This role supports the Planning team with relevant data to drive the business provides critical administrative functions and collaborates with cross-functional partners to ensure the key strategies are executed. We are looking for a candidate who possesses strong organizational skills is energized by multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment is curious about business trends and analytics and has a passion for planning customer experience and delivering results.

35% Pre-Season Strategy and Financial Plans

• Manage topside brand level financial growth targets to inform the seasonal product line structure in partnership with Buying & Merchandising teams.
• Support new growth opportunities through analysis of historical performance and profitability in alignment with cross functional partner strategies.
• Develop merchandise financial plans that strategically align with sales and margin goals while effectively supporting the product mix and promotional calendar to drive profitability and achieve business objectives.
• Create and manage ladder plans that align with sales objectives and inventory strategies ensuring optimized performance and efficient stock management.
• Collaborate with Merchandising Planning and Pricing teams to implement and report out on cross-functional growth initiatives.

40% In-Season Plan Management

• Coordinate specified projects tasks and / or deliverables; understand objectives identify resources meet set timelines communicate results to business partners.
• Prepare consolidated materials and create executive reporting packages for key meetings and forecast cycles (monthly/quarterly E reporting Monthly Business Review meetings Leadership Team meetings Earnings preparation Board of Directors meetings)
• Hindsight current business and make recommendations on category changes and style level needs for future buys to support financial targets by brand.

25% Analytics:

• Perform ad hoc analysis which enables tactical and strategic decision making. Provide direction and make recommendations.
• Provide analytical support to the planning and buying team by quantifying impact of strategic and assortment changes
• Provide analysis to business partners in support of growth initiatives projects and current business needs
• Simplify processes and automate standard reporting; explore and leverage business intelligence tools for reporting (i.e. Tableau)

Wed Love to hear from you if:

• 3 years in a buying/planning environment required (purchase order management price change management seasonal preparation report analysis manage a product category special project leader site merchandising)
• Analytical Skills Strong Retail Financial Acumen/Math
• Strong understanding of a retail product assortment promotional pricing ladder planning entrance and exit strategies
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel Word PowerPoint)
• Self-Starter Strong Communication Skills Flexible Collaborative
• Intellectual business curiosity. Ability to conceptualize and transform an idea into a project

Preferred skills and experience:

• Knowledge of Tableau
• Highly Organized Ability to Multi-Task Detail-Oriented Deadline-Oriented
• Ability to manage large amounts of data and multiple projects

Make a career at Carters:

• Career Development: Success starts from within and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carters University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion gender gender identity sexual orientation national origin genetics disability age veteran status or any other status protected by federal state or local law.