Merchandise Planner

Summary

Big Lots is a retail company focused on delivering value and an exceptional customer experience. The Merchandise Planner will create and maintain merchandise financial plans, monitor open-to-buy performance, analyze sales and inventory data, and provide actionable insights. The role partners with Buyers, Allocation, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and Stores to optimize assortments, inventory positioning, and planning processes.

Responsibilities

• Support the creation and maintenance of merchandise financial plans, including sales, units, margin, and inventory targets by department/category
• Monitor and track Open to Buy (OTB) throughout the season. Partner with Buyers to manage buys within plan and recommend adjustments as needed
• Analyze sales, margin and inventory performance to identify trends, opportunities and risks. Provide insights to Buyers and leadership to support data-driven decision making
• Partner with Buyers to evaluate merchandise performance and develop strategies to optimize assortments, price architecture, and vendor commitments
• Work closely with the Allocation team to ensure merchandise is planned and positioned appropriately across the store base to maximize sales and productivity
• Build and maintain dashboards and reports that track key performance indicators and support business reviews
• Review vendor performance, item productivity and stock performance to recommend opportunities for improvement
• Identify opportunities to enhance planning processes, tools and systems to drive efficiency and accuracy
• Collaborate with teams across Merchandising, Allocation, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing and Stores to align plans and execute strategies

Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain or related field required
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into action
• Proficiency in Excel (advanced), PowerPoint and planning/reporting tools
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to influence and partner across teams
• Passion for retail, fashion and delivering an exceptional customer experience
• 4 - 5 years of experience in merchandise planning, allocation, buying support or related retail role preferred
• Experience with JDA, Blue Yonder or other retail planning systems preferred

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain or related field required
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into action
• Proficiency in Excel (advanced), PowerPoint and planning/reporting tools
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to influence and partner across teams
• Passion for retail, fashion and delivering an exceptional customer experience

Nice to Haves

• 4 - 5 years of experience in merchandise planning, allocation, buying support or related retail role preferred
• Experience with JDA, Blue Yonder or other retail planning systems preferred