It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing!
We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.
Peter Millar was founded in 2001 with a single cashmere sweater offered in 24 colors. Based in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, the American lifestyle brand has grown to include luxury performance sportswear, seasonal resort and country club apparel, sophisticated classics, casually refined tailored clothing and sartorial accessories.
We strive to capture timeless style upgraded with signature innovations, in designs that are in tune with modern life. We embrace working hard, being kind and doing right by our customers, aiming to set a higher standard for the apparel industry.
The Senior Director of Merchandise Planning and Analytics for Wholesale will be responsible for developing inventory and merchandise plans to meet business objectives for Peter Millar’s growing Wholesale business channel. This role will partner with multiple groups across the organization (Design and Merchandising, Production, Finance, Sales and Customer Service) to establish processes for planning customer channel strategy, with a goal of meeting financial and inventory turnover targets while properly representing the Peter Millar brand image for service and quality. The ideal candidate for this position will be extremely organized and detail oriented.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Ensure alignment of merchandise buy plans, budgets, sales forecasts, and other business goals to achieve financial targets
- Develop and forecast seasonal sales for all Wholesale channels and present to management for approval prior to placing factory orders. Establish the open-to-buy plan at the product category, style and SKU level
- Maintain a rolling in-season forecast to project end of season sell thru
- Provide wholesale channel forecast quantities for monthly seasonal and essential inventory buys. Participate in the buys to make purchasing decisions based on total company forecast need, timing, and MOQs
- Maintain demand plans for all wholesale channels (Golf, Specialty, Corporate, Licensed and International), and partner with the Essentials planner on implication to seasonal changes to the essentials line
- Partner with international teams as needed to cover inventory needs
- Work with the sales teams regarding inventory callouts, event needs, and assortment concerns to resolve issues or advise strategy
- Maintain weekly reviews of current season and future season open to sell units, monitor when inventory is running low and identify reorder opportunities
- Oversee the VRLink and RepSpark load process and communication
- Proactively communicate to sales team on seasonal sales and inventory strategy, and gain feedback for buys and future season planning
- Manage inventory reporting for all wholesale channels. This includes, but is not limited to, providing analysis to the design team to inform future development as well as the executive team to communicate business trends
- Establish regular review of KPIs – sales, margin, turnover, sell-thru and inventory – and react to changes in demand and logistics
- Propose strategies to drive product sell through in order to maximize profitability on the life of an item or product category
- Oversee two team members, providing training, learning and development opportunities
- Develop total company forecast in partnership with Merchant to inform pre-season factory capacity planning and fabric projection needs
- Partner with Supply Planning, Production, Operations and Sales to manage inbound inventory flow in order to meet demand and embroidery needs while optimizing inventory productivity
- Actively listen, engage and respond to business partners and leadership
- Perform ad hoc analysis based on historical performance by channel, region, product category, price point, etc
COMPETENCIES:
- Extremely proficient with Microsoft Excel
- Analytical with an ability to balance financial targets with qualitative business goals
- Ability to adapt to highly entrepreneurial, fast paced environment while maintaining a high level of accuracy and accountability
- Strong interpersonal skills are essential to effectively direct work across all levels of business affecting the forecast process
- A proven track record of continuous improvement in business practices
- Exceptional communication skills and time management
- Ability to solve problems and manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
DESIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field
- 5-7 years of inventory planning experience – preferably with a consumer brand
- Apparel knowledge and luxury brand experience is strongly preferred
- Knowledge of forecasting software related to demand planning is a plus
If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us!
