Planner

About Us

As a leader in luxury retail in the Middle East, Al Tayer Groups retail division, Al Tayer Insignia, hosts a portfolio of some of the world’s best luxury brands in the fashion, jewellery, home, and department store categories. Complementing its position in luxury retail, Al Tayer Insignia has also built new frontiers in lifestyle retail, representing leading brands in the Beauty, Home, Fashion and Hospitality sectors. Our brands include Bloomingdales, Harvey Nichols, Armani and newly added Gym Shark and The White Company, to name just a few!

About The Role
The Planner - Online Department stores is responsible for delivering the division/brand merchandise strategy through development of the seasonal and yearly product and location sales plans, including forecasting and allocation of product; with a view to maximizing sales and gross margin. 

What You’ll Be Doing
Functional Roles and Responsibilities:

• Communicate trading issues and forecasts with proposed actions to senior management and Buying team 

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with suppliers 

• Manage all aspects relating to shipments, logistical processing and allocation function 

• Analyze Suppliers’ delivery performance and, in conjunction with the Buying team, take appropriate actions 

• Contribute to future supplier strategies 

• Measure products’ performance against agreed quality standards and take necessary action with suppliers 

• Assist in the decision-making and problem solving on supplier / brand / partner issues 

• Ensure team results, relationships and processes are aligned with the Company‘s mission, values and policies. 

• Deliver category sales, gross margin and sell-through performance to plan 

• Participate in the development of annual sales budgets and forecasts for specific brands by analyzing data on seasonal/ yearly trends 

• Identify and evaluate sales and gross margin opportunities at department level 

• Review, propose and implement mark-down activity to reduce terminal stock, whilst analyzing action taken on mark-downs to maximize profit 

• Monitor performance against plan, taking appropriate action to maximize sales and margins 

• Develop and maintain effective working partnership with divisions particularly Retail Managers / Store Managers / Logistics and Operations 

• Drive decision-making and problem solving relating to merchandise issues at division and location level 

• Ensure efficiency and effectiveness of merchandising business processes 

• Implement the agreed departmental strategy, in conjunction with the Buying team 

• Implement the agreed markdown strategy and communicate to stakeholders 

• Maintain OTB to manage forward buys in-line with department inventory targets 

• Manage communication and coordination with stores regarding price changes, product discontinuation, and brand / item focus 

• Evaluate market and customer information together with historical data and forward trends to develop the merchandise plans 

• Work with relevant stakeholders to monitor overall inventory levels to plan and forecast 

• Manage and review replenishment orders for the relevant products base