Senior Merchandise Planner – Candy
Position Summary
The Senior Merchandise Planner – Candy is responsible for driving financial and inventory planning strategies for the candy category to maximize sales, margin, and inventory productivity. This role partners closely with Merchandising, Buying, Supply Chain, and Finance to develop and manage Open to Buy (OTB), seasonal and promotional forecasts, and long-range category plans. The ideal candidate has deep experience planning candy or confectionery categories, understands seasonality and promotional intensity, and excels in data-driven decision making.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Planning & Open to Buy Management
- Own and manage Open to Buy (OTB) at a detailed level (department, category, vendor, and SKU).
- Build and maintain weekly, monthly, and seasonal OTB plans aligned with sales, margin, and inventory targets.
- Proactively identify risks and opportunities within OTB and recommend actions to optimize inventory flow.
- Partner with Merchants/Buyers to ensure purchasing decisions align with financial plans.
Forecasting & Demand Planning
- Develop accurate sales, inventory, and margin forecasts for the candy category, accounting for:
- Seasonality (e.g., Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day)
- Promotional cadence and price elasticity
- New item introductions and discontinuations
- Reforecast regularly based on trend, performance, and changing business conditions.
- Analyze historical performance and customer demand patterns to improve forecast accuracy.
Category & Seasonal Planning
- Lead pre-season and in-season planning for key candy seasons and everyday assortments.
- Create and maintain category plans that balance core, seasonal, and promotional inventory.
- Partner with Merchandising to evaluate assortment strategies, pack sizes, and price points.
- Support new product launches with volume, margin, and inventory projections.
Inventory Management & Analysis
- Monitor inventory health (weeks of supply, sell-through, turnover, aging).
- Identify and resolve overstock and understock risks through rebalancing, markdowns, or exit strategies.
- Recommend markdown strategies to optimize sell-through while protecting margin.
- Ensure inventory levels support service level and in-stock goals.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Act as a strategic partner to Buying, Supply Chain, Allocation, and Finance.
- Align forecasts with supply chain constraints, lead times, and vendor minimums.
- Present financial plans, forecasts, and performance recaps to senior leadership.
- Mentor and guide junior planners or analysts as applicable.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, or related field.
- 5–8+ years of merchandise planning experience, with direct experience planning a candy or confectionery category strongly preferred.
- Proven expertise in Open to Buy (OTB) management and forecasting.
- Strong understanding of seasonal, promotional, and high-velocity categories.
- Advanced analytical and financial acumen with the ability to translate data into action.
- High proficiency in Excel; experience with planning systems (e.g., SAP, Blue Yonder, Oracle, Anaplan, or similar).
- Strong communication and influence skills; comfortable presenting to leadership.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Key Competencies
- Strategic financial planning
- Forecast accuracy and trend analysis
- Inventory optimization
- Cross-functional partnership
- Problem solving and decision making
- Attention to detail with a big-picture mindset
