Merchandise Planning Manager

Posted by Howler Brothers on 06/29/2022

Job Basics

Industry Sector: Fishing, Lifestyle, Outdoor, WaterSports

Job Categories: Merchandising, Operations

Company Type: Apparel/SoftGoods

State: TX

City: Austin

Country: United States

Required Experience: 7 - 10 years

Job Type: Full Time

Salary:

Required to Relocate: Yes

Required to Travel: No

Employee May Telecommute: No

Job Seeker Must Live Within: 10 miles

Job Description & Requirements

Howler Brothers is growing rapidly and looking to expand our team with an experienced Merchandise Planning Manager. This will be the first person in this role at Howler Brothers, giving the right candidate the opportunity to formalize and lead the pre-season and in-season merchandise planning process for eCommerce, Wholesale, and Retail. This is a cross-functional role, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with senior leadership, design, marketing, operations, and sales.

Primary Responsibilities:

The Merchandise Planning Manager will be responsible for the creation and execution of seasonal and core inventory plans. They will work closely with senior leadership to determine monthly revenue plans and projections, while providing input on seasonal product assortment size and framework.

Pre-Season Responsibilities

• Establish monthly revenue and inventory targets for each sales channel
• Hindsight prior seasons’ performance and recommend necessary changes for future seasons
• Provide analysis and guidance on assortment size and composition to design team 
• Work with design team to establish and communicate product margin targets prior to development process
• Create seasonal buys by style, by channel

In-Season Responsibilities

• Run open-to-buy process, including monthly sales and inventory projections; proactively address any potential sales or inventory risks 
• Maintain weekly reporting on style selling, inventory, stock-to-sales, margin
• Oversee allocation of merchandise by channel, making adjustments as necessary based on sales projections
• Track and manage replenishment style sales and reorders
• Oversee markdown strategy and execution
• Maintain seasonal size curves
• Build ad hoc templates as needed

Experience and Qualifications:

• Ideal candidate will have 8+ years of retail merchandise planning experience
• Experience in a start-up apparel environment is a plus 
• Strong strategic thinking skills, with a demonstrated ability to juggle day-to-day workload with long-term strategy planning and execution 
• Exceptional Excel skills – must be able to build automated templates using raw data exports as inputs
• Inherent understanding of both the art and science of merchandise planning; our brand identity comes first, with a strong focus on profitability and growth
• Excellent communication skills and desire to collaborate with both creative and analytical team members 
• NetSuite experience is a plus

Why Work for Howler:

Becoming an employee at Howler is more like joining a family than starting your standard j-o-b. We are welcoming, we support each other, and we like to have a good time, all while working hard toward a common goal. Although we have been in business for ten years now and the company has grown in many ways, we still embody the spirit of a start-up and a family company.  

Our HQ in the Clarksville neighborhood is a bright, open office plan that encourages natural collaboration and a strong sense of community. That community extends beyond our office into a worldwide network that includes a colorful collection of artists, ambassadors, customers, and fans. With that global perspective in mind, our family is proud to call Austin home.

We offer flexible time off, full health and dental benefits, a generous 401(k) matching program, and many opportunities for community engagement and service. Below are a few more details about our benefits program:

• Robust Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance Offerings
• $500 Per Year Employer Contribution to HSA Plans
• 4% Employer 401(k) Matching 
• Unlimited PTO
• 50% Employee Discount on Howler Gear

About Howler Brothers

We confess Howler Brothers is a bit hard to define. We create clothing and accessories inspired by a laundry list of things that might not seem to go together at first glance. We love surfing, dub reggae, fly fishing, vintage western wear, roosters, limes, dogs, street art and cold beer - just to name a few of those things. Bottom line is we draw influence from wherever we find it. There are no set rules or parameters as long as we're having a good time, surrounded by friends, and following our motto, "Heed The Call".  

Everything we make is designed in Austin, Texas with style, functionality, and attention to detail at the forefront. We draw inspiration daily from this city's vibrant and diversecreative culture and we are proud to call Austin home.