Responsibilities :
- Maximize Sales and profitability for the department / category
- Support in determining high-level financial goals including pre-season financial plans, in-season projections, open-to-buy management and new store budgets
- Prepare and maintain department / category merchandise MIS analytics based on actual sales, sales forecasts, company order parameters, inventory checks, forth coming events, replenishment needs etc
- Assist in the creation of merchandise plans for the category based on insights gained from merchandise analytics, customer preference, historical trends and future outlook projected by the buyer
- Assist in discussing, deciding and freezing the department / category merchandise strategic plans around the following factors
- Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to bring about standardization, system and process orientation in Production and Operations. Organize Training and Development Programme to spread awareness about these in consultation with CHRO and Training Lead.
Financials
Sales, Stock, OTB, Margins, Forward Cover etcStore
Subgroup level Sales, Order Quantity, Allocation, Replenishment etcAssortment
Style, Price, Brand, Supplier etcCommunicate the merchandise strategic plan to buying team for necessary executionEnsure effective in season management across territories (stock balancing, markdown management, stock analysis, stock vs sales performance)Help review the merchandise plans on a periodic basis to ensure profit is maximized and maintained to reach target levelsEnsure that the standards of Merchandise procedures and Methodologies are maintained and kept UniformEnsure optimum category inventory levels are maintained at Concept / Territory keeping in mind store requirements as well as working capital constraintsCategory Promotions
Provide inputs on the expected margins, possible price points and other parameters for promotions within the product categoryHelp analyze the effectiveness of the promotions in achieving the targeted levels of sales and marginsHelp analyze the existing stock levels and liaise with the Buying / VM / Marketing team for timely roll out of promotional campaigns to maintain the territory / warehouse inventory holding norms as well to achieve targeted salesEnsure performance is monitored against plan for the assigned category / department, regularly supported by exception reportingEnsure effective in season management of the assigned category / department through regular analysis and action planning across concept and territory, based on the performance around the following anchors.Leadership Skills
Excellent interpersonal, analytical negotiation skills with proven track record of spearheading numerous cost innovation projects during the career spanStrong people development and management skills excellent orator and ability to manage risk at workProven leadership ability of growing team from scratchDesired Education / Experience Essentials
Postgraduate / MBA10+ Years of experienceExperience in Retail will be preferredSkills Required
Merchandise Planning, Category Management, Sales Forecasting, Financial Planning, Inventory Management