Career Opportunity
Account Planning Manager, Women's Polo
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Company Description
At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.
Position Overview
To work and partner with Merchandise Planning and Sales teams in the development, forecasting, and delivery of well-balanced, lifestyle appropriate assortments which provide both volume and margin growth for assigned retail partner(s) and reflect the seasonal RL merchandising vision for the fast-growing Women’s Polo business.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Key focus to include:
· Work collaboratively (internally and externally) with Merchandise Planning and Sales teams to identify and define product strategies and opportunities to implement assortment plans for all product divisions and categories to support the brand financial strategy that will drive mutually beneficial and profitable results.
· Strong partnership with Account Executive(s) to ensure seasonal assortment plans meet the business objectives and needs for each account in collaboration with Buyer(s).
· Analyze historical and in-season selling to guide and action future seasons plans.
· Support Account Planning process to develop and deliver strategic detailed plans.
Accountabilities/Action Steps:
Strategic Financial & Assortment Planning
· Collaborate with Sales and the accounts to prepare the financial class plans, flow, and door targets.
· Validate all finalized class plans with Account Planning Lead prior to building assortments.
· Build out assortments and validate with sound financial metrics that product placements are meeting financial goals, provide extensive recaps of plans.
Analysis and Forecasting
· Weekly account performance analysis (Fashion, Seasonal Core, and Core Replenishment Product)
o Analyze best and worst performers
o Provide key insight to Account Executive, Buying, and Merchandising teams
o Highlight and action current and future opportunities in all product lines
· Report on key deliverables; sell-through, product margin, bookings, class penetrations in season, and pre and post market
· Partner with Account Executive weekly to review account sales performance.
· Various ad-hoc projects that will require a full understanding of product life cycle.
· Create and maintain various tools for market prep and sales meetings.
· Validate and monitor account size scale and make any necessary callouts to ensure assortment sizes are optimal to drive sales.
Reporting & Operations
· Prepare account recaps and review with Account Planning Lead prior to management meetings that detail key insights and metrics that will assist with account communication to drive business.
· Reconciliation and sizing review as part of extensive post-market process.
Account Management and Communication
· Develop a strong working relationship with Account Executive(s) and their account's management team.
· Ensure high level of collaboration and proactive communication with all levels of account management structure to drive business towards meeting and/or beating plan achievement.
Experience, Skills & Knowledge
- College degree required.
- 3+ years of related experience in assortment planning, merchandise planning, and/or account planning with key focus on retail analysis and a keen eye for product.
- Self-starter and highly motivated, strong communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to multi-task and manage multiple deliverables at any given time.
- Strong computer and analytical skills with attention to detail and accuracy critical; advanced Excel (pivot tables, v-lookups) required; along with working knowledge of other Microsoft Suite products: Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams.
- Knowledge of Planning tools/software such as Anaplan a plus.
- Possess the mindset to look for, develop, and implement new tools/processes to improve efficiencies.
- Proficiency in retail math.
