director of planning and merchandising

reports to: VP Operations 

direct Reports: n/a 

location: Charleston, SC 

company overview

minnow is a founder-led, fast growing direct-to-consumer ("DTC") family lifestyle brand dedicated to creating quality products and inspiring special family experiences. Founded in 2016, our team is based in Charleston, SC. The company has focused on inspiring and encouraging family experience through classic and high-quality swim, and has recently expanded into additional children's, women's and men's categories. 

position overview

As the leader of minnow’s buying + assortment strategy, you will shape the product investment and assortment across all categories and channels to meet customer needs and propel the business forward. This role will drive revenue, planning to optimize product margin and pricing strategy and work closely with product development. This position will own the product roadmap, develop seasonal line plans, buy for minnow + third party products, coordinate communication between design, production, and marketing, and support achieving revenue plans by ensuring the investment of the right products at the right time. 

responsibilities

planning

  • Product planning and inventory management to supports the ongoing achievement of revenue targets in all channels while minimizing excess inventory
  • Build integrated planning process and cadence working across finance, demand, with detailed SKU level planning and channel management
  • Develop optimal allocation strategy to support retail and sales margins by optimizing store replenishment model based on store profile, capacity and cost
  • Maintain inventory accuracy and availability across all channels to support sales by developing programs and systems for sellable and non-sellable inventory and cleaning up accountability on the stages of item creation
  • Effectively manage in season planning and order management of new seasonal styles and reorders on core styles 

assortment building 

  • Develop short and long range merchandising plans and goals for the business, across all channels, highlighting development needs and category opportunities, tying back to the overarching financial plans and company strategy 
  • Maintain merchandising framework to support the design and product development process by owning seasonal / core line plans, merchandising hierarchy, and annual product roadmap ● Align drop cadence with broader company growth initiatives, marketing strategies, and customer purchasing patterns 
  • Own third party assortment and buying process, creating an environment for discoverability that is aligned with the minnow brand and capitalizes on seasonal customer purchasing periods on a cohesive way (i.e Easter and Holiday Market) 
  • Introduce product partnerships and collaborations as a strategic advantage that drive sales and traffic KPIs 
  • Partner closely with product development to review product details to ensure execution meets brand aesthetic and remains commercially viable
  • Determine new areas of growth and partner with product development to action on areas of opportunity
  • Maintain and demonstrate constant understanding of the competitive environment

product analytics and strategy 

  • Own pre-season strategy and category assortment goals to support minnow’s financial targets, ensuring collections, silhouettes, and SKU count are carefully considered 
  • Rank and assort the line, placing all seasonal buys, always ensuring investments tie back to sales, inventory, and sell-thru targets 
  • Maintain open to buy and category-level financial plans, regularly re-forecasting and reacting based on performance 
  • Frequently and proactively review sales performance data to identify areas of risk and opportunity while developing strategies to react to current business 
  • Create and communicate pricing strategies that align with brand positioning and financial targets 

candidate profile 

This candidate should have 10 years of planning, buying + merchandising experience, preferably at high-growth, DTC companies. 

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required 
  • DTC experience preferred 
  • Experience buying, building line plans, driving product assortment strategy, and working with cross-functional partners to develop products that fill market voids and drive sales growth 
  • Experience developing and managing an open-to-buy budget 
  • A strong propensity for data and analytics with a creative mindset 
  • Ability to articulate trends, results & strategy based on data analysis and present accordingly 
  • Results-oriented; demonstrates a sense of urgency for overcoming obstacles and achieving measurable results; resourceful and driven; willing to get hands dirty and personally drive projects and timelines 
  • Growth-oriented; ability to prioritize among shifting priorities, enjoy working in a fast-paced and ever-changing entrepreneurial environment 
  • Resilient; admits mistakes, moves quickly to course correct 
  • Advanced Excel and Google Sheets skills 
  • Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal and presentation skills 
  • A passion for minnow and its positioning in the market 

benefits: 

  • 3+ weeks PTO Plan (PLUS 2 Bonus weeks off in July + December 'minnow-cations) Total of 5 weeks 
  • Hybrid, 3 days in office + 2 remote
  • Medical, dental, + vision insurance 
  • Generous Employee Discount + Complimentary Product