What’s a merch planner’s role?

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A merchandise planner strategizes merchandise for a store, determining what to buy, when, and how to display it. This position requires good communication and business skills and has room for advancement, especially in companies with chain stores. Generally, a bachelor’s degree in merchandising or a related field is required, although some employers will accept associate degrees. Typically, three to five years of retail experience is also a job requirement, to ensure the candidate is familiar with the retail environment.

The merchandise planner must keep up with emerging trends and needs to know the market well. In addition to following fashion and making sure she knows what types of products will be in demand, the planner also needs to think about the demographics of a store or chain of stores. Needs may also vary by region; clothes shipped to a branch of a New York City store, for example, may be different from those shipped to a midwestern city like Minneapolis, because the fashions will be different.

Merchandise planners work with merchandise buyers to find out what’s available and make ordering decisions. They decide how much to order and when to schedule deliveries to ensure items arrive on time. They can also organize store displays and plan the organization of store aisles and items. The goal is to draw customers from the store organization by doing things like placing related items next to each other to encourage people to buy them.

The merchandise planner must track sales performance at individual stores to identify strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments to merchandise in that store. Different branches may sell different combinations of items, and it’s important to be able to move merchandise around to meet need. One store may constantly sell sunglasses, for example, while another has relatively low demand. Sending the exact same merchandise to every store would be impractical.

In large stores, the merchandise planner can be a trendsetter and react to trends. They work with trend spotters and designers to spot new emerging trends and quickly follow them. This makes customers feel that the store is in step with the trends, leading to increased loyalty and will also help the store make a leap in the market. The merchandise planner might, for example, get an advance contract on scarves, knowing that everyone will want them in six months, driving up the price and potentially outgrowing production skills. Your store may offer scarves when others cannot, and may provide them at a lower price because of your original contract with the manufacturer.

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