The Merchandise Planner will report into the Director of Merchandising.  He/she will be responsible for helping drive The Tie Bar’s growth strategy through managing inventory across all channels, including web, stores, and Amazon, and developing an allocation strategy to drive sales growth.  This is a highly analytical role but also requires the ability to execute and have end-to-end ownership over inventory: from coming up with the strategy, to purchasing and allocating the inventory, to analyzing and interpreting data and reacting accordingly.

The Tie Bar is a Chicago-based, direct fashion brand that is disrupting the menswear space. We are the #1 eCommerce destination for high quality, trend-driven accessories at an accessible price, and recently expanded into men’s clothing with the launch of dress shirts and made-to-measure suiting. We're a small, entrepreneurial team with big ambition. We have the wind of a strong brand and established traction at our back.

Responsibilities

-        Play a key role in selecting and implementing an inventory management tool – own the use and optimization of this tool once implemented

-        Work with the Director of Merchandising and Director of Finance to define open-to-buy, stock to sales, and turn goals for the company; manage to these goals on an ongoing basis

-        Consolidate, analyze, and communicate style and location based performance – including sales/inventory and impact of seasonality

-        Develop and implement a buying, replenishment, and allocation strategy across channels to optimize sales and inventory spend

-        Manage an omni-channel replenishment and allocation business with a growing retail footprint – be able to allocate to stores across the country specifically based on their sales and style needs

-        Articulate and deliver strategies and thought process to upper level management regarding inventory and allocation decisions

-        Work with cross-functional teams to help form strategies and optimize business

 Requirements

-        Minimum of 3 years prior experience in inventory management, allocation, retail planning, and/or related analytical role

-        Bachelor’s degree required

-        Excellent analytical skills – highly proficient in Excel, with the ability to summarize and deliver insights from large amounts of data

-        Experience quickly learning and using new technologies – able to use BI tools and create dashboards, comfortable working in inventory planning systems, etc.

-        Project management experience and the ability to juggle lots of tasks simultaneously

-        Innovative, forward-thinking, and self-starting mentality – must be able to take ownership and hit the ground running in a fast-paced start-up environment

-        Passion for eCommerce, fashion, or retail