Merchandising Planner (Timberland)

A day in the life of a Planner, Direct to Consumer at VF looks a little like this. As the planning partner for the Timberland Direct-to-Consumer business, you will help shape seasonal financial plans, manage inventory investments, and ensure the right products are available at the right time to serve consumers. Working closely with Marketplace, Buying, and Merchandising teams, you will turn sales, inventory, and consumer insights into actionable plans that drive profitable growth. From pre-season planning through in-season forecasting and open-to-buy management, you will play a key role in balancing demand, inventory, and financial performance. This role reports to the Planning Manager, Timberland.

Let's break down that day in the life a bit more.

• Support the Planning Manager in developing top-down merchandise financial plans that align with brand, marketplace, and channel objectives.
• Review and analyze store plans, providing recommendations and feedback during monthly, seasonal, and annual planning cycles.
• Build and maintain open-to-buy (OTB) plans using sales, sell-through, markdown, and inventory assumptions to ensure optimal inventory investment throughout the season.
• Develop seasonal product flow plans that balance inventory availability with financial targets and consumer demand.
• Create and maintain rolling forecasts, identifying month-to-go and year-to-go risks and opportunities while recommending actions to improve business performance.
• Partner with Marketplace teams to evaluate markdown and promotional strategies, ensuring alignment with brand, inventory, and financial objectives.
• Help drive consistency and alignment in markdown and pricing strategies across multiple consumer channels.
• Monitor sales trends, forecast ending inventory positions, identify potential risks, and recommend actions to optimize inventory productivity.
• Leverage data and analytics to monitor key performance metrics, identify business trends, and provide recommendations that support decision-making.
• Build strong partnerships across Marketplace, Buying, Merchandising, and other business functions to support integrated planning and execution.
• Lead and participate in regular business reviews with Marketplace and Buying teams, providing updates on performance, forecasts, risks, and opportunities.

What do you need to succeed?

We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundation skills you'll need to succeed and excel. While formal education in Business, Retail, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, or a related field is valuable, we are most interested in candidates who can combine strong analytical thinking with commercial decision-making and a passion for retail planning.

The foundation skills you will need in this position are:

• Mandarin speaking, you will be working closely with colleagues from Hong Kong and Taiwan, many of these meetings will be conducted in Mandarin
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret large data sets and translate findings into actionable business recommendations.
• Advanced numerical and quantitative analysis capabilities with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong forecasting and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify risks, evaluate alternatives, and recommend solutions.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including experience working with complex planning and analytical models.
• Ability to turn data into meaningful insights that influence planning, inventory, and financial decisions.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver against established timelines.
• Effective communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to engage stakeholders across different functions and organizational levels.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to build productive relationships in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
• Understanding of retail planning concepts including inventory management, forecasting, sell-through analysis, markdown optimization, and open-to-buy management.
• Fluent English communication skills in a business environment.
• Ability to develop and utilize AI tools.
• There are also a few skills that are not required but preferred.
• Experience in retail merchandise planning, allocation, buying, merchandising, demand planning, or inventory management.
• Experience working within a Direct-to-Consumer, wholesale, or omnichannel retail environment.
• Knowledge of planning and business intelligence tools such as Tableau, Access, Power BI, or similar analytical platforms.
• Experience working with global or regional stakeholder groups across multiple markets.
• Knowledge of apparel, footwear, or consumer goods industries

Now WE have a question for YOU. Are you in?