Merchandise Planner

The Merchandise Planner is a key member of our team, responsible for driving business results through portfolio management and data analytics. This exciting role enables the right candidate to directly impact our sales, gross margin, and inventory turn plans.

• Develop division, department, and class level plans that support our Music & Arts strategy
• Collaborate with the Sr Planning Manager and Merchants to develop pre-season top-down/bottom-up level plans for sales, inventory, markdowns, and margin
• Own OTB, sales, and inventory forecasting, including assessing total risks and creating resolutions to achieve/exceed financial targets
• Drive strategies to positively impact assortment and financials
• Own business recaps (W/M/Q) to inform short-term and long-term financial strategies/action plans
• Collaborate with the merchant team to develop and communicate a comprehensive pre-season strategy that aligns financial and product opportunities across multiple departments
• Provide regular analysis of business trends, both pre-season and post-season, along with the appropriate actions that support effective inventory management and maximizes sales and margin and mitigate risk to all business partners
• Own recommending and executing aged inventory and in-season pricing strategies
• Drives business discussions and adjusts strategies to optimize inventory investments and maximize results
• Create and cultivate a collaborative, innovative, and results-orientated environment
• Maintain in-stock levels, and optimize inventory
• Partner with the field teams and provide long-range forecasts and seasonal item forecasts in line with the rental season calendar to ensure product is ordered to support rental goals
• Collaborates on continual development and improvement of planning tools and processes

Music & Arts is a world of creativity and music, where we encourage our teammates to find their own individual sound. We strive to create lifelong musicians and make a difference in the world by enabling musicians and non-musicians alike to experience the almost indescribable happiness that comes from playing an instrument.

We believe in putting our customers first, engaging with respect and integrity, and fulfilling our mission with passion. Our company has a rich history, dating back to 1952, when the first Music & Arts store was opened in a small house in Bethesda, MD. Since then, we have expanded nationwide through organic growth and a series of acquisitions and mergers with other music dealers.

Today, Music & Arts is part of the Guitar Center enterprise, comprising 225+ retail stores, 200+ educational representatives, and 250+ affiliate locations. We are committed to helping people find their sound and fill the world with more music.