Merchandising Planner - London, N1C 4AG

Merchandising Planner - London, N1C 4AG, United Kingdom

The A Side: A Day in The Life

UMUK value e-Commerce as a key foundational channel to connect artists and fans. This is a fast-paced role overseeing our merchandise product strategy across the UMG roster. You will be principal merchandiser to help with forecasting, replenishing & suggested promo activity for our merchandise collections across our central and frontline labels and merchandise division.

The business unit manages design & ideation of merchandise and manages a portfolio of ecommerce stores whilst providing a broad scope of services across eCommerce, Tour, VIP, Fan Clubs and Retail.

You will work across the Direct to Consumer (D2C) roster and work closely with the Head of Planning as well as our label CFTS, brand Management, creative, Production and operations. This role is a vital part of the eCommerce growth strategy and will oversee a full merchandise strategy including product trends, analytics, and individual store forecasts.

The B Side: Skills & Experience

• You will work closely with our Brand Managers & label Ecomm Product Managers to plan & buy product ranges, manage stock levels & budgets

• Analyse our collection ranges looking for trends to forecast out sales, daily unit cadence, stock cover, top up opportunities and profit margins on sales history & growth opportunities

• Delve into product KPI’s; clicks, conversion, days online, sell through and PLP position

• Communicating with our Store Managers with recommendations for merchandising of stores where we have recently topped up products or if products have high stock & had minimal visibility

• Support development of our labels a marketing and promotion calendar and manage planning lifecycle of products

• Manage the evergreen merchandising strategy for specific artist stores and collections

• Price & SWOT analysis across product types

• Factory and supplier visits with the N1C production team

• Competitor analysis around; product set, price and promotion

• Communicate inventory needs with Senior Director of Ecommerce, label, brand management, supply chain and production teams to plan against upcoming product lines and marketing

• Initiate buy - gaining financial approval and processing with in-house creative & production team. Communicate incoming buys and timelines to key stakeholders for each store

Person Specification

• Extensive experience within a merchandising role, preferably within the fashion industry

• Strong analytical and numerical skills

• Strong organizational skills, with ability to successfully prioritize and manage multiple accountabilities simultaneously

• Experience with forecasting & demand planning across a high volume of styles & SKUs

• Highly proficient within Microsoft Excel pivot tables, vlookups

• Good decision making skills

• Ability to work well under pressure & manage multiple projects/tasks with competing deadlines

• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills

• BQ and Looker studio experience desirable

• Ability to work within and across multiple cross functional teams, collaborating with a range of commercial and commerce stakeholders

• Ability to maintain confidentiality

• Strongly proactive - advising labels on buys, replen and promo in a timely fashion to maximise sales

• Ability to interact with outside partners and executive management

About UMG UK

We are Universal Music Group UK – the UK’s leading music-based entertainment company. We exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. We help UK artists produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to inspire and entertain fans at home and around the world.​

Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits

• Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)

• Private Medical Insurance

• 25 paid days of annual leave

• Interest Free Season Ticket Loan

• Holiday Purchase scheme

• Dental and Travel Insurance options

• Cycle to Work Scheme

• Salary Sacrifice Cars

• Subsidised Gym Membership

• Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)