MD Planner

About the company

Our client is an international luxury fashion house with a strong focus on product, retail performance, and customer experience. Its merchandising teams work across planning, buying, allocation, retail, and e-commerce, connecting local market insight with regional and global business priorities. The culture is collaborative and commercially minded, with close engagement between central teams and stores. This is an opportunity to join a team where careful analysis and practical knowledge of the retail environment can shape decisions across a varied store network. The organization is also open to developing the successful candidate, making this a strong fit for an experienced planner ready to broaden their scope and influence.

What the job entails

The Merchandising Planner will drive store-level planning and inventory performance across the region, translating sales targets and local retail insight into actionable plans. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Merchandising, this individual contributor will partner closely with planning, allocation, merchandising, retail, regional, and e-commerce teams. Key responsibilities include maintaining store sales plans, reviewing performance against targets, identifying risks and opportunities, and recommending actions to improve sales, profitability, and inventory efficiency. The role will also guide replenishment planning, stock rebalancing, store capacity and sizing analysis, and seasonal stock requirements. Depending on the candidate’s experience and evolving team needs, the position may also provide some buying support. Regular communication with store and regional stakeholders will be central to success.

Key requirements

• Around five years of merchandising planning experience in fashion retail; luxury brand experience is preferred.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with advanced Excel capabilities and confidence working with large data sets.
• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail in reporting, forecasting, and performance analysis.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to identify opportunities to improve sales, profitability, and inventory efficiency.
• Knowledge of supply chain processes, particularly replenishment systems and stock flows.
• Japanese-language proficiency to communicate effectively with local stakeholders; non-native Japanese speakers are welcome if they can work confidently in Japanese.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to collaborate across planning, allocation, merchandising, retail, and regional teams.
• Graduate-caliber education or equivalent analytical and professional grounding.
• Experience with location-level planning, stock optimization, store capacity, sizing profiles, or store performance analysis is an advantage.