Apparel Group
Manager - Retail Merchandise Planning & Inventory Management
- Permanent
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Experience 2 - 5 yrs
Job expiry date: 05/05/2026
Job overview
Date posted
22/03/2026
Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Salary
AED 20,000 - 30,000 per month
Compensation
Comprehensive package
Experience
2 - 5 yrs
Seniority
Manager
Qualification
Bachelors degree
Expiration date
05/05/2026
Job description
Responsible for reviewing stock to sales ratios, responding to changing sales trends, and ensuring plan sales, plan markups, and plan markdowns are achieved by brands within a retail merchandising and inventory planning environment. The role ensures achievement of budget and LFL growth for the assigned department while managing inventory levels at the store level. It focuses on ensuring desired first price sell-thru for each season, supporting the planning manager in preparation of buying budget and assortment plan, and ensuring realized margin targets are met. The position requires maintaining an adequate mix of merchandise across stores as per defined guidelines and ensuring continuous availability of CORE products. It includes launching new products and categories at stores and ensuring timely replenishment, performing regular inter-store consolidations to maximize sell-thru, and coordinating closely with retail and buying teams. The role also involves weekly preparation and review of retail reports with buying and retail teams, identifying concern areas, planning corrective action, and flagging inventory concerns to planning manager and buying department head for efficient resolution, utilizing inventory management, stock to sales ratio analysis, sales trend analysis, budget planning, LFL growth tracking, markdown planning, markup planning, assortment planning, sell-through analysis, margin management, replenishment processes, and inter-store consolidation strategies.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Review and analyze stock to sales ratios across all assigned product categories and continuously monitor changing sales trends, ensuring that plan sales, planned markups, and planned markdowns are achieved by brands while proactively adjusting strategies based on real-time retail performance data and seasonal demand fluctuations.
- Manage and control inventory levels for the assigned department at store level by implementing inventory management techniques, ensuring optimal stock availability, preventing overstocking or stock-outs, and aligning inventory with forecasted sales and business objectives to support overall budget and LFL growth targets.
- Ensure achievement of budget and LFL growth by closely tracking financial and operational performance metrics, identifying deviations from plan, and implementing corrective actions in coordination with retail and buying teams to drive consistent business growth and profitability.
- Drive first price sell-through performance for each season by monitoring sell-through analysis, optimizing pricing strategies, and ensuring that merchandise is positioned effectively in stores to maximize full-price sales and reduce dependency on markdowns.
- Assist the planning manager in preparing buying budgets and detailed assortment plans by analyzing historical data, forecasting demand, and ensuring that the right product mix is selected to meet customer demand while achieving margin and revenue targets.
- Ensure realized margin targets are met by managing markup and markdown planning, monitoring product performance, and taking timely decisions on pricing, promotions, and inventory allocation to protect profitability across all categories.
- Maintain an adequate and strategic mix of merchandise at stores as per defined guidelines, ensuring that CORE products are always available, while balancing new product introductions and category expansions to enhance overall assortment effectiveness.
- Execute the launch of new products and categories at store level by coordinating with relevant teams, ensuring proper allocation, timely replenishment, and continuous availability, while also performing regular inter-store consolidations to optimize stock distribution and maximize sell-through across locations.
Experience & skills
- Possess a Bachelor's Degree as a minimum educational qualification, demonstrating foundational knowledge relevant to retail merchandising, inventory planning, or business operations within a structured commercial environment.
- Demonstrate strong expertise in inventory management and stock to sales ratio analysis, with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make informed decisions to optimize inventory levels and improve retail performance outcomes.
- Exhibit solid understanding of sales trend analysis, forecasting, and retail planning processes, enabling effective response to changing market conditions and ensuring alignment with planned sales, markups, and markdown strategies.
- Show proven capability in budget planning and LFL growth tracking, including the ability to manage financial targets, analyze performance metrics, and implement corrective strategies to ensure consistent achievement of business objectives.
- Have hands-on experience in merchandise assortment planning, category management, and merchandise mix planning, ensuring that product offerings are aligned with customer demand, seasonal trends, and company guidelines.
- Demonstrate proficiency in sell-through analysis, margin management, and markdown optimization, ensuring that pricing and promotional strategies are effectively executed to maximize profitability and minimize excess inventory.
- Possess working knowledge of inventory replenishment processes, inter-store consolidation practices, and inventory optimization techniques to ensure efficient stock distribution and continuous product availability across stores.
- Exhibit experience in retail reporting and data analysis, including preparation and review of weekly reports, identification of performance gaps, and collaboration with retail and buying teams to implement actionable plans for improvement.