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Merchandise Planning Manager Jobs (NOW HIRING)

The Role + Purpose As a Merchandise Planning Manager, you'll lead the financial and strategic planning for your division -- guiding a team in driving sales, margin, and inventory productivity. You'll ...

The Role + Purpose As a Merchandise Planning Manager, you'll lead the financial and strategic planning for your division - guiding a team in driving sales, margin, and inventory productivity. You'll ...

$128 - $163/hr

YOU WILL BE The Manager, Merchandise Planning is the strategic leader for their category, owning the full omni-channel P&L and inventory efficiency. They are responsible for driving Pre-Season and In ...

New

The Role + Purpose As a Merchandise Planning Manager, you'll lead the financial and strategic planning for your division - guiding a team in driving sales, margin, and inventory productivity. You'll ...

The Manager of Merchandise Planning will be responsible for execution of assortment reviews and analyzing online programs and trends. This individual will drive promotion, pricing & profitability ...

YOU WILL BE The Manager, Merchandise Planning is the strategic leader for their category, owning the full omni-channel P&L and inventory efficiency. They are responsible for driving Pre-Season and In ...

New

... Manager, Planning, you will lead merchandise planning for GWYN, goop's fashion label, while supporting supply planning across goop Beauty and inventory analysis for the multi-brand business.

... Manager, Planning, you will lead merchandise planning for GWYN, goop's fashion label, while supporting supply planning across goop Beauty and inventory analysis for the multi-brand business.

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Merchandise Planning Manager information

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$55.5K

$97.2K

$152K

How much do merchandise planning manager jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for merchandise planning manager in the United States is $97,202.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $73,500.00 and $116,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a merchandise planning manager do?

A Merchandise Planning Manager is responsible for developing strategies to ensure the right products are available at the right time, location, and quantity to maximize sales and profit. They analyze sales trends, forecast demand, manage inventory levels, and work closely with buyers and suppliers. Their goal is to balance stock levels, reduce excess inventory, and optimize product assortment to meet customer needs and business targets.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a merchandise planning manager?

To thrive as a Merchandise Planning Manager, you need strong analytical skills, experience in inventory management, and typically a degree in business, finance, or a related field. Familiarity with planning software such as Oracle Retail, SAP, or JDA, as well as advanced Excel skills, is often required. Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities help you work effectively across buying, merchandising, and supply chain teams. These skills ensure optimized inventory levels, maximized sales, and efficient cross-functional operations in a dynamic retail environment.

How does a merchandise planning manager typically collaborate with buying and allocation teams to optimize inventory levels?

A Merchandise Planning Manager works closely with buying and allocation teams to ensure inventory aligns with sales forecasts and market trends. This collaboration involves regular meetings to review performance data, discuss upcoming promotions or seasonality, and adjust purchase orders accordingly. By maintaining open communication and sharing insights, the teams can minimize stockouts or overstock situations, ultimately supporting sales and profitability goals. Effective collaboration also helps streamline the replenishment process and respond quickly to changes in consumer demand.

What is the difference between Merchandise Planning Manager vs Merchandise Buyer?

AspectMerchandise Planning ManagerMerchandise Buyer
Primary FocusDeveloping sales forecasts, inventory plans, and assortment strategiesSelecting and purchasing products to meet customer demand
ResponsibilitiesAnalyzing sales data, managing stock levels, coordinating with vendorsResearching trends, negotiating with suppliers, selecting products
Skills & CredentialsAnalytical skills, inventory management, retail industry knowledgeTrend awareness, negotiation skills, product knowledge
Work EnvironmentCorporate retail offices, planning departmentsRetail stores, buying offices, supplier meetings

The Merchandise Planning Manager focuses on strategic planning, forecasting, and inventory management to optimize sales and stock levels. In contrast, the Merchandise Buyer concentrates on selecting and purchasing products based on market trends and supplier negotiations. Both roles are essential in retail operations but serve different functions within the supply chain.

What is a merchandise planning manager's salary?

The salary of a merchandise planning manager typically ranges from $70,000 to $130,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. Senior roles or those in major markets may offer higher compensation, often supplemented with bonuses and benefits.
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States with the most job openings for Merchandise Planning Manager jobs include:

Infographic showing various Merchandise Planning Manager job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $97,202 per year, or $46.7 per hour.

Costing & Merchandise Planning Manager

Skechers

Manhattan Beach, CA • On-site

$85K - $95K/yr

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago


Skechers rating

6.5

Company rating: 6.5 out of 10

Based on 177 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

39th of 62 rated fashion and textile manufacturers


Job description

WHO WE ARE:
Headquartered in Southern California, Skechers—the Comfort Technology Company®—has spent over 30 years helping men, women, and kids everywhere look and feel good. Comfort innovation is at the core of everything we do, driving the development of stylish, high-quality products at a great value. From our diverse footwear collections to our expanding range of apparel and accessories, Skechers is a complete lifestyle brand.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
Develop and implement Skechers apparel cost control procedures and policies to enhance organizational costing performance against key objectives. In addition to costing, this role will also support the merchandise planning needs by supplying seasonal projections to be used for capacity planning and material bookings. In this highly collaborative role you will work closely with Merchandisers, Sales, Product Developers, Suppliers and our Production team to support the entire product development costing and merchandise planning process.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

  • Responsible for costing management and analysis of all apparel from development through production. This includes the development, evolution and implementation of the short-term and long-term strategic agenda with focus on improved financial margins. All while ensuring transparency of any financial risks and opportunities to internal partners.
  • Develop and deliver costing processes, tools, and training to development teams to enable and empower better decision making to increase margins.
  • Conduct cost comparisons by gender, silhouette, COO to ensure optimal margin is achieved.
  • Skilled/experienced in IMU/margin calculations and able to calculate target FOB to hit specific margin requirements (based on provided Wholesale, Duty, Target Margin, Freight).
  • Collaborate with Materials team on material costs and process improvements, providing seasonal volume projections to aid in negotiations and ensuring that updates are communicated in proper cadence with costing calendar deadlines.
  • Partner with Merchandisers and sales to develop seasonal margin targets and work closely to drive for margin improvements.
  • Negotiate and reconfirm MOQ/MCQ and Skechers Cost Standards as needed. Engages in vendor assessments specific to development deliverables, costing and overall quality of product.
  • Maintain System’s FOB and Pre-cost in Flex and working excel files for SMU/Off-Price.
  • Provide high-level analysis, business reports, and qualitative actionable feedback to make recommendations to senior leadership, including contributions to quarterly hindsight's.
  • Manage needed Compass updates.
  • Manage communication with internal and external teams.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING:

  • Ability to multi-task.
  • Excellent communicator and team player.
  • Great Negotiator/Compromiser.
  • Excellent Excel skills.  Manage/generate margin reports, analysis, ad hoc reports.
  • Able to analyze complex margin reports, cost component breakdowns, materialization breakdowns, production pair reports.

REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

  • Education: Degree Required.
  • Experience in apparel industry; preferred development and/or costing experience.
  • Computer Applications, Excel skill is mandatory.

The pay range for this position is $85,000-$95,000/yr USD.

About Skechers

Skechers, a global Fortune 500® company, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel, and accessories. Serving over 180 countries and territories, Skechers connects customers to products through department and specialty stores, e-commerce and digital stores, and through our more than 5,300 Skechers retail locations.


Equal Employment Opportunity
Skechers is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful work environment. Skechers provides equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment without regard race, color, religion, gender, gender identification and expression, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, military status, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic established by local, state or federal law.


Reasonable Accommodation
Applicants for employment who require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job should request appropriate accommodation by emailing benefits@skechers.com.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each job responsibility satisfactorily.  The skills, abilities and physical demands described are representative of those duties that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities, who are otherwise qualified for the job position, to perform the essential functions.
 


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