Key Responsibilities
1. OTB Planning & Budget Management
- Prepare and manage annual, seasonal and monthly OTB plans aligned with the approved AOP.
- Develop category-wise and product-wise merchandise budgets.
- Monitor planned versus actual purchases, sales, inventory and closing stock.
- Ensure merchandise procurement remains within approved OTB limits.
- Track budget utilisation and highlight deviations with corrective action plans. 2. Merchandise & Assortment Planning
- Develop category-wise assortment plans, option plans and merchandise mix.
- Define product width, depth, size curves and price architecture.
- Plan merchandise allocation based on store segmentation, sales potential and customer profiles.
- Coordinate with Design and Buying teams to align product range with business requirements.
- Identify assortment gaps and recommend opportunities for category growth. 3. Product Performance & Analysis
- Monitor style-wise, category-wise and collection-wise product performance.
- Track key metrics such as sell-through, gross margin, stock turn, ASP, stock cover and markdown percentage.
- Identify bestsellers, slow-moving products and non-performing styles.
- Recommend replenishment, stock movement, markdown and liquidation strategies.
- Conduct regular product performance reviews and share actionable insights with stakeholders. 4. Inventory & Stock Productivity
- Monitor inventory levels across stores and warehouses.
- Ensure optimum stock availability while minimising excess inventory and stock-outs.
- Drive effective replenishment and stock rotation.




- Monitor ageing inventory and take timely corrective measures.
- Improve inventory productivity and working capital efficiency. 5. MIS & Business Reviews
- Prepare periodic merchandise performance reports and dashboards.
- Analyse sales and inventory trends against approved budgets.
- Provide category-wise performance insights and business forecasts.
- Highlight risks, opportunities and corrective actions to management.
- Support annual business planning and seasonal reviews. 6. Cross-Functional Coordination
- Work closely with Design, Buying, Retail Operations, Finance and Supply Chain teams.
- Align merchandise plans with business requirements and sales targets.
- Ensure timely execution of merchandise and inventory plans.
- Drive data-based decision-making across the planning function. Qualification & Experience
- MBA / PGDM in Retail Management, Merchandising, Fashion Management or Finance.
- 7–10 years of relevant experience in apparel or fashion retail.
- Strong experience in OTB planning, merchandise budgeting, assortment planning and inventory management.
- Experience in multi-store retail operations is essential.
- Advanced Excel and strong analytical capabilities. Core Competencies
- Solid commercial and financial acumen.
- Excellent analytical and numerical skills.
- Sound understanding of apparel retail business metrics.
- Strong planning, forecasting and budgeting skills.
- Cross-functional stakeholder management.
- Problem-solving and decision-making ability.

📌 Planning & Merchandising Manager (Noida)
🏢 KAZO Brands
📍 Noida