Merchandise Planner

Company Overview

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. The company ignites the passions of global sports fans and maximizes the presence and reach for hundreds of sports partners globally by offering innovative products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans, a global partner network with over 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, teams, players associations, athletes, celebrities, colleges, and college conferences, and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail business stores. 

As a market leader with more than 18,000 employees, and hundreds of partners, suppliers, and vendors worldwide, we take responsibility for driving toward more ethical and sustainable practices. We are committed to building an inclusive Fanatics community, reflecting and representing society at every level of the business, including our employees, vendors, partners and fans. Fanatics is also dedicated to making a positive impact in the communities where we all live, work, and play through strategic philanthropic initiatives.     

Assist with the pre-season and in-season sales, receipt, inventory and margin planning, analysis, reporting and forecasting for Merchandising at the league, department and class and level in order to help maximize the company financial goals and values. The Merchandise Planning team will focus all planning, analysis and reporting activities around driving profitable top line sales as well as managing our inventory. Responsible for executing timely and accurate analysis to assist the teams in making better business decisions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Assortment Planning / Pre-Book Process

•Develop time/action plan to drive timely completion

•Assist with key analysis to include:

•Total assortment plan financial Y/Y rollup (sales and receipts)

•Pre-book commitment Y/Y comparison

•# of 30, 60, 90-day supply items Y/Y comparison

•# new items

•# discontinued items

•Identify key initial delivery dates

•Identify set and flow opportunities

•Size selling analysis

Reporting and Analysis

•Recaps business weekly and makes recommendations to drive business and achieve financial goals

•Provide timely and accurate reports / summaries to include ad hoc requests

•Responsible for the analysis, data interpretation and developing solutions / action plans

Annual Planning Process

•Develop annual sales, receipt, markdown and inventory plans by league, department and category

•In concert with Merchandise team, identify uptrend, maintain and downtrend businesses – plan accordingly

•Develop historical analysis (team, classification, vendor, player, etc. to assist with planning

•Establish sales targets that align with corporate strategies and historical performance

•Build monthly receipt plans to support sales targets and other company priorities

•Ensure monthly inventory levels are sufficient and appropriate to support sales and align with other key financial goals

•Manage to company time/action plan and collaborate cross-functionally

Replenishment Inventory Management

•Identify potential sales opportunities (macro and item level)

•Item exception reporting to identify key over / under opportunities

•Review and react to fast / slow sellers

•End to end inventory management - understand sales trends, inventory level and on order

Weekly / Monthly Forecasting Process

•Formulates weekly sales, receipts, inventory updates and direction

•Responsible for driving the monthly forecast process with the respective merchandising team

•Identify key issues and opportunities and collaborate cross-functionally to develop appropriate action plans

•Focus on timely and accurate forecasts the lead to more proactive business decisions

Hot Market Focus

•Ensure initial inventory levels are sufficient to maximize sales while minimizing markdown risk

•Ensure purchase orders are on-time

•Provide pre and post event analysis (buy quantities, sales, sell thru, etc.)

Systems Development and Support

•Intense focus on data integrity

•Identify on-going replenishment and reporting enhancements

Internal / External Collaboration        

•Merchandise collaboration to include reporting and analysis, monthly forecast process to identify key business opportunities – sales first focus

•Attend and actively participate in weekly team meetings and monthly training / development session

Education and Experience Requirements 

•Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated ability to analyze data, identify key opportunities and develop the appropriate solutions

•Ability to think objectively and interpret quantitative and qualitative data

•Ability to evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable solutions

•Possesses innovative, team-oriented traits 

•Proven team building, leadership and analytical abilities

•Ability to influence key team members and cross-functional partners by gaining trust and demonstrating business expertise

•Demonstrated business acumen in a fast-paced, trend driven retail environment

•Proven ability to work across a diverse organization and drive results through a cross-functional team environment

•Possess a clear understanding of financial measurements and how to impact them

•Self-motivated with ability to inspire, motivate and influence others

•Accountable for personal career and skill development

•Demonstrated ability to consistently drive and deliver financial results and goals

•Strong interpersonal skills; excellent written, verbal and listening communication abilities

•Intense passion for the business, sports and people

•Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Access, Data Warehouse / Business Intelligence tools, Merchandise Planning solutions

•High aptitude and desire to learn technical applications quickly

•2 years of retail or equivalent experience preferred

•Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required (3.0 or greater)

Tryouts are open at Fanatics! Our team is passionate, talented, unified, and charged with creating the fan experience of tomorrow. The ball is in your court now.

Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don’t fall victim to fraud.  Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Feel free to ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of communication for interview, and ensure your communication is coming from a Fanatics or Fanatics Brand email address.  For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.fanaticsinc.com/careers

Fanatics is committed to responsible planning and purchasing (RPP) practices, working with its business partners across its global and multi-layered supply chain, to ensure that planning, sourcing, and purchasing decisions, along with other supporting processes, do not impede or conflict with the fulfillment of Fanatics’ fair labor practices.

NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS/APPLICANTS: In connection with your application, we collect information that identifies, reasonably relates to or describes you (“Personal Information”). The categories of Personal Information that we collect include your name, government issued identification number(s), email address, mailing address, other contact information, emergency contact information, employment history, educational history, criminal record, and demographic information.  We collect and use those categories of Personal Information about you for human resources and other business management purposes, including identifying and evaluating you as a candidate for potential or future employment or future contract positions, recordkeeping in relation to recruiting and hiring, conducting criminal background checks as permitted by law, conducting analytics, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements and Company policies. For additional information on how we collect and use personal information in connection with your job application, review our Privacy Notice.