Assistant Planning Manager (Merchandising) | Retail |UAE

Overview Of The Role:

The Assistant Planning Manager plays a crucial role in supporting the Planning function by developing accurate financial, sales, and inventory plans across various channels and markets. This role is key to forecasting sales, margin, markdown, and inventory requirements, which are essential for maintaining robust business performance and effective stock management. Collaborating closely with Merchandising, Allocation, Retail, and Supply Chain teams, the Assistant Planning Manager ensures that all plans are well-aligned and executed with precision. They contribute to the annual business planning and are instrumental in managing markdown strategies to optimize sales and profitability.

What You Will Do:

Business Planning

Responsible for Planning Annual Business Plan by Market and Business Unit.
Deliver Weekly Warehouse Sales and Stock Intake (WSSI) for Clothing & Home, Food and Total Business.
Execute Markdown Management ensuring alignment with business objectives.

Sales & Financial Planning

Support the development of seasonal and annual sales plans by market, store, category, and channel (Retail, E-Commerce, Omnichannel).
Assist in building weekly, monthly, and seasonal sales forecasts, incorporating past performance, trends, and business drivers.
Prepare financial projections for Gross Profit, Gross Margin, Markdown, and Inventory.
Track performance versus plan and highlight risks or opportunities.

Business Unit Sales Planning

Support Planning Manager in Business Unit sales planning by season, incorporating new product strategies and potential sales gaps from the previous year.
Monitor performance against plan, identifying risks, opportunities, and corrective actions to optimize seasonal results.

Markdown & Price Optimization

Support markdown planning, price phasing, and promotional analysis.
Track sell-through and aging stock to recommend timely markdown actions.
Partner with Merchandising to ensure markdown strategy protects margin while achieving sell-through targets.

Reporting & Analysis

Prepare weekly and monthly business performance reports including sales, margin, stock, and KPIs.
Analyze product, category, and store performance to support strategic decisions.
Identify business risks and provide insight-driven recommendations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Support Finance in validating forecasts and financial submissions.
Work with Buying and Merchandising team on Weekly BU and Dept level planning.

System & Process Support

Maintain accurate planning data and product hierarchies in reporting systems.
Develop templates, dashboards, and presentations for planning reviews.

Required Skills To Be Successful:

Strong analytical and numerical skills, proficient in Excel and reporting tools.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively across functions.
Advanced Excel & reporting skills.

What Qualifies You For The Role:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Retail Management, or related field.
3-5 years of experience in merchandise planning, financial planning, or retail analysis, preferably in fashion or multi-category retail.
Experience with planning systems such as JDA, Power BI, Tableau, SAP, or similar.
Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced retail environment.

About Al-Futtaim Retail

Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in Retail across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past 30 years. We have developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected Brands in the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of the largest Global partners of Marks and Spencer’s in both regions with over 75 stores offering both fashion & food options.

Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse workforce which includes over 100 nationalities across 12 countries. Join us today and make a difference…