Job Description

Position Overview

The Merchandise Planning Associate is responsible for driving profitable growth through disciplined financial planning, rigorous assortment architecture, and proactive inventory management at the style and CC level. This role operates as a key decision-making partner within BP&A, translating strategic intent into executable plans that optimize Sales, GM$, Inventory productivity, and customer experience and will cover both the digital RLE and brick-and-mortar RLS channels.

This position is accountable not only for execution, but for owning the quality of the plan, identifying risks and opportunities early, and influencing cross-functional partners (Buying, Allocation, Brand Merch, Production, Finance) to deliver against both pre-season commitments and in-season performance.

Success in this role requires strong commercial judgment, precision in retail math, and the ability to connect product, inventory flow, and customer demand into a cohesive, forward-looking strategy.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Financial Planning

• Own and deliver financial outcomes (Sales, GM$, Inventory, Turn) through well-constructed assortment and inventory strategies grounded in historical trends, forward demand signals, and channel dynamics.
• Build, maintain, and continuously refine detailed style-level financial plans across pre-season and in-season horizons for the Evergreen assortment
• Translate high-level targets into actionable CC-level investment strategies, including depth, breadth, and lifecycle management.
• Identify and articulate risks and opportunities early, with clear recommendations to course-correct performance.

Assortment Planning

• Partner closely with Buying to shape assortments that are both brand-right and financially productive, proactively identifying gaps, redundancies, and opportunities.
• Quantify assortment architecture (style count, depth, size curves, attribute mix) to ensure alignment with financial targets and customer demand.
• Drive CC productivity through ongoing analysis of performance, lifecycle management, and rationalization decisions.
• Execute and continuously refine store clustering and attribute-based planning, ensuring assortments are localized and optimized.
• Own accuracy and integrity of planning inputs ensuring they reflect realistic demand and operational constraints (Evergreen item planners)

• Own inventory flow and lifecycle management from receipt to exit, ensuring optimal balance between availability and risk.
• Analyze and forecast sales and inventory at the style/CC level, adjusting strategies dynamically based on performance trends.
• Lead receipt management, reconciliation, and reflow decisions to maximize productivity and minimize aged inventory.
• Develop and execute markdown strategies at the program/concept/delivery level, grounded in margin optimization and inventory productivity—not just sell-through.
• Ensure focus-item availability strategies are properly supported through allocation and replenishment alignments.

Process Excellence & Organizational Impact

• Drive consistency and rigor in planning processes, improving how decisions are made, communicated, and executed.
• Contribute to enhancements in tools, systems, and workflows that improve planning accuracy and efficiency.
• Maintain high standards of data integrity across all planning and reporting systems
• Actively identify opportunities to simplify processes and remove inefficiencies.
• Model accountability, ownership, and a results-driven mindset aligned with Ralph Lauren values.

Leadership Behaviors & Team Contribution

• Act as a thought partner to Buying and Allocation, ensuring decisions are grounded in data, financial impact, and customer outcomes.
• Operate with a “plan owner” mentality, taking full accountability for outcomes rather than task execution.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, tailoring messaging to different audiences (peer, leadership, cross-functional).
• Adapt quickly to new tools, technologies, and evolving business needs.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

Systems & Tools

• Enterprise Planning
• Global Insight reporting
• Microsoft Office Suite
• GFE+
• Future need for LRDP, EDP, MFP tools

Required Skills

• Strong command of retail math, inventory flow, and margin management
• Ability to connect financial outcomes to product and assortment decisions
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving capability, with attention to detail and data integrity
• Ability to operate at both strategic and tactical levels simultaneously
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence without authority
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective cross-functional relationships

Ralph Lauren will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance laws. Please note background checks will be evaluated individually.

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