Manager - Jewelry Merchandising

Profile: Manager - Jewelry Merchandising Location: Mumbai We are looking for a candidate exclusively from a Luxury Brand. 1. Merchandise & Assortment Planning: - Own end-to-end assortment planning based on business objectives, customer preferences and market trends. - Develop category-wise merchandise plans covering product mix, price points, depth, width and collection architecture. - Analyze historical sales and market trends to identify assortment gaps and growth opportunities. - Build seasonal and monthly assortment strategies aligned with sales and profitability targets. - Ensure the right product is available at the right price point, location and time. 2. OTB & Budget Management: - Own and manage OTB (Open-to-Buy) planning for assigned categories. - Develop OTB plans in line with sales, margin, inventory and stock-cover targets. - Monitor actual vs. planned sales, purchases and inventory and take corrective actions. - Optimize inventory investment while ensuring adequate product availability. - Partner with Buying teams to align purchasing decisions with merchandise plans. 3. Inventory & Replenishment: - Drive inventory planning, stock allocation and replenishment across stores/channels. - Monitor WOS, stock cover, sell-through, stock turn, ageing and inventory productivity. - Drive replenishment based on demand and store-level performance. - Identify slow-moving, non-performing and excess inventory and develop action plans. - Minimize stock-outs and excess inventory while maintaining optimum stock levels. 4. Category & Business Performance: - Track and analyze sales, gross margin, sell-through and category profitability. - Identify business drivers and recommend actions to improve category performance. - Conduct regular category reviews and performance analysis. - Develop actionable insights from sales and inventory data for senior management. - Recommend continuation, liquidation or replenishment strategies at product level. 5. Trend & Market Understanding: - Stay updated on jewelry trends, customer preferences, competitive assortment and market movements. - Translate market and customer insights into commercially viable assortment strategies. - Identify emerging categories, designs, price points and product opportunities. 6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: - Work closely with Buying, Design, Supply Chain, Retail, E-commerce, Finance and Marketing teams. - Collaborate with Buying and Design teams to build commercially relevant collections. - Partner with Supply Chain to ensure timely availability and replenishment. - Align merchandise strategies with overall business and retail plans. 7. Reporting & MIS: - Develop and maintain merchandise dashboards, category MIS and business performance reports. - Present key insights and recommendations to senior management. - Establish and monitor key merchandise KPIs and ensure timely action against gaps. Candidate Profile: - 5 - 8 years of relevant experience in luxury Jewelry / Fashion / Lifestyle Retail Merchandising. - Prior experience in Jewelry Merchandising / Merchandise Planning is strongly preferred. - Strong hands-on experience in Assortment Planning and OTB Management. - Good understanding of inventory planning, demand planning and replenishment. - Strong analytical and commercial acumen with the ability to convert data into business decisions. - Experience working with Buying, Design, Supply Chain and Retail teams. - Strong understanding of retail merchandise KPIs and category performance. - Advanced MS Excel and strong MIS/analytical skills. - Excellent communication, stakeholder management and presentation skills. - Ability to independently manage categories and drive business outcomes.