Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Knitwear Planner

🎯 Role Definition

A Knitwear Planner is the analytical and strategic cornerstone of the knitwear product category. This role is responsible for translating fashion trends and merchant visions into a viable financial framework. By owning the entire product lifecycle from a financial and inventory perspective, the Knitwear Planner ensures the right sweaters and knits are available in the right quantities, at the right time, and in the right place to maximize profitability. This is a highly cross-functional position, acting as a key partner to Buying, Design, Production, and Allocation teams to drive a cohesive and commercially successful knitwear business.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Associate Planner or Assistant Planner
Merchandise Analyst or Allocation Analyst
Assistant Buyer with a strong analytical aptitude

Advancement To:

Senior Knitwear Planner or Senior Planner
Planning Manager
Director of Merchandise Planning

Lateral Moves:

Buyer or Senior Buyer
Product Development Manager
Supply Chain or Inventory Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, manage, and actualize comprehensive pre-season financial plans, including sales, gross margin, markdowns, and inventory levels for the entire knitwear division.
Construct and meticulously manage the Open-to-Buy (OTB) for the knitwear category, ensuring purchasing decisions are aligned with financial targets and inventory requirements.
Analyze historical sales performance, current market trends, and competitive landscape to identify risks and opportunities, providing data-driven recommendations to guide the knitwear strategy.
Formulate detailed demand forecasts for core, seasonal, and fashion-forward knitwear items at the SKU and class level, collaborating with buyers to inform purchase quantities.
Partner directly with the Buying and Merchandising teams to build balanced, profitable assortments that reflect brand identity while meeting customer demand and financial goals.
Strategize and manage the complete product lifecycle for all knitwear styles, from initial concept and buy plan to in-season management, markdown cadence, and end-of-life exit strategy.
Lead weekly and monthly business review meetings, presenting performance analysis, key insights, and actionable go-forwards to cross-functional partners and leadership.
Proactively re-forecast in-season sales, margin, and inventory on a continuous basis, adjusting plans to react to current business performance and market dynamics.
Own the inventory flow and pipeline, working with Production and Logistics to monitor delivery timelines, manage receipts, and ensure optimal stock levels across all channels (e-commerce, retail, wholesale).
Develop and execute pricing strategies, including initial ticket prices, promotional events, and a markdown strategy designed to maximize profitability and manage aged inventory.
Analyze SKU-level productivity (sales volume, sell-through, and margin contribution) to recommend styles for continuation, re-order, or discontinuation.
Create and present comprehensive hindsight reports at the end of each season, distilling key learnings on what worked and what didn't to inform future season strategies.
Collaborate with the Allocation team to develop and refine allocation strategies for new product launches and replenishment of core styles, ensuring proper inventory depth by location or channel.
Serve as the primary quantitative and analytical voice in key milestone meetings, including assortment reviews, line adoption, and buy finalization.
Manage the markdown budget and recommend the timing and depth of price adjustments to effectively liquidate slow-moving stock while protecting overall margin.
Influence assortment architecture by providing data-backed analysis on the ideal balance of silhouette, fabrication, price point, and color within the knitwear offering.
Partner with e-commerce merchandising teams to align site experience with inventory position, promotional cadence, and key product investments.
Develop and maintain sophisticated planning tools and reports to enhance visibility into business performance and improve the accuracy of forecasts.
Act as a mentor and resource for junior members of the planning team, providing guidance on planning fundamentals and analytical best practices.
s- Identify and champion process improvements within the planning and buying cycle to increase efficiency and drive better decision-making.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer critical business questions as they arise.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by identifying needs for new tools, reports, or data sources.
Collaborate with business units, particularly Marketing and Visual Merchandising, to translate data needs into engineering requirements and ensure key investments are properly supported.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team if involved in system or tool development projects.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Microsoft Excel Proficiency: Mastery of complex formulas, v-lookups, pivot tables, and financial modeling is essential.
Merchandise Planning Systems: Deep experience with industry-standard planning software (e.g., Blue Yonder, Oracle RPAS, Aptos, Anaplan, Mi9).
Retail Math & Financial Acumen: A strong command of key retail metrics, including OTB, GMROI, turn, sell-through, IMU, and margin calculations.
Data Analysis & Synthesis: Ability to pull data from various sources, analyze it, and distill complex findings into clear, actionable insights.
Inventory Management: Thorough understanding of inventory management principles, from pipeline to channel-specific stock levels.
Demand Forecasting: Proven ability to create accurate sales and demand forecasts at multiple levels of the product hierarchy.
Assortment Planning: Skill in using quantitative data to help shape and validate a balanced and commercial product assortment.
Reporting & Visualization: Experience creating clear, concise, and visually compelling reports and dashboards for a leadership audience.
PLM/ERP Systems: Familiarity with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is a strong plus.

Soft Skills

Analytical & Strategic Mindset: The capacity to think critically, see the bigger picture, and connect day-to-day decisions to long-term financial goals.
Collaboration & Influence: Ability to build strong, collaborative relationships with cross-functional partners and influence decisions through data and logic.
Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the confidence to present complex information to diverse audiences.
Problem-Solving: Proactive and solution-oriented, with a knack for identifying issues, analyzing root causes, and recommending effective solutions.
Adaptability & Resilience: Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic retail environment and can pivot strategies in response to changing business trends.
Attention to Detail: Meticulous and highly organized, ensuring accuracy in plans, forecasts, and reports.
Commercial Awareness: A genuine interest in and understanding of the fashion market, product trends, and the competitive landscape, particularly in knitwear.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Education:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration or Finance
Fashion Merchandising or Management
Supply Chain Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3-5 years of direct experience in merchandise planning, buying, or allocation, preferably within a corporate retail or fashion brand environment.

Preferred:

At least 2 years of experience specifically planning the knitwear or sweaters category is highly desirable. Experience working for a vertical retailer or direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand is also a significant advantage.