Lead- Retail Planning and Merchandising

Key Responsibilities/What You Will Do

1. Retail Planning & Inventory Management

• Develop and implement comprehensive retail planning strategies aligned with overall business goals across COCO stores.
• Lead retail level demand forecasting and inventory optimization, ensuring availability of key SKUs while minimizing stockouts and excess inventory.
• Analyze SKU-level performance to prioritize assortment focusing on the top-performing SKUs driving 90%+ revenue.
• Coordinate with regional warehouses to ensure timely and efficient replenishment across 20+ cities, optimizing fulfilment from North, South, and West warehouses.
• Monitor and manage safety stock levels considering regional demand variations and supply chain lead times.

2. Merchandising Strategy & Assortment Planning

• Define category-specific merchandising strategies for FMCG (Food, Treats and Healthcare; Grooming and Cleaning Aids) and Non-FMCG (Wear, Play, Walk, Eat and Accessories).
• Manage the large SKU portfolio (5000+ SKUs) by curating an optimal assortment tailored to regional preferences and store formats (Store Size Fooƞall – Price Point).
• Plan and execute merchandising calendars aligned with lifestyle seasonal collections (Autumn-Winter, Spring-Summer) and timely Monsoon & Festive launches for lifestyle categories.
• Collaborate with supply chain, visual merchandising and marketing teams to ensure smooth new product launches and collection rollouts across stores.
• Ensure VM standards and product placements optimize customer experience and sales conversion.

3. Data-Driven Business Analysis & Performance Monitoring

• Leverage sales data, market trends, and customer insights to identify growth opportunities, SKU rationalization, and category expansion.
• Use SKU-level analytics to evaluate product lifecycle performance and take corrective actions on slow-moving or non-performing items.
• Generate regular performance reports for inventory turns, sales trends, stock-outs, markdowns, and promotional effectiveness.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with supply chain, marketing and business teams to align retail planning with operational capabilities and financial targets.
• Coordinate with the warehouse and logistics teams to streamline distribution planning and reduce lead times.
• Manage relationships with cross functional teams to manage lead times and improve product availability.

5. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and develop a team of retail planners / category planners, merchandisers, and inventory
• analysts, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Implement training and development programs to enhance category knowledge, data literacy, and merchandising skills within the team.

6. Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and drive process improvements leveraging technology and automation in retail planning and merchandising workflows.
• Stay updated on retail trends, competitor activities, and customer behaviour to keep the
• The merchandising approach is competitive and innovative.
• Pilot new concepts for category expansion, promotional formats, and assortment customization in select regions/stores.

Qualifications & Skills/What You Need

• Bachelor’s degree in administration / retail management / supply chain related field.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Retail Merchandising / Planning and Marketing is preferred for advanced education.
• Additional certification courses around Retail planning, Retail merchandising, Inventory management (APICS/CPIM), Data analytics or business intelligence.
• Hands on experience with ERP and retail planning and distribution tools (automation)
• Minimum 10-12 years of progressive work experience in retail planning and merchandising or category management function. With relevant experience of 5+ years leading the function.
• Experience of managing a wide network of multi category retail stores, demonstrated ability to lead teams and cross teams’ collaboration.
• Bonus points for being a pet parent and having knowledge of pet product trends, customer preferences, and category drivers.

You will feel right at home with us if:

• You have strong communication and collaboration skills.

You are passionate about pets and love innovating.