Merchandising Admin Assistant Placement (Assortment Planning) 2022

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

Position overview

The MAA plays a key role in the success of their product division, utilising dedicated IT applications to create and manage administrative support to the assortment planning team including running reports and analysing sales and stock figures. They will be introduced to the basic functions of a WSSI either at style or category level and will have the chance to experience multiple brands within the RL organisation.

*Please note: Opportunities may be based in Watford or London*

Essential duties & responsibilities

Operations/Financial

• Deliver weekly trade feedback to the team, using a selection of reports to report on sales and stock.
• Attend Key Meetings to understand season performance as well as forward strategies.
• Support planning teams with product level analysis.
• Understand category selling to help shape the department forecast.
• Store visits to better understand the product & the customer.
• Updating & managing the department WSSI’s to forecast and drive sales.
• Managing core line cards & providing the buying teams with buy quantities.
• Use of systems including Microstrategy and SAP.

Communications/Relationships

• Daily communication with the direct team to feedback on sales and stock performance and any ongoing department strategies.
• Develop and maintain effective cross-functional relationships (buying, planning, logistics, marketing, visual, etc.) to ensure all key stakeholders are updated with relevant information.
• Participation in cross-functional meetings such as monthly forecast reviews and weekly trade meetings.
• Collaborate with peers to ensure consistency of information, share best practices and develop systems knowledge.

Participation in company initiatives as appropriate.

Experience, skills & knowledge

• Well-organised and able to prioritise tasks and manage time well to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrates logical analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrates good listening, written and oral communication skills, able to effectively and clearly communicate.
• Able to build and maintain productive relationships within a team environment.
• Advanced PC and associated application skills – particularly MS Excel.
• Shows ability or aptitude in retail math, and able to learn technical applications quickly.