Merchandise Planning Manager, EU (12-Month FTC, Maternity Cover)

Job Summary:

Ruggable is looking for a Merchandise Planning Manager, Europe to join our growing UK team and play a key role in our international expansion. Commercial and merchandise forecasting sits at the centre of this role. Your forecasts will shape our marketing calendar and tell the business which products to push and which to phase out. You'll own forecasting, promo planning, and discount strategy for Europe, turning data into clear, actionable recommendations. Our business is primarily made-to-order, with a growing share of bought products, so you'll help build planning foundations that work for both models as the mix evolves. You will report to the Commercial Operations & Wholesale Director and partner closely with our Global Planning & Commercial Operations team in the US. The right candidate is analytical, commercially minded, and comfortable owning ambiguous problems from diagnosis through to execution.

This is a 12-month fixed-term contract covering a period of maternity leave. You’ll take ownership of a live forecasting and planning process from day one, keeping it running smoothly and improving it where you can, with the opportunity to make a visible impact on our European growth.

What You'll Do:

Commercial & Merchandise Forecasting

• Own the Europe sales and unit forecast by product, category and collection, refreshing it regularly based on actual trends, seasonality, promo activity, and market insights
• Translate the forecast into recommendations for marketing and ecommerce, shaping the focus products, campaign timing, and promotional "beats" for each trading period
• Align forecasts with Global Planning and Procurement so production and supply capacity (including lead times for made-to-order) stay aligned with expected demand
• Plan and manage the growing bought-product assortment, including inventory forecasting and stock health, and help build the processes and tools to scale this as its share of the business grows
• Support international GTM including new product launches and seasonal planning by gathering Europe-specific insights to inform global strategy

Promo & Discount Planning

• Lead promo planning for Europe, building the promotional calendar and product-level promo plans in partnership with Marketing, Ecommerce, and Global Planning, anchored on forecast and product performance
• Set discount depth by product and tier, aligned to margin and sales targets (and inventory position for bought product)
• Track discount rate against target throughout promo periods, diagnosing drivers of variance and recommending product reassignments across discount tiers to bring performance back in line
• Conduct post-promo analysis to measure uplift, margin impact, and learnings that feed future forecasts and plans

Assortment, Reporting & Insights

• Report on merchandise performance vs. plan across aged assortment and newness, flagging risks and opportunities to leadership
• Evaluate newness and carryover styles to inform sunset and expansion decisions
• Conduct ad hoc analyses to diagnose swings in performance, including pricing, margin, and unit velocity drivers
• Build and maintain dashboards and regular reporting (weekly trading, product performance, bought-inventory health) to enable fast, data-led decisions
• Support pricing recommendations for new products using unit economics, competitor benchmarks, and in-region nuances

What You'll Need to Have:

Required:

• 5+ years of experience in merchandise planning, demand planning, trading, or a similar analytical role at a consumer-facing retail, ecommerce, or DTC brand
• Demonstrated experience building and owning demand forecasts, and using them to drive commercial decisions such as promotions, marketing focus, or range changes
• Strong commercial acumen and analytical skills, with excellent proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and a high comfort level working with large datasets
• Ability to translate complex data into clear insights and confident recommendations for senior and cross-functional stakeholders
• A track record of managing projects from initial analysis through to execution, with excellent organisational skills
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and strong attention to detail

Preferred:

• Experience in made-to-order, personalised, or lead-time-driven businesses as well as inventory planning
• Experience working closely with marketing or ecommerce teams to build campaign or promo calendars
• Experience in furniture, home, textiles, or apparel
• Experience in a high-growth DTC or ecommerce environment

Contract Details:

• Start Date ASAP
• 12 month FTC
• Hybrid schedule, 3 days onsite in London office