Product Forecast & Merchandise Manager

Product Forecast & Merchandise Manager

Location: Leamington SpaSalary: £36,000About UsWe are a fast-growing, successful and ambitious Home Furnishing business, having launched in 2023 we have recently relocated to new larger premises in Leamington Spa following a period of exceptional growth, and to accommodate the future expansion of the operation.

We work with leading retail partners across the UK and international suppliers, and for the next phase of our development we are now looking for the right individual to join the team in in a crucial role of Product Forecast & Merchandise Manager. The RoleAs Product Forecast & Merchandise Manager, in this newly created position you will help to shape strategy, improve performance, and support growth across the business. You will help maximise sales and profitability across multiple channels, optimise working capital and enable smooth day-to-day operations, by ensuring the business has the ideal level of stock holding and forward orders of the right products, that orders are produced and shipped on time and that information is communicated clearly to internal and external business partners. You will report to the Operations Director and work closely with the Managing Director, retail partners, suppliers and the wider business. Key elements of the role include responsibility for turning data into insights and creating actionable reporting, and so an analytical mindset is essential, as is the ability to organise and interpret data from multiple sources, to make decisions and to concisely recommend strategies that will directly impact the success of the business. For the right individual this role represents a unique chance to join an exciting business at a critical point in our journey and will give the opportunity for significant growth and development as the role and the company continues to expand.Your responsibilities will include:Partnering with retail customers and internal business partners to build accurate sales forecasts, analysing performance, and recommending actions to drive improvement.Owning the inbound stock forecast, production plan and shipping schedules, aligning these with sales performance and working with overseas factories and freight providers to optimise UK stockholding.Enabling smooth day-to-day operations by maintaining a clear stock holding and inbound stock schedule, interpreting the impact on this of changes to shipping schedules and sales performance, and ensuring this is clearly communicated throughout the business and is reflected in customer lead times and delivery planning.Acting as the key point of contact for order management and escalation of retail queries.Producing and maintaining clear reporting for internal and external stakeholders, including KPIs, scorecards, sales and stock reports.Providing reports and analysis including sales vs forecast, on-time in-full deliveries and stock ageing and presenting these to Retail partners.Carrying out ad-hoc analysis to provide actionable insights and support commercial decision making.Setting up and maintaining accurate product master data, particularly for new product launches, and collaborating with systems teams to resolve order flow queries.About YouWe’re looking for someone who is naturally analytical, commercially minded, and thrives in a fast-paced environment.Essential skills & experience:Strong analytical mindset with excellent attention to detail.Advanced Excel skills (reporting, forecasting, analysis).Clear and confident communication skills - able to influence at all levels.Strong organisational skills to balance regular and ad-hoc tasks.A structured, problem-solving approach with a drive for process improvement.Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a Business-related discipline.Desirable (but not essential): Experience using BI/data visualisation tools (Power BI, Tableau).Knowledge of retail or wholesale environments (sales, stock, intake forecasting).Ability to interpret and report on financial information.Experience working with teams across multiple locations.