Senior Analyst, New Store Inventory

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

How you’ll make an impact:

The Sr. Analyst - New Store Inventory is responsible for buying, planning and oversight of allocation of inventory to new stores as well as supporting store opening initiatives. This role reports into Sr. Manager, Store Growth Initiatives and is based in our Atlanta, GA office.

50% Inventory Management & Planning

• Responsible for buy quantification and planning for all new store inventory (~1.5M units, ~$16M), based on store format, assortment, size, and climate. Partner with Planning, Merchandise Operations, and Real Estate to accurately forecast units by season
• Oversight of all new store inventory allocation, inclusive of launches from factory and DC owned inventory, to ensure target inventory levels are met based on financial proforma and turn expectations
• Own Store Count for entire Retail team including Core Allocation Launch Process and Seasonal Buys based on foretasted number of new store openings by month; Partnering with Real Estate and Finance quarterly to finalize store count and assortment changes
• Own Inventory Return process for any units reserved in excess of openings to ensure inventory returned to chain in timely manner to reduce markdowns and maximize margin (~250k inventory, $1.5M margin)
• Manage ongoing optimization of inventory level recommendations for the first 14 months after opening based on current performance and comparable stores
• Own all inventory related actions for store closings, relocations and disaster temporary closures
• Use analytics and critical thinking to shape the inventory strategy, being flexible to course correct and make data-driven decisions

20% Optimizing Processes to Drive Sales & Margin

• Own Inventory Target Setting process for each store to ensure the optimal allocation of units based on financial proforma and inventory turn expectations
• Optimize and continuously analyze new store inventory and sales to identify over and under performers, providing recommendations to improve performance
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc reporting to support new store openings; summarize and communicate findings, insights and reporting to leadership
• Maintain current project management structure while striving for innovation and optimization of new store opening process and a best-in-class customer experience

20% Inventory Operations & Communication

• Act as liaison to the field through proactive communication on all New & Closing store inventory activities
• Partner with payroll and field leadership to support upcoming activities including directing store closing transfers, promotional changes, and new store inventory call-outs.
• Escalate any inventory risks or challenges to internal business partners and field leadership proactively with potential solutions on how to mitigate risk

10% Recruit, retain and develop top talent

• Responsible for leading, coaching, and mentoring at least one analyst
• Oversee training and ongoing talent development

We’d Love to hear from you if: (Requirements section)

Must have:

• 2-4 years of experience in a highly analytical role (ie; Inventory Planning, Inventory Management & Allocation)
• Highly organized with a strong attention to detail
• Strong analytical skills with ability to drive business decisions and actionable results; Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills (Pivot tables, Vlookups, etc)
• Naturally curious and eager to learn
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

Preferred skills and experience:

• Ability to communicate results clearly and effectively
• Proficient in developing strong relationships with all levels of the business
• The ability to prioritize effectively
• Energetic self-starter
• Retail store experience and/or knowledge of distribution and replenishment systems a plus

Our Team Members:

• Lead Courageously: Have a strong sense of personal values that align with our Company values
• Collaborates Broadly: Build cooperation, trust, and thrive in a consensus driven environment
• Customer Focus: Proactively seek opportunities to leverage data and fact-based insights to serve customers and/or internal clients
• Drive Growth: Set aggressive goals and implement plans precisely
• Cultivates Innovation:  Respectfully challenge the "we’ve always done it this way" mentality and explore new ways to achieve desired outcomes

Make a career at Carter’s:

• Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management, and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.