Head of Planning

Job Title - Head – PlanningDepartment - PLANNINGSub-Departments (Functions Overseen) - Central Planning, Category Planning, Allocation & ReplenishmentReports To - Business Head / Chief Operating Officer (COO)Location - Gurugram, Haryana (Head Office)Employment Type - Full-Time, PermanentExperience - 12–16 YearsIndustry - RetailRole OverviewThe Head – Planning at V2 Retail Ltd. leads the central planning function end-to-end, with direct oversight of Category Planning, Allocation & Replenishment across the company's 400+ store network. The role owns the merchandise planning framework — from seasonal range and open-to-buy (OTB) planning through to store-level allocation and replenishment execution — ensuring sales, margin, and inventory productivity targets are met. The Head – Planning sets the overall planning strategy and calendar, directs the Senior Managers heading Category Planning and Allocation & Replenishment (and their teams of planners and management trainees), and acts as the primary planning interface with buying, merchandising, supply chain, and senior leadership, driving data-led decision-making across the merchandise lifecycle.Key ResponsibilitiesCentral Planning Strategy & LeadershipOwn the overall planning strategy, calendar, and governance framework spanning category planning, allocation, and replenishment.Set the top-down merchandise budget, category-wise targets, and channel plans as part of the annual planning process.Define planning policies, norms, and standards (OTB, stock norms, allocation logic, replenishment triggers) applied consistently across categories and store tiers.Champion the adoption of planning tools, ERP systems, and analytical methods across the Planning function.Category Planning OversightDirect the seasonal range planning process for all categories — options, depth, price architecture, and channel split.Oversee the open-to-buy (OTB) plan, ensuring it is aligned with the overall merchandise budget and sales forecast, and review OTB utilisation and reallocation across categories.Guide the Category Planning team in partnering with buying to shape range and category strategy, and in reviewing buy proposals against OTB.Review sales forecasts by category, season, and store tier for accuracy against historical trends and market data.Allocation & Replenishment OversightDirect the allocation strategy — store tiering, cluster-wise allocation, new store seeding, and seasonal range allocation — across all categories.Oversee the replenishment model, including automated triggers, minimum stock norms, and replenishment frequency by store tier.Ensure allocation and replenishment plans are aligned with OTB, store capacity, and sales forecasts; approve escalations beyond team-level sign-off.Oversee inter-store stock transfer exercises and slow-moving inventory actions (consolidation, redistribution, markdowns) to optimise network-wide stock health.In-Season Performance & Inventory ProductivityMonitor category and network performance — sales vs. plan, sell-through, stock cover, fill rate, and margin — and direct corrective actions.Lead periodic reviews of markdown recommendations, replenishment pull-forwards, and reallocation based on in-season trends.Drive end-of-season analysis across categories and store clusters, capturing learnings to refine planning, allocation, and replenishment logic for future seasons.Team Leadership & DevelopmentLead and develop the Senior Managers heading Category Planning and Allocation & Replenishment, and their respective teams of planners and management trainees.Set clear KPIs for the Planning function; conduct performance reviews, build succession pipelines, and coach senior team members.Standardise planning templates, SOPs, and reporting formats across category planning, allocation, and replenishment.Strategy & Stakeholder ManagementPresent overall planning performance, stock health, and category updates to senior leadership.Serve as the primary planning stakeholder for buying, merchandising, supply chain, warehouse, VM, and marketing teams.Lead the annual merchandise planning process and contribute planning inputs to broader business strategy.Skills & Experience RequiredEssential | Experience: 12–16 Years12–16 years of experience in merchandise planning, category management, allocation, or supply chain in retail — fashion retail preferred — including experience leading planning teams or sub-functions.Proven track record leading category planning and/or allocation & replenishment functions, ideally across both, in a multi-store retail environment.Strong analytical skills — ability to build and review OTB models, range plans, sales forecasts, and allocation logic, and to derive insights from large data sets.Proficiency in MS Excel and retail planning/ERP tools (SAP, Unicommerce, o9, or similar).Deep understanding of retail planning metrics — OTB, GMROII, sell-through, weeks of cover, margin %, fill rate, and stock norms.Proven leadership experience — managing multiple teams or sub-functions through senior managers.Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills — ability to align buying, supply chain, store operations, and senior leadership around planning decisions.DesirableExperience with advanced planning tools.Postgraduate degree in Business Administration, Retail Management, Statistics, or Supply Chain Management.Experience building planning, allocation, or replenishment frameworks for large-format value fashion retail.Key Performance IndicatorsSell-through rate — achieve seasonal sell-through targets across all categories and store tiers.OTB adherence — actual buys within ±5% of approved OTB plan across categories.Gross margin — deliver planned gross margin / GMROII targets per season.Fill rate — maintain replenishment fill rate ≥95% across the store network.Weeks of cover — maintain stock cover within defined norms; reduce excess and stock-out instances.Stock-out rate — keep unplanned stock-out incidence below threshold on running styles.Allocation accuracy — allocation vs. plan variance <2% across the function.Sales forecast accuracy — actuals vs. forecast variance within acceptable range.Inventory productivity — improve overall stock turns and reduce markdown liability through allocation and inter-store transfer effectiveness.Team performance — 100% of team KPIs reviewed quarterly; succession pipeline maintained across the Planning function.