Merchandise Planner

Job Title: Merchandise Planner – Cruise Travel Retail

Location: New York, NY

About Us

HFDF (Hematian Family Duty Free) is a subsidiary of Effy Jewelry and a leading onboard retail concessionaire operating across 20 cruise ships. From everyday essentials to preloved luxury timepieces, HFDF delivers a curated, full-spectrum shopping experience at sea — meeting passengers wherever they are, whether they need a bottle of Tylenol or a pre-owned Rolex. As a high-volume, multi-category retailer operating in a unique and dynamic environment, HFDF combines the operational complexity of shipboard commerce with the brand standards and strategic ambition of the Effy family of businesses.

Job Overview

As a Merchandise Planner in the Cruise Travel Retail sector, you will be responsible for developing and executing merchandise financial plans, forecasting sales, managing inventory levels, and supporting strategic business decisions across multiple ships and ports within our HF Duty Free business. You will partner closely with the buying team, supply chain, and shipboard operations to optimize product availability, maximize sales, and drive profitability in a dynamic, global retail environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Planning: Develop and manage sales, margin, and inventory plans by category, ship, and region to support overall business goals.
• Forecasting: Create and maintain demand forecasts, incorporating sales trends, promotional activity, seasonality, and cruise itineraries.
• Inventory Management: Monitor and analyze stock levels, recommend replenishment strategies, and manage markdowns to ensure optimal inventory turns and minimize stock-outs or overages.
• Business Analysis: Analyze sales performance, identify risks and opportunities, and present actionable insights to buying and leadership teams.
• Allocation Strategy: Work closely with buyers and logistics to create allocation plans that ensure the right products are on the right ships at the right time.
• Open-to-Buy (OTB) Management: Maintain and update OTB reports, adjusting plans in real time based on sales performance and shipment status.
• Collaboration: Partner cross-functionally with Buying, Logistics, Operations, and Finance teams to align merchandise strategies with business objectives and guest preferences.
• Reporting: Produce weekly, monthly, and seasonal business reports, KPIs, and post-cruise analyses to support continuous improvement.

Requirements

• 7 years of merchandise planning, inventory planning, or financial planning experience in retail (experience in travel retail, duty-free, or cruise retail highly preferred).
• Strong analytical skills with advanced proficiency in Excel; experience with planning and forecasting tools (e.g., JDA, Oracle, SAP, or similar).
• Deep understanding of retail financial metrics such as sell-through, margin, inventory turn, and GMROI.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to adapt plans quickly based on changing sales trends, ship schedules, and operational constraints.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across multi-functional teams.
• Flexibility to travel occasionally to ships, ports, or corporate meetings.

Preferred

• Experience working in luxury, beauty, fashion, or accessories categories.
• Knowledge of cruise retail guest behavior, itineraries, and international supply chain challenges.
• Exposure to duty-free or tax-free retail environments

Salary Range

$90,000 – $120,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications.

Candidates must have valid work authorization for the U.S. at the time of application and throughout employment; we are not able to sponsor visas.

Effy Jewelry is committed to diversity in its workplace and is proud to offer equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic in the location in which the candidate is applying. Effy Jewelry applicants are assessed solely on their qualifications for the role, without regard to disability or need for accommodation.