Merchandise and Demand Planner

POSITION SUMMARY

The Merchandise Planner plays a critical role at the intersection of data, strategy, and product storytelling. This individual is responsible for supporting the Director of Merchandising in running the day-to-day business while also helping shape the long-term category direction across TYR's full product portfolio. The ideal candidate brings strong analytical instincts, a deep fluency in retail math, and a genuine curiosity about where the swim, triathlon, and performance sports markets are heading.

What sets this role apart is a forward-leaning mindset: the Merchandise Planner at TYR is expected to actively leverage modern AI tools — including large language models like Claude and autonomous research agents like Manus — to accelerate analysis, surface competitive insights, and augment planning processes. We are building a planning function that is both rigorous and tech-enabled, and this person will help lead that evolution.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic Merchandising & Planning

• Develop and execute merchandising strategies aligned with direction from the Director of Merchandising, with a focus on maximizing sales, margin, visual presentation, and customer satisfaction
• Maintain a deep knowledge of TYR's product portfolio and categories — including competitive swim, training, triathlon, footwear, accessories, and equipment — to inform assortment decisions and identify opportunities
• Build and maintain seasonal SKU plans across a variety of product classes and accounts, balancing newness with core program continuity
• Maintain a master list of core and seasonal product, ensuring accuracy and accessibility across the organization
• Understand and drive the go-to-market calendar, ensuring product planning responsibilities are connected to seasonal execution timelines
• Develop and manage pricing strategies that reflect fiscal responsibilities while maximizing sales and margin within categories of ownership

Channel & Account Support

• Partner with the Director of Planning to support channel strategies spanning wholesale, direct-to-consumer, and international
• Develop account-level SKU and assortment plans tailored to channel-specific needs, volume expectations, and retail environments
• Collaborate with Sales to understand pre-book commitments, at-once trends, and replenishment opportunities by account
• Support international planning by accounting for regional product needs, lead time differences, and currency/pricing considerations

Data Management & Retail Analytics

• Maintain company-wide data integrity across planning systems, product master files, and reporting tools
• Recap selling on a monthly basis; identify opportunities for growth and develop actionable solutions in areas with underperformance
• Build and monitor key retail metrics including sell-through, weeks of supply, margin performance, and SKU productivity
• Leverage ERP, BI platforms, and Excel/Google Sheets to manage and scale planning processes with precision

Competitive Intelligence & Market Awareness

• Monitor industry trends and evaluate competitive positioning both in-store and online on a regular cadence
• Track competitor pricing, promotions, assortment shifts, and product launches; distill findings into actionable recommendations
• Use AI-powered research tools (e.g., Manus, Perplexity) to accelerate competitive landscape analysis and surface emerging trend signals faster than traditional research methods
• Bring market context into planning conversations — translate what is happening in the swim, triathlon, and outdoor performance categories into opportunities for TYR

AI-Augmented Planning & Innovation

• Actively use AI tools such as Claude (Anthropic) for drafting analysis, summarizing competitive research, generating scenario planning narratives, and improving written communication across planning deliverables
• Leverage agent-based tools such as Manus for multi-step research tasks, automated data gathering, and synthesis of large volumes of market or product information
• Explore and propose new AI-enabled workflows that improve the speed, quality, or scope of the merchandising planning process
• Maintain a current working knowledge of the AI tool landscape as it relates to retail, supply chain, and merchandising applications
• Partner with IT, Supply Chain, and Planning leadership to evaluate and pilot new planning technologies as they emerge

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication

• Serve as a collaborative partner to Product Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, eCommerce, and Marketplace teams — ensuring merchandising plans are grounded in business-wide context
• Communicate planning assumptions, risks, and recommendations clearly to stakeholders at all levels
• Contribute to cross-functional meetings with well-prepared data, concise narratives, and a solutions-oriented perspective

AI TOOL PROFICIENCY — EXPECTED CAPABILITIES

TYR expects the Merchandise Planner to be genuinely fluent — not just familiar — with AI tools that accelerate planning, research, and analysis. Below are tools and the expected use cases within this role:

AI Tool

Expected Application in This Role

• Claude (Anthropic): Drafting planning narratives and executive summaries; synthesizing competitive research; building seasonal briefing documents; scenario planning write-ups; improving cross-functional communication materials
• Manus: Autonomous multi-step research tasks; scraping and synthesizing competitor pricing, assortment, and promotional data; market landscape reports; accelerating information gathering workflows
• Perplexity / ChatGPT: Rapid trend research; industry news synthesis; quick-turn Q&A for market data; supplemental competitive intelligence
• Copilot / Gemini: In-spreadsheet AI assistance; Google Workspace productivity augmentation; data summarization within Excel and Sheets environments
• Emerging Tools: Candidate is expected to stay current and proactively evaluate new AI tools as they become relevant to the retail and planning domain

QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES

Required Experience & Education

• Bachelor's Degree with a focus in Business, Apparel Merchandising, Retail Management, or a related discipline
• 3–5 years of experience in a buying, planning, or merchandising role within a consumer goods, apparel, or sporting goods organization
• Demonstrated proficiency in retail math concepts (sell-through, OTB, margin, weeks of supply, inventory turnover)
• Category proficiency across footwear, apparel, swim, and accessories — with the ability to plan and manage distinct product types with category-specific nuance
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, and data modeling; proficiency in Google Workspace
• Experience managing and maintaining large, complex datasets with a high degree of accuracy
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

AI & Technology Fluency

• Active, hands-on experience using large language models (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar) in a professional or planning context — not just awareness of the tools
• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools to produce better, faster analysis — synthesizing research, drafting structured documents, or building scenario narratives
• Comfort with agent-based AI tools (e.g., Manus, AutoGPT, or similar) for automated, multi-step research and data workflows is a strong differentiator
• Curious mindset about the evolving AI landscape and a track record of proactively adopting new productivity-enhancing technologies

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the swim, triathlon, outdoor, or performance sports industry
• Familiarity with ERP or planning platforms (SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, Anaplan, or similar)
• Experience planning across both wholesale and DTC channels
• Understanding of seasonal go-to-market calendars in apparel or performance gear

Core Competencies

• Analytical Thinking — Translates data into clear, business-relevant insights and recommendations
• AI Fluency — Actively uses AI tools to work smarter, faster, and more strategically
• Retail Math Acuity — Comfortable building and pressure-testing plans using core financial metrics
• Cross-Functional Partnership — Builds trust and alignment across Sales, Marketing, Product, Supply Chain, and Finance
• Attention to Detail — Maintains accuracy across high-volume, multi-SKU environments without losing sight of the big picture
• Strategic Mindset — Sees beyond the immediate task and connects day-to-day decisions to long-term brand objectives
• Agility — Adapts quickly to shifting priorities, new information, and changing market conditions
• Communication — Presents ideas clearly and confidently, both in writing and in cross-functional settings
• Initiative — Brings ideas to the table proactively, rather than waiting to be directed

WHAT TYR OFFERS

• Salary range of $110,000 – $125,000 commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k)
• A culture that embraces technology, innovation, and continuous improvement
• Access to TYR product and athlete community
• Opportunity to grow with a rapidly expanding brand in the footwear, apparel, swim, and accessory space — nationally recognized and aligned with some of the best athletes in the world, fueling our continued growth