Allocation Manager

About Us:

vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha's Vineyard by brothers, Shep and Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US. 

vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good. 

You don't need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It's a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don't live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks - we bring it to work with us, too.

In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees.

Our team is our family, and we'd never have grown to where we are today without them. 

We're committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you'll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about. 

Overview:

Allocation Manager is responsible for the strategic distribution of both the initial allocation of seasonal products as well as the in-season execution of replenishment strategies, ensuring optimal inventory levels that align with financial targets and business objectives. The Allocation Manager partners closely with Planning, Merchandising, Logistics and Retail teams to maximize sales opportunities, support product performance, and drive inventory efficiency across the network.

Key Responsibilities:

Allocation Strategy & Management

• Manage a Weekly Topline and Subdepartment Forecast of inventory flow and ownership by door
• Create and maintain seasonal allocation plans and on time tracking to CFT 
• Manage in-season replenishment and inventory rebalancing to maximize sell-through, align with financial targets, considering sales trends, store capacity, and visual merchandising requirements
• Evaluate assortment changes and update allocation parameters and store profiles accordingly
• Perform store analysis to recommend and execute transfers based on shifts in regional performance or product demand and inventory optimization
• Partner with regional and store teams to support product requests, events, and local merchandising needs
• Manage opening and closing of seasonal doors, opening of new stores and pop up events or locations
• Identify and communicate sales and inventory opportunities and provide risk-mitigation recommendations at the store level and share with Planning Partners
• Participate in and bring store level analytics to Weekly business reviews and Monthly OTB Meetings
• Maintain and manage SKU capacity by door in partnership with visual, merchandising and planning teams both pre-season and in-season
• Function as a subject matter expert in allocation systems, tools, and best practices

Pre, Post & In-Season Performance Analysis & Reporting 

• Work with Planning and Merchandising on Pre-season buy plan needs for minimum presentations & pre-allocation strategies to support seasonal objectives
• Perform detailed style, color, and size analyses to identify actionable opportunities at the store level
• Develop and maintain weekly reporting on sales trends, shipping status, and allocation execution across the store and product hierarchy
• Monitor stock-to-sales ratios and provide visibility to in-season inventory performance
• Provide post-season analysis to inform future allocation strategies and buying decisions
• Identify underperforming stores or product categories and recommend corrective actions
• Seasonal Allocation Hindsighting reports for CFT Partners and Seasonal Sizing Analysis Review
• Deliver insights and strategic recommendations to cross-functional partners

What You Bring:

• Prior experience reading or managing an Open to Buy and speaking in monthly forecasts to senior management and cross-functional partners
• Minimum 3 years of dedicated allocation and or planning experience, managing a team is a plus
• Manage and mentor 2-3 junior team members
• Demonstrate a collaborative, team-oriented approach, actively supporting activities that contribute to overall business goals
• Possess a clear understanding of financial measurements: sales, gross margin, weeks of supply, inventory turn, sell through, etc. and how to impact them
• Foster a positive and respectful work environment, encouraging open communication and cooperation across teams and with management
• Ability to effectively receive and provide feedback
• Capable of negotiating with and influencing peers, members of a cross-functional team, and management
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational skills, including prioritization and time management abilities. Must also understand and adhere to all organizational policies.
• Ability to multitask, managing multiple projects simultaneously to meet deadlines
• Flexibility to pivot tasks as new priorities arise
• Previous vertical retail allocation experience a plus
• Advanced excel skills (pivot tables, xlookups, vlookups a must)
• Experience working with JDA/Blue Yonder allocation systems (or similar) preferred
• Experience working with PowerBI
• Passion for the vineyard vines brand
• Perform additional responsibilities as assigned by management in support of team and company objectives

Every-day Will Feel This Good Because:

• We have a fun-spirited entrepreneurial culture filled with truly “good” people
• We offer a generous employee discount so you can rep our lifestyle on-and-off the boat
• We offer a competitive salary package, 401-K, commuter benefits, and paid-family leave, health savings, flex spending accounts, life & disability insurance
• We have an onsite gym as well as financial wellness programs to keep you active
• We offer 2 summer Fridays to take off in addition to a competitive vacation policy & holiday calendar