Senior Demand Planner, Retail - North America

Job description

Company Description Amer Sports is a sporting goods company with internationally recognized brands including Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic and Wilson. “The Mountain Sport Company”, Salomon was born in 1947 in the heart of the French Alps and the birthplace of modern alpinism. Salomon’s commitment to innovative design and passion for mountain sports created a vast range of revolutionary new concepts in bindings, boots, skis and apparel for both Alpine and Nordic skiing and brought innovative solutions to footwear, apparel and equipment for snowboarding, adventure racing, mountaineering, hiking, trail running, and many other sports. Through performance driven design, Salomon delivers innovation and progression to mountain sports; converting new ideas into action and expanding the limits of possibility. Salomon’s heritage, culture, and commitment are tied together by one simple concept: the world’s leading mountain people creating the world’s leading mountain products. Salomon is responsibly committed towards the outdoor through its sustainability program. Diversity is one of Salomon’s five values, therefore we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. Salomon is headquartered in Annecy, France. Job Description POSITION TITLE : Senior Demand Planner, Retail - North America REPORTS TO : Director, Planning BUSINESS AREA : Merchandising & Planning LOCATION: Ogden, UT/NYC OVERVIEW This role owns the retail demand plan for North America, ensuring forecasts align with store demand, inventory targets, and financial goals. The Senior Demand Planner connects merchandising, retail, and global planning teams to drive a clear, unified view of demand across stores and channels. In addition to planning ownership, this role leads the allocation function, managing a team responsible for in-season inventory execution. Success comes from linking strong forecasting with effective allocation to drive in-stock performance, optimize inventory, and support retail growth. WHAT MAKES THIS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK & PLAY: Hybrid work schedule A generous PTO policy, plus 15 paid annual holidays and 3 floating holidays Half-day Fridays for 5 months of the year An exceptional employee discount on all our products and sister brands (Arc’teryx, Armada, Atomic, Wilson) “Powder Bell” powder days throughout the winter season Healthy Lifestyle Benefit designed to support your well-being and active lifestyle Opportunities to engage in the community and with industry partners ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily: Demand Planning & Forecast Ownership Own the end-to-end retail demand plan at model, color, size, and monthly levels across stores Develop and maintain a consensus-based forecast aligned to store performance, inventory targets, and commercial plans Translate forecast into actionable inputs for open-to-buy and supply planning Incorporate store-level trends, regional performance, and product lifecycle into forecasting decisions Analyze and challenge assumptions to balance growth opportunities with inventory risk Retail & Inventory Performance Drive retail performance through strong alignment of forecast, inventory, and store demand Monitor sell-through, inventory levels, and stock productivity across stores and channels Partner with merchandising to influence assortment productivity and lifecycle decisions Ensure alignment between demand plan and in-season trading strategies Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment Lead demand alignment across merchandising, retail, finance, and supply chain teams Serve as the key point of contact between retail teams and global planning functions Influence decision-making to align demand, inventory, and financial outcomes Drive clarity and accountability across teams through a single, aligned demand plan Allocation Leadership & Execution Lead and develop a team of allocators responsible for store-level inventory execution Oversee initial allocations, replenishment strategies, and in-season inventory balancing Ensure consistent in-stock positioning while minimizing excess and fragmentation Guide the team in reacting to business trends and optimizing product flow to stores Set allocation priorities aligned with demand plan and business objectives Process Improvement & Tools Drive improvements in forecasting, allocation, and retail planning processes Partner on development of reporting, tools, and dashboards to support scalability Standardize ways of working across demand planning and allocation functions KPIs Owned – Demand Planning Forecast accuracy Inventory targets and turns Store in-stock rates and inventory productivity SKU productivity (80/15/5 framework) Revenue and sell-through performance Allocation effectiveness (stock balance, availability, and flow) WHAT MAKES THIS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK & PLAY: Hybrid work schedule A generous PTO policy, plus 15 paid annual holidays and 2 floating holidays Half-day Fridays for 6 months of the year An exceptional employee discount on all our products and sister brands (Arc’teryx, Armada, Atomic, Wilson) “Powder Bell” powder days throughout the winter season Healthy Lifestyle Benefit designed to support your well-being and active lifestyle Opportunities to engage in the community and with industry partners PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORKING ENVIRONMENT The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.   While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to travel, talk and hear.  The employee is frequently required to sit, stand and walk. The employee must occasionally kneel, stoop, crouch, twist and lift to 30 pounds, with or without accommodations.    Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.   The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.    The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, but can involve exposure to varying noise levels, ranging from moderate to loud, as well as flashes of light.    Qualifications The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 5–8+ years of experience in demand planning, merchandise planning, or retail planning Proven experience linking demand planning with allocation and in-store execution Prior experience managing or mentoring team members (direct or indirect) Strong understanding of retail KPIs (sell-through, weeks of supply, stock-to-sales) Advanced Excel skills; experience with planning/allocation systems strongly preferred Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to turn insights into action Excellent communication and influencing skills across cross-functional teams Experience in apparel, footwear, outdoor, or retail-driven consumer goods preferred Experience operating in a global or matrixed environment is a plus Ability to thrive in a fast-growing, evolving retail environment 20% travel Additional Information This role owns the retail demand plan for North America, ensuring forecasts align with store demand, inventory targets, and financial goals. The Senior Demand Planner connects merchandising, retail, and global planning teams to drive a clear, unified view of demand across stores and channels. In addition to planning ownership, this role leads the allocation function, managing a team responsible for in-season inventory execution. Success comes from linking strong forecasting with effective allocation to drive in-stock performance, optimize inventory, and support retail growth. Videos To Watch