G/FORE Director of Merchandise Planning & Analytics

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing!

We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

ABOUT G/FORE:

Born in Los Angeles but bred with a global perspective, G/FORE was conceptualized with a passion for modern design combined with a love of golf. Distinguished by our attention to detail, sophisticated ease, playful nature, youthful energy, and sense of humor. We consistently strive to make a powerful and colorful impact on our favorite game. We take inspiration from art, architecture, modern design, and colorful narratives. Our intent is to disrupt the industry without being disrespectful to the sport and its rich traditions.

The G/FORE Director of Merchandise Planning & Analytics is responsible for owning and leading inventory, demand, and merchandise planning strategies for the G/FORE brand across all channels, including Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer. This role is accountable for developing and approving demand forecasts, open-to-buy plans, and inventory strategies that achieve revenue, margin, and inventory productivity targets while protecting brand integrity and service standards.

As a senior leader within the planning organization, this role partners closely with Design & Merchandising, Production, Supply Planning, Sales, Finance, and Operations to drive data-informed decisions, improve planning processes, and translate analytics into clear business insights. The Director leads and develops a planning team and serves as a trusted advisor to leadership on inventory risk, growth opportunities, and strategic tradeoffs.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Planning & Forecast Ownership

• Own and approve merchandise buy plans, sales forecasts, budgets, and open-to-buy strategies across all channels, with accountability for inventory productivity and financial outcomes
• Develop and maintain SKU-level demand forecasts by channel and region, including in-season forecast updates to project end-of-season sell-through and inventory exposure
• Establish and maintain open-to-buy plans at the category, style, and SKU level, balancing growth, service, and inventory risk
• Consolidate global unit demand across channels based on forecasts, lead times, and minimum order quantities to optimize scale and efficiency

Inventory & Financial Accountability

• Accountable for forecast accuracy, inventory turns, closeout exposure, and working capital efficiency
• Propose and execute strategies to drive sell-through, optimize inventory lifecycle profitability, and mitigate excess or aged inventory
• Partner with Finance to ensure alignment to revenue, margin, and inventory targets and to support financial planning and scenario analysis

Analytics & Decision Support

• Define, evolve, and own planning and inventory KPIs, dashboards, and analytics frameworks to drive insight-based decision making
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations for executive leadership
• Ensure planning tools, reporting, and analytics are consistently applied and continuously improved

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Sales to align inventory strategies with account needs, selling events, and assortment feedback
• Collaborate with Supply Planning, Production, and Operations to manage inbound inventory flow, embroidery capacity, and service requirements while maximizing inventory productivity
• Develop total company demand forecasts in partnership with Merchandising to inform factory capacity planning and fabric commitments
• Oversee the VRLink and RepSpark load processes and ensure clear communication to sales teams

People Leadership & Process Ownership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of merchandise planners, setting clear expectations, development plans, and performance goals
• Own end-to-end merchandise planning and forecasting processes, ensuring consistency, governance, and continuous improvement across seasons and channels
• Actively engage with cross-functional partners and leadership, influencing outcomes through data

Competencies:

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and strong comfort working with planning systems and analytics tools
• Advanced analytical judgment with the ability to balance financial targets, brand considerations, and qualitative business inputs
• Strong executive-level communication skills with the ability to influence decision making through insight and clarity
• Proven ability to lead teams, develop talent, and drive accountability
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment while maintaining rigor and accuracy
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously
   

Preferred Qualifications

• 6–10 years of merchandise planning, demand planning, or inventory planning experience, ideally in apparel or footwear
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Analytics, or a related field
• Experience planning across Wholesale and DTC channels
• Familiarity with planning and reporting tools such as Impact Analytics, Power BI, or similar platforms
• Demonstrated experience presenting to senior leadership and driving cross-functional alignment

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us!