The Director Planning & Trading for eCom Europe is part of Product Merchandising and leads both the pre-season planning and in-season trading agenda. The role is responsible for ensuring the right consumer-centric product investment decisions pre-season, while steering commercial product performance in-season through data-driven trading actions that capture opportunities and mitigate risk. The role plays a critical role in shaping the commercial direction of the eCom business across Europe.
A strong emphasis is placed on the leader to attract, develop and retain the very best, diverse talent in a safe, inclusive environment.
Key Responsibilities
Pre-season Planning
- Own pre-season investment planning for the ‘Regular’ eCom business. The Outlet portion is planned by the DTC FO Planning team.
- Facilitate and coordinate a (monthly) bottoms-up process to identify product opportunities to be raised in the IBP (Integrated Business Planning) process.
- Understand monthly developments in consumer demand and corresponding IBP Category submissions, and translate movements into clear assortment choices.
- Co-own (with Product Merch Buying) seasonal milestones like ‘Merchandise Financial Plan’, ‘Buy Sign Off’ and ‘Monthly Buy Review’ to create an aligned and strategic adidas buy.
- Build planning guidance for assortment and investments around key commercial moments like End Of Season Sale and Black Friday.
- Co-create and streamline future pre-season planning processes & tools to help buy the right amount of the right product in the right size for consumers.
In-season Trading
- Lead in-season commercial steering across categories to maximize Net Sales and market share, in line with the strategic role of the eCom channel within the European marketplace.
- Create and communicate weekly and monthly trading insights to influence planning & buying decisions. The Off Price Merch team focuses on trading of the Outlet business.
- Engage in key commercial meetings such as pulse checks and (category) trading meetings to identify trading opportunities and risks – translating into market share, net sales and gross margin wins.
- Drive seasonal retrospective to translate key learnings of previous seasons into actionable insights & recommendations.
- Leverage and evolve data-driven business intelligence (industry, competitors, ranges) to help recommend assortment choices that maximize seasonal commercial impact.
- Partner with Analytics and the wider Product Merch team to design, build and adopt the next generation of forecasting tools and dashboards.
Leadership & stakeholder management
- Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team of currently 9 people (with 3 direct reports) in a safe, inclusive environment, fostering strong engagement, empowerment and cross-functional collaboration.
- Active member of the Product Merchandising leadership team, driving strong collaboration across all Product Merch pillars (Buying, Off Price Merchandising, Merchandising Ops and Planning & Trading).
- Partner with different functions in the eCom EU community to drive the commercial business, and across channels to ensure holistic steering.
- Represent EU eCom pre-season plans towards the European Business Units, furthering the alignment on plans, risks & opportunities, and key business needs.
- Participate in seasonal milestones, like Go To Market Sign-off and Sample Walkthrough (occasional travel required).
Key Relationships
- Sr. Director Product Merchandising eCom EU
- Product Merchandising eCom EU leadership
- Full Product Merchandising team (Buying, Off Price Merchandising, Merchandising Operations)
- Broader eCom community (including VP eCom EU, Sales Planning & Analytics, Finance, Demand Planning, Digital Sales, Consumer Experience, Digital Activation, Supply Chain)
- EU Business Units
- EU Retail (Concept Stores & Factory Outlet)
- EU Marketplace (country) teams
- Global Digital
Requirements
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Business leader with proven planning & trading skills.
- Broad knowledge of Merchandising and DTC supply and operations topics, and solid knowledge of other functional areas involved in planning & trading processes.
- Understanding of our European and digital ecosystem.
- Proven ability to navigate and be effective in matrix organizations, to successfully work in cross-functional teams.
- Fluent in English.
Personal Attributes
- Pro-active, result-oriented and flexible in approach to drive growth.
- Ability to think strategically, to approach topics from different perspectives (consumer, brand, marketplace, financial, operational), to synthesize complex data and to develop innovative and simple solutions.
- Able to prioritize, has a strong sense of ownership and is resilient under pressure.
- Adopts a structured and logical approach from planning to delivery.
- Can quickly and effectively assimilate and drive change and/or new initiatives.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Ability to seamlessly shift between strategic and tactical topics. Clear vision and ability to articulate to different stakeholders.
- Strong analytical capabilities and commercial acumen.
- Drive to coach, guide, manage and develop the team. A role model and builder of diverse, inclusive high performing teams and talent.
- Passion for sports, fashion and consumer trends is a strong plus.
Education & Experience
- University degree.
- 8+ years professional experience – Merchandising experience in a multi-channel global brand, and experience in eCom or digital environment preferred.
- 3+ years of leadership experience.
adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an equal opportunity employer.