Director of Planning & Assortment - Apparel

Full-Time / Exempt | Los Angeles, CA | HybridSalary Range: $185,000 - $220,000 base + bonus eligibilityDo not pass up this chance, apply quickly if your experience and skills match what is in the following description.About This OpportunityAt Wantable, we're redefining retail through personalization. Our membership-based model and proprietary technology empower us to curate products that help customers discover confidence and joy through style.As a data-driven fashion company, we combine human intuition with algorithmic intelligence to deliver personalized assortments – balancing creativity, analytics, and operational precision.We're seeking a Director of Planning & Assortment to own the full merchandise planning and buying strategy across its women's and men's businesses. This is a high-autonomy, technically rigorous role for someone who is equally comfortable building a demand forecast, leading a buying team, and presenting a seasonal assortment strategy — all in the same week.If you've built cohesive, commercially strong assortments, know merchandise financial planning cold, and are energized by the intersection of AI-powered analytics and real product judgment, this is a role worth a conversation.Role SummaryThe Director of Planning & Assortment owns assortment architecture and merchandise planning strategy end-to-end, and directly leads the buying team that executes against it. You'll ensure every theme and season delivers a cohesive, commercially optimized assortment across third-party brands, private label programs, and core business channels.This role sits at the intersection of analytical planning and creative merchandising. You bring full product lifecycle fluency, from pre-season architecture through in-season optimization to end-of-life exit, and the buying acumen to translate plans into compelling product selections. This is a lean, low-bureaucracy environment where technical depth, independent judgment, and hard work directly shape customer experience and company performance.What You'll OwnAssortment Planning & ArchitectureOwn the end-to-end assortment plan, building cohesive assortments that balance breadth, depth, newness, and brand mix against financial targets and customer data.Build and maintain assortment architectures that reflect customer segmentation, attribute-level performance, trend signals, and white-space opportunities — serving as the single point of accountability for assortment integrity.Develop pre-season and in-season plans for both third-party and private label programs, managing each product lifecycle stage — introduction, growth, maturation, and exit — with precision.Define the seasonal vision and thematic direction for each assortment, then ensure buying execution delivers against it with a curated, intentional product mix.Set and manage targets for receipt flow, sales plan, margin, inventory turns, weeks of supply, and sell-through by category and brand type.Buying Strategy & ExecutionLead and direct the buying team, ensuring all purchasing decisions ladder up to the assortment plan and reinforce seasonal themes, category strategies, and financial targets.Guide buyers on brand selection, style-level decisions, and order quantities to keep assortments cohesive and free of redundancy, gaps, or drift.Own end-to-end buying strategy for assigned categories as needed, using AI-assisted trend forecasting, predictive analytics, and rapid in-season experimentation.Maintain and grow vendor partnerships that support speed, innovation, flexibility, and margin improvement.Partner with the internal Private Label team to drive private label growth informed by predictive trend data, attribute analytics, and lifecycle calendars — ensuring those assortments complement and strengthen the overall product mix.Merchandise Financial Planning & AnalyticsLead merchandise financial planning processes including OTB management, tops-down/bottoms-up reconciliation, and scenario modeling.Apply strong mathematical and statistical skills to demand forecasting, size-curve optimization, pricing elasticity analysis, and promotional impact modeling.Develop measurable success criteria tied to KPIs including margin dollars, inventory turns, GMROI, conversion, and customer relevance.Own lifecycle margin management across the full product journey — from initial markup strategies through markdown cadence and liquidation planning — for both third-party and private label programs.AI, Planning Tools & AutomationIntegrate and champion AI tools within the planning and buying workflow — demand-forecasting models, assortment simulations, attribute-level analytics, and LLM-powered trend research.Evaluate, implement, and optimize planning platforms and technologies that increase speed, accuracy, and scalability across both functions.Build lean, automated processes to improve replenishment triggers, size/color optimization, and receipt-flow management.Use ML-driven insights to reduce bias in assortment and buying decisions, surface emerging opportunities, and accelerate test-and-learn cycles.Cross-Functional & Team LeadershipWork closely with other leaders to align assortment architecture with seasonal themes, customer preferences, and style-level penetration goals.Lead cross-functional initiatives where planning rigor, buying expertise, and data-backed decision making drive business outcomes.Lead, coach, and develop the buying team to operate with autonomy, analytical precision, and clear ownership — building the connective tissue between planning strategy and market-level buying decisions.Use AI and advanced planning tools to uplevel team capability across forecast accuracy, hindsight discipline, market sensing, and vendor negotiation.Create a culture of continuous improvement, intellectual curiosity, and measurable impact.What You Bring8–10+ years of merchandising, planning, and/or buying experience in apparel, including direct leadership of buying teams.Deep apparel expertise with a strong understanding of fit, fabrication, seasonality, and category nuance across women's and/or men's apparel.End-to-end product lifecycle experience across both third-party brand buying and private label development — from concept through exit.Strong mathematical and analytical foundation, including comfort with statistical modeling, demand forecasting, and financial planning frameworks.Demonstrated proficiency with AI-driven tools and modern planning platforms — you evaluate, adopt, and integrate new technologies, not just use what you're handed.Proven ability to build cohesive, commercially strong assortments that tell a clear story by theme and season.Advanced Excel / Google Sheets skills; experience with enterprise planning systems a plus.Ability to make independent, data-informed decisions with speed and conviction — not layers of approval.Strong communication skills — able to translate quantitative insights and tradeoffs clearly for both technical and non-technical audiences.Creativity balanced with disciplined, quantitative thinking.Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Mathematics, or related field preferred but not required.Ability to travel as needed.Compensation & LogisticsBase salary: $185,000 – $220,000 depending on experienceBonus eligibleFull benefits packageBased in Los Angeles, CA — hybrid scheduleHow We Work at WantableHigh ownership. You are trusted to make decisions that directly impact customers and financial performance.Hard-working and hands-on. We move fast, stay scrappy, and focus on impact.Independent thinkers. We value leaders who confidently make data-driven decisions without layers of approvals.Low bureaucracy. We avoid committees, long processes, and unnecessary steps.Love of fashion & product. We combine data with intuition to create experiences customers love.Results over pedigree. What you've built matters more than where you've been. xywuqvpWe are an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.