Vice President, Planning & Buying

SIMKHAI is seeking a strategic and highly analytical VP, Planning & Buying to lead financial planning, inventory, strategy and buying across the business. This role will own the development and execution of SIMKHAI’s merchandise financial plans across DTC, Retail and Wholesale, ensuring inventory investments are aligned with sales, margin and growth objectives. The VP will be a critical partner to Merchandising, Wholesale, Retail, E-commerce, Finance, Production and Operations, translating business performance and product trends into actionable inventory and buying strategies.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience within a multi-channel fashion business, combining strong financial and analytical capabilities with commercial product instincts. This leader will be responsible for building a disciplined planning organization that supports SIMKHAI’s continued growth while improving inventory productivity, full-price sell-through and profitability.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the annual and seasonal merchandise financial planning process across Wholesale, E-commerce and Retail, aligned to company revenue, margin and profitability goals.
• Develop and manage sales, inventory, receipt, margin and OTB plans by channel, category, season and product classification.
• Lead rolling forecasts and reforecasts based on current performance, historical trends, market conditions and future business opportunities.
• Identify risks and opportunities against plan and provide clear recommendations to senior leadership.
• Partner with Finance and Commercial leadership to ensure merchandise plans align with the company’s annual budget and long-range growth strategy.
• Establish and evolve KPIs, reporting and planning processes to support a growing multi-channel business.

Inventory & OTB Management

• Own companywide inventory strategy and OTB, balancing growth opportunities with inventory productivity and margin objectives.
• Determine appropriate inventory levels by channel, category and season while maximizing full-price sell-through and inventory turn.
• Continuously evaluate inventory positioning across channels and identify opportunities to reallocate, chase, replenish or reduce exposure.
• Manage receipt flow and inventory investments against changing sales trends and demand.
• Develop strategies for aged and excess inventory in partnership with Commercial and Finance leadership.
• Create clear inventory guardrails that enable growth while maintaining disciplined inventory ownership.

DTC Buying

• Lead the buying strategy for SIMKHAI’s DTC business across E-commerce and Retail.
• Build seasonal buys by category, style, color and size based on financial plans, historical performance, product strategy and customer demand.
• Partner closely with Merchandising to translate seasonal creative and product strategies into commercially balanced assortments.
• Determine depth and breadth of buys and continuously evaluate performance to identify chase, reorder and exit opportunities.
• Develop localized and channel-specific assortment strategies where appropriate.
• Lead size analysis and size-curve optimization to improve availability and inventory productivity.
• Partner with Retail and E-commerce teams on product opportunities, launches and inventory needs.

Wholesale Planning & Commercial Partnership

• Partner closely with the Wholesale organization to connect wholesale bookings, sell-through and account inventory trends to the total company forecast.
• Analyze performance across key wholesale partners and identify opportunities and risks by retailer, category and product.
• Monitor wholesale sell-through, receipts, reorders, swaps, cancellations and RTV exposure and incorporate trends into revenue and inventory forecasts.
• Support seasonal wholesale targets and booking plans through historical performance, account trends and category analysis.
• Partner with Sales leadership to identify chase and reorder opportunities and ensure inventory is positioned to capitalize on demand.
• Participate in strategic business reviews with key wholesale partners and their planning teams as needed.
• Provide visibility into the financial health and inventory position of the wholesale business to senior leadership.

Core, Replenishment & Chase Strategy

• Own the financial and inventory strategy for SIMKHAI’s core and replenishment business.
• Develop inventory ladders, reorder points and replenishment methodologies by style and channel.
• Identify products with potential to transition from seasonal to core based on productivity, demand and longevity.
• Partner with Merchandising, Production and Sales to build scalable chase capabilities and maximize proven demand.
• Balance availability and speed-to-market with inventory risk and working-capital objectives.

Business Analytics & Reporting

• Lead weekly business reporting across DTC, Retail and Wholesale, including sales, margin, sell-through, inventory, receipts and forecast performance.
• Develop weekly, monthly and seasonal business reviews that clearly identify performance drivers, opportunities and risks.
• Establish actionable reporting by channel, category, product and location/account.
• Deliver concise, commercially focused insights and recommendations to senior leadership rather than reporting data alone.
• Continuously improve planning tools, reporting infrastructure and data accuracy as the business scales.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the central link between financial targets, product strategy and inventory investment.
• Partner with Merchandising throughout the seasonal process to inform assortment architecture, category opportunities, price-point strategy and product depth.
• Partner with Production and Operations on receipt timing, chase opportunities and inventory requirements.
• Partner with Finance on revenue forecasting, margin planning, inventory valuation and working-capital management.
• Partner with Wholesale, Retail and E-commerce leadership to ensure inventory supports channel-specific opportunities while optimizing the total company position.
• Influence seasonal strategy through data while maintaining a strong understanding of the SIMKHAI customer, product and brand vision.
• Build, lead and develop the Planning & Buying organization as SIMKHAI continues to scale.
• Establish clear ownership, processes and accountability across planning and buying functions.
• Coach and develop team members while creating a highly analytical, collaborative and commercially minded culture.
• Evaluate systems, tools and resources required to support future growth and increased complexity.

Qualifications:

• Must have a minimum of 10+ years of progressive merchandise planning and/or buying experience within fashion, luxury or contemporary apparel, with significant leadership experience.
• Must have strong experience within a multi-channel business spanning DTC and Wholesale.
• Must have deep expertise in merchandise financial planning, forecasting, OTB, inventory management and buying.
• Must have demonstrated experience managing significant inventory investments and driving improvements in sell-through, turn and margin.
• Must have strong understanding of wholesale economics, including bookings, sell-through, reorders, cancellations, markdowns and RTVs.
• Experience developing core, replenishment and chase programs strongly preferred.
• Must be highly analytical with the ability to translate complex data into clear commercial decisions.
• Must have strong product sensibility and understanding of assortment architecture, pricing and consumer demand.
• Must have proven ability to partner effectively across Merchandising, Sales, Retail, E-commerce, Finance, Production and Operations.
• Must have proven strong leadership and team-development capabilities.
• Must have advanced Excel and merchandise planning/reporting system expertise; experience working with ERP and BI platforms required.
• Must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and building processes appropriate for a rapidly growing business.

What Success Looks Like:

The VP, Planning & Buying will create greater connectivity between product, demand, inventory and financial performance across SIMKHAI. Success in this role will be measured by improved forecast accuracy, stronger full-price sell-through, healthier inventory levels and turn, disciplined OTB management, profitable DTC growth, improved wholesale inventory visibility, and the development of scalable planning and buying processes that support SIMKHAI’s next stage of growth.

We offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, FSA, 401(k) and PTO. Additionally, we offer a generous clothing allowance and 50% employee discount off retail.

About Us:

SIMKHAI is a luxury American fashion house where modern sensuality meets timeless luxury. Founded in 2010 by designer Jonathan Simkhai, SIMKHAI redefines the contemporary wardrobe, transforming essentials into statements through innovative techniques and enduring design.

In the SIMKHAI studio, Jonathan and the design team bring creative visions to life with precision and artistry. Each collection is designed for celebrating life’s defining moments and elevating the everyday. enduring design. As SIMKHAI continues to evolve, its dedication to craftsmanship and innovation remains unwavering, ensuring every piece reflects the brand's modern spirit and timeless appeal.