Retail Planning & Allocation Lead - APAC Excl. China

In short

As a Retail Planning & Allocation Lead you will combine strong analytical thinking with commercial understanding, leading the development of the planning & allocation team, systems, and processes to drive accurate sales planning, inventory productivity, optimize stock availability, and improve customer satisfaction. You will work at the intersection of planning, retail, and operations— accelerating commercial performance and driving sustainable business growth with data-driven, responsive allocation decisions. You will contribute to improving how inventory is managed across the region - supporting better product availability, reducing inefficiencies, and enabling more responsive decision-making. This role offers the opportunity to build planning capabilities and develop modern allocation capabilities while staying close to the commercial reality of the business.

Your Mission

Lead the regional retail planning and allocation function, balancing long-term strategic merchandise planning with responsive execution to maximize stock productivity and commercial performance across the Retail channel. Drive the development, implementation, and transition to next-generation AI-powered allocation solutions, while enhancing dashboards, reporting, and processes to improve visibility and decision-making. Develop the Planning capabilities for the Retail channel, partnering with business stakeholders to establish robust processes for sales forecasting, inventory planning, and in-season trading. Develop and inspire the allocation team by strengthening capabilities, growing technical expertise, and leading teams through change to drive high performance. Partner closely with the Merchandising team by providing in-season allocation recommendations and stock optimization guidance to support commercial decision-making, forecast execution, and trading performance Build strong partnerships across Retail stakeholders (Retail Ops, Demand Planning, VM, and Store teams), ensuring clarity, transparency, and alignment across functions Monitor and analyze sales, stock, size, and KPI performance at SKU, category, and store level, identifying risks, missed sales opportunities, and inventory imbalances, while driving corrective actions and ensuring clear performance visibility across regional and global stakeholders

Your story

5+ years of experience within a similar Retail Allocation or Retail Planning role, ideally within large-scale, lifestyle, or premium retail environments, with exposure to leading teams and cross-functional collaboration Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and strong understanding of retail KPIs (sell-through, stock cover, size performance) Experience driving allocation system development and implementation, including next-generation AI-powered allocation solutions and process enhancements Able to identify risks and opportunities early and act accordingly Experience building team capabilities and leading teams through change, ensuring strong engagement and developing their technical expertise Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build effective cross-functional partnerships, drive decision-making, and lead the adoption of new processes, tools, and ways of working across the organization You lead with positivity, curiosity, and humility. You are a resilient communicator who thrives in fast-paced, high-stakes environments