What is in the course

What merchandise planning is, how the planning calendar and product hierarchy work, and the core retail maths every planner uses.

1. The Role of Merchandise Planning
2. A Week in the Life of a Planner
3. The Planning Hierarchy & Retail Calendar
4. Core Retail Maths & KPIs
5. Stockturn in Depth
6. Product Lifecycles & Seasonality
7. The Planner's Glossary, Industry Terminology

Module quiz: 11 questions, pass mark 70%.

Work out markup, margin, ASP, sell-through, weeks of cover, stock-to-sales, stock turn, GMROI, ATV, UPT and like-for-like growth with confidence, and read them together to decide what to do next.

1. Markup and margin Free sample
2. Gross margin and average selling price
3. Sell-through and rate of sale
4. Weeks of cover and stock-to-sales ratio
5. Stock turn and GMROI
6. ATV, UPT and like-for-like growth
7. Putting the numbers together

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

How to build the merchandise financial plan: sales, margin and stock, top-down and bottom-up planning, the WSSI and open-to-buy.

1. Top-Down, Bottom-Up & Reconciliation
2. Planning Sales
3. Planning Margin & Markdown
4. Planning Stock & Cover
5. The WSSI & Open-to-Buy
6. Putting It Together: A Season Plan from Scratch

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Turn the financial plan into a range. You will plan width and depth, option counts, store grades and clusters, price tiers and size curves.

1. Range Architecture: Width vs Depth
2. Option Planning & Range Width
3. Store Clustering & Grading
4. Price Architecture
5. Size Curves & Size-Level Planning

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Go from the assortment skeleton to real buys. You will build a line plan, forecast rate of sale, work out buy quantities and plan when stock arrives.

1. Building the Line Plan
2. Forecasting Rate of Sale
3. Calculating the Buy Quantity
4. Intake Flow, Phasing & Supplier Mechanics

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Manage stock in season. You will cover allocation, replenishment, safety stock, rebalancing, markdowns and keeping stock records accurate.

1. Inventory Principles & the Cost of Stock
2. Replenishment Basics: How Stock Refills Itself
3. Safety Stock Properly: The Order-Up-To Model
4. Allocation, Model Stock & Sizes
5. Managing Cover & Rebalancing Stock
6. Markdown Management & Aged Stock
7. Stock Integrity, Shrink & Omni-Channel Inventory

Module quiz: 11 questions, pass mark 70%.

Set reorder points and safety stock, read weeks of cover store by store, decide when a transfer pays off, and turn the Monday trade report into clear actions.

1. Reorder points
2. Safety stock: sizing the buffer
3. Weeks of cover and rebalancing
4. Store-to-store transfers
5. Reading the Monday trade report
6. Your in-season weekly routine

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Decide how much stock each store gets and when: push and pull, first allocations and top-ups, store grades and clusters, size curves and packs, presentation minimums and DC holdback.

1. Push and pull
2. Initial allocation and replenishment
3. Store grading and clustering
4. Size curves and packs
5. Presentation minimums
6. Holding back DC stock

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

What allocators do each week, the systems and reports they use, how to work with other teams and set priorities, and how to avoid the common mistakes. Ends with a day-one checklist.

1. What an allocator does: a week in the role
2. The systems and reports you will use
3. Working with buyers, planners, the DC and stores
4. Setting priorities
5. Common mistakes and how to avoid them
6. Your day-one checklist

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Turn a season's open-to-buy into monthly, category and store budgets, keep money back to chase what sells, and re-forecast as the season unfolds.

1. From a season budget to monthly open-to-buy
2. Splitting OTB across categories and stores
3. Chasing and holding back
4. Re-forecasting in season
5. Worked spreadsheet example: a winter OTB plan

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Plan markdowns before the season, spot when a style needs one, choose a depth that clears stock without wasting margin, and pick the right exit route for what is left.

1. Planned and reactive markdowns
2. When to mark down
3. How deep, and what it costs
4. Promotions are not markdowns
5. Seasonal hard goods and the markdown conversation
6. Exit strategies for leftover stock

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Learn to read the weekly trade, rank and sort a range with Pareto and quadrant charts, find patterns by price and attribute, and run a post-season review that improves the next plan.

1. In-Season Trade Analysis
2. Pareto & Quadrant Analysis
3. Price-Point & Attribute Analysis
4. The Post-Season Review (Hindsighting)

Module quiz: 11 questions, pass mark 70%.

Plan the weeks before a range review, build a fair data pack, find the winners, losers and gaps, and turn them into a clear story, a pre-read and recommendations that hold up in the room.

1. What a range review is for, and the weeks before it
2. The data to prepare
3. Structuring the analysis: winners, losers and gaps
4. Turning the analysis into a story and recommendations
5. Writing the pre-read
6. Handling challenge in the room

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

How orders move from idea to shelf: critical paths, lead times and cover, checking order confirmations, negotiating changes, handling late deliveries and sharing forecasts.

1. The critical path
2. Lead times and cover
3. Checking order confirmations
4. Negotiating quantities and timing
5. Managing late deliveries
6. Sharing forecasts with suppliers and buyers

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Use GMROI and its sister measures to steer stock, space and staff money, understand and question statistical forecasts, plan markdowns and promotions with elasticity, and plan stores and online as one business.

1. GMROI & Stock Productivity Deep Dive
2. The GMRO Family: GMROI, GMROF and GMROL
3. Statistical Forecasting & Demand Planning
4. Markdown Optimisation & Promotional Effectiveness
5. Omni-Channel Planning, Systems & the Future Planner

Module quiz: 13 questions, pass mark 70%.

How to plan a new allocator's first 12 weeks, teach with worked examples and checklists, hold coaching conversations about mistakes and confidence, and measure progress fairly.

1. Planning the first 12 weeks
2. Teaching with worked examples
3. Checklists that build good habits
4. Coaching conversations: when something goes wrong
5. Coaching conversations: building confidence
6. Measuring progress

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Set clear expectations, run a steady weekly rhythm, give feedback that helps, prioritise the work, grow your team's skills and keep everyone steady through peak trade.

1. Setting expectations
2. Weekly rhythms
3. Giving feedback
4. Prioritising the work
5. Building capability
6. Handling pressure in peak trade

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Give a clear three-minute trade update, present numbers people can follow, handle tough questions calmly, manage nerves and present with confidence to executives and suppliers.

1. Structuring a trade update
2. Presenting numbers simply
3. Handling questions
4. Managing nerves
5. Presenting to executives and suppliers

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Five real retail stories, two that went well and three that failed. You will see what was publicly reported, what it means for stock and range planning, and practise the decisions yourself.

1. Case study: Target Canada (2013 to 2015)
2. Case study: Dick Smith Electronics (2012 to 2016)
3. Case study: Woolworths UK (2008 to 2009)
4. Case study: Zara, Inditex and the speed model
5. Case study: Costco and the power of a narrow range

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Six real stories from American retail, from Target's 2022 stock clean-up to TJX's opportunistic buying. You will see what the public record shows, then apply the lesson to open-to-buy, markdowns, assortment and data in your own work.

1. Case study: Target's 2022 inventory clean-up
2. Case study: J.C. Penney's 2012 pricing overhaul
3. Case study: Walmart shares its sales data with suppliers
4. Case study: TJX and opportunistic buying
5. Case study: Nordstrom Rack and pack and hold
6. Case study: Nike's 2022 to 2023 inventory build-up

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.

Six real retailers from Europe and Asia, from Uniqlo's deep core ranges to H&M's 2018 stock build-up. See what each one did with range, stock and markdowns, then practise the same planning decisions with invented numbers.

1. Case study: Uniqlo and the deep core range
2. Case study: Primark, from store-only to home delivery
3. Case study: H&M's 2018 stock build-up
4. Case study: Aldi's short range
5. Case study: Marks and Spencer's clothing reset
6. Case study: Next and planning for the Sale

Module quiz: 10 questions, pass mark 70%.