Retail Planning Manager – Homechoice (Southern Suburbs (Cape)) needed at HomeChoice Holdings Limited

• The Retail Planning Manager is responsible for translating the company’s strategic retail objectives into actionable plans at store level. This role combines data-driven planning, performance management, and stakeholder alignment to ensure profitability, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth across the retail footprint. The incumbent must have strong commercial acumen, retail operations expertise, financial planning experience, and proven leadership capability to lead cross-functional alignment and execution.

What you will love doing in this role

Performance

• Sales Planning and Reporting
• Develop and oversee sales forecasting models at store, regional, and national levels.
• Analyze historical and current sales trends to project future performance.
• Lead the budgeting and forecasting process in collaboration with Operations and Finance.
• Ensure accuracy of sales dashboards and reporting tools.
• Profitability & Forecasts
• Provide store-level profitability reports and variance analysis.
• Recommend corrective action plans for underperforming stores based on financial insights.
• Develop rolling forecasts and contingency plans for sales dips or seasonal shifts.
• New Accounts & Conversion Rates
• Monitor and analyze new account openings, credit sales, and conversion metrics.
• Work with Marketing and Operations to improve customer acquisition and conversion.

Product

• Visual Merchandising & Store Standards
• Collaborate with the Merchandise department to ensure the correct implementation of visual display standards across all stores.
• Audit store execution of promotional plans and layouts against the merchandise strategy.
• Produce merchandise monthly reporting decks providing analytical insights to drive growth and profitability.
• Obsolete & Aged Stock Management
• Identify slow-moving or obsolete stock and drive clearance strategies.
• Partner with Buying and Logistics to improve stock turnover and reduce aged inventory.
• Gross Profit (GP) Optimization
• Monitor GP trends and drive interventions for margin improvement.
• Analyze pricing strategies and markdown impacts in collaboration with the Planning and Buying team.

People

• Vacancy Reporting & Workforce Planning
• Monitor headcount and vacancy status by store.
• Support Operations with insights into staffing efficiencies and labour cost planning.
• Performance Management Reporting
• Collaborate with HR to track performance reviews, PIPs, and productivity metrics.
• Ensure alignment between staff performance and sales outcomes.
• Succession Planning & Training Reports
• Report on identified successors and track their development journeys.
• Ensure training completion reports and skills development compliance are regularly reviewed.

Protection

• Stock Take Reporting
• Analyze stock take results across regions and identify shrinkage trends.
• Recommend process improvements to reduce loss.
• Cash & Banking Reporting
• Oversee daily cash-up reporting compliance and exception reporting.
• Collaborate with Finance to address banking issues or irregularities.

Audit & Compliance

• Monitor internal audit findings related to store compliance.
• Track resolution of audit issues and ensure adherence to standard operating procedures.

Place

• Foot Count Analysis
• Compare store footfall against mall foot count data to measure draw power and effectiveness.
• Provide recommendations for location-specific promotions or staffing models.
• Activation Performance Reporting
• Analyze the ROI and sales uplift from in-store and mall activations.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Events teams to track and improve effectiveness of activation.

Customer Service

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) Analysis
• Consolidate and analyze NPS data across regions and channels.
• Work with Operations and HR to action insights from customer feedback.
• Track NPS improvement initiatives and customer satisfaction trends.

Finance

• Budget Management
• Lead the development of annual sales and expense budgets by store and region.
• Collaborate with Finance and Operations to align planning and actual spend
• Expense Control
• Track operating expenses at store level and flag deviations.
• Partner with Operations to implement cost-saving initiatives.

Additional Responsibilities

• Strategic Projects: Drive special initiatives such as store expansion modelling, territory optimization, and tech rollouts.
• Systems & Tools: Champion improvements in BI tools, ERP systems, and planning platforms.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the strategic liaison between Head Office departments and store-level operations.
• Data Governance: Ensure accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of planning data.
• Provide reporting to Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Operations to drive profitability for the brand.
• Manage deadlines in the department to ensure marketing timelines are met and the team executes effectively on marketing briefs, ensuring presentation of the best product to the right customer segment.
• Partner with product owner to drive automation and system development helping to identify best technology investments to successfully execute unified commerce for long-term competitive advantage.

Requirements
What you’ll need to do this role

• Degree in Business, Retail Management, Finance, or a related field (Honours or Postgraduate preferred).
• Minimum 8–10 years’ experience in retail, including 5+ years in a senior planning or operations role.
• Proven financial planning, forecasting, and analytical skills.
• Strong knowledge of retail operations, merchandise planning, and profitability levers.
• Leadership experience managing cross-functional teams or departments.
• Strong organization, planning, and time management skills
• Proficient capabilities in Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel

Behaviors we love

• Wow my customer
• Walk in my customers’ shoes
• Deliver on my promises
• Deliver insight-led solutions my customers need
• Treat the business as my own
• Take accountability
• Be curious, creative & explore opportunities
• Do it right & at the right time
• Play as a team
• Be helpful
• Be inclusive
• Find the fun