Manager, Inventory & Demand Planning

Who We Are Zenni pioneered the online eyewear industry in 2003 with a mission to make eyewear affordable and accessible for everyone. With complete prescription pairs starting under $10, Zenni offers adults and children the freedom to see clearly and express themselves through a wide selection of high-quality prescription glasses, sunglasses, protective eyewear, and non-prescription frames - curated with fashion, function, and style in mind. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zenni has redefined the traditional retail model, emerging as the premier destination for online eyewear in the United States while surpassing 70 million frames sold globally. Zenni is proud to be the Official Eyewear of the San Francisco 49ers, Columbus Crew, Monster Jam, WWE, Team Liquid, and more. Zenni has collaborated with designers and tastemakers on exclusive collections, including Chase Stokes and George and Claire Kittle. For more information, visit zenni.com . About the Role The Manager, Inventory and Demand Planning drives optimal inventory planning and investment to support optimal sales performance and margin execution. This role blends strategic inventory financial and unit planning with operational demand forecasting to ensure inventory alignment with customer demand. This role is responsible for driving subcategory in stock position, guiding a team of planners, and maintaining strong governance over sales targets, gross margins, and inventory performance. In addition to managing team operations, this role will actively serve as a key player by directly owning and managing designated product categories for end-to-end planning across assigned commodities (Frames vs. Lens) and subcategories. Furthermore, the Manager will help lead the deployment and continuous enhancement of new planning systems, incorporating AI, and reporting & analytics tools. This leader will scale our planning capabilities and elevate organizational forecasting precision. The ideal candidate blends strategic financial oversight with tactical demand planning at an item-level—managing subcategory Open-to-Buy (OTB) budgets, leading high-priority "A" SKU strategy at the factory/location level and ensuring optimal system logic for secondary product tiers. Responsibilities: Financial & Strategic Planning (Monthly / Quarterly) Planning Execution & Governance: Review of monthly and quarterly sales, margin, and inventory reviews across subcategories, tracking performance against targets and resulting Open-to-Buy (OTB). Direct Category Ownership: Manage and own the end-to-end financial and demand planning for specific assigned subcategories alongside team management duties. Commodity & Subcategory Inventory & Open to Buy Strategy: Balance portfolio goals across primary commodities (Frames vs. Lens), optimizing gross margin and working capital. Inventory Allocation & Consolidation: Direct strategic stock reallocations, inventory consolidations, and safety stock adjustments across locations to prevent liabilities, stock outs, and maximize turnover. Team Supervision & Development: Manage and coach Merchandise Planners, establishing clear operational KPIs, workflows, and functional development plans. Demand Planning & Forecasting (Weekly / Operational) Systems & Analytics Deployment: Lead the integration, utilization, and ongoing refinement of planning software, algorithm tuning, analytical reporting tools, and AI capabilities across the team. Focus SKU Oversight: Direct hands-on planning and location/factory-level forecasting for core best-selling SKUs (50–100 items per planner), while maintaining and refining logic for B, C, and D SKUs. KPI & Risk Tracking: Lead weekly operational reviews of sales performance, forecast accuracy, out-of-stock (OOS) risks, and New Product Introduction (NPI) on-time deliveries. Lifecycle & Discontinuation Management: Oversee sell-through plans for discontinued items to ensure minimal liability to exit inventory and minimize write off risk…

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