As Head of Merchandise Planning, you will play a critical role in Global Merchandise Planning (GMP) - the team that shapes the dynamic merchandise financial framework guiding ASOS’s Product function toward profitable growth. GMP empowers buying teams with informed financial plans, oversees holistic category performance, and continually refines budgets to reflect customer demand - ensuring the business invests in the right product, at the right time, in the right quantity.
You will hold strategic control of product category plans for your area of the business, working across Merchandise Financial Planning, Strategic Inventory Planning and Assortment Planning to translate strategy into budgets, width and depth, and open-to-buy (OTB) decisions. You will lead a team of Planners and Assistant Planners in formulating short- and long-term category plans, distributing and re-allocating budgets, and interpreting performance to drive action and recommendation.
Reporting to the ASOS Merchandising Director, you will drive category performance with an end-to-end view across product teams, delivering a dynamic approach to OTB management that improves sales and margin - and doing it with the strategic alignment, commercial curiosity, proactivity and trusted partnership that GMP expects of every one of its leaders.
1. Strategic Thinking
Support the Merchandising Director in formulating customer-facing (gender/category) pre-season sales and stock strategies, and distribute budgets to commercial product teams accordingly.
Own strategic planning and trading of category performance, overseeing intake and OTB allocation to deliver the stock requirements the business needs.
Determine investment priorities based on a combined view across insight, business units and categories.
Maintain an agile, dynamic approach to OTB management that keeps ASOS flexible, drives profitability and protects competitive advantage.
Maintain in-depth knowledge of category performance and KPIs, continually challenging and re-defining them to maximise sales and profit.
Co-ordinate and oversee delivery of end-use strategies (e.g. cold weather, high summer, occasion), providing product teams with budget and phasing guidance.
Interpret analytical data to guide width and depth by product type across business units.
Set price status guidelines for product categories to protect full-price performance.
2. Business Knowledge
Drive in-season trading through re-allocation of budgets based on customer demand, optimising stock health and Prime Stock Mix.
Use supply chain and lead-time expertise to keep the buy agile and flexible to changing customer demand.
Assimilate channel team requirements into category plans to ensure local market needs are met.
Use the latest analytical data to support decision-making, analysing trading patterns and acting on unexpected sales reactions or budget gaps.
Partner with your buying division director(s) to translate the Merchandise Financial Planning framework into a category strategy they believe in — the plan only works if the narrative behind the numbers lands.
3. Leadership
Manage a Merchandise Planning team, making strategic and trading decisions in a fast-paced environment.
Translate GMP and company strategy into clear team objectives, empowering Planners and Assistant Planners to deliver against them.
Champion GMP’s Alignment, Ownership, Energy behaviours across the team - clear priorities, unambiguous ownership, and a pace that sustains engagement.
Contribute to the Merchandise Planning Evolution programme, supporting capability-building and the team’s adoption of new planning tools, including GMP’s emerging agentic AI pilots.
Encourage cross-functional collaboration with buying, trading and channel teams, leading through top-down target setting.
4. Problem Solving
Evaluate complex situations using multiple sources of information to formulate a general direction with outcomes aligned to Product function strategy, including:
Long-term business unit projections
Category budget, OTB and intake planning
Width and depth guidance
Price architecture and status guidance
5. Impact
Support the Merchandising Director in influencing the wider Product function through advice, guidance and counsel.
Revenue and profitability are key measures of success, alongside contribution to GMP’s shared Key Results - GMV Net Sales growth, Prime Stock Mix, and Prime Sell Through.
Provide analysis and visibility of performance KPIs, ultimately supporting ASOS’s corporate targets for 12-week Prime sell-through and 52-week product ROI.
/01 Company Description
We're ASOS, the online retailer for fashion lovers all around the world.
We exist to give our customers the confidence to be whoever they want to be, and that goes for our people too. At ASOS, you're free to be your true self without judgement, and channel your creativity into a platform used by millions.
Everyone needs some help showing up as their best self. We're Disability Confident Committed - let our Talent team know if you need any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
/02 Job Qualifications
Commercial approach and control of financial budgets and targets.
Strong numerical acumen to manage performance by category.
Expertise in planning, and in managing sales, stock, intake and OTB.
Ability to make decisions in a fast-paced environment.
Fashion/market knowledge to guide trade-off decisions between business units.
Ability to work cross-functionally to drive the best outcome for ASOS.
Proven ability to manage, lead and develop a team.
Commercially curious and insight-led, with a proactive rather than reactive approach to trading decisions.
Strong organisational skills; able to use initiative and work in a pressurised environment.
Excellent communication skills, able to influence colleagues and stakeholders at all levels, including Director level.
Attention to detail.
Computer literate, with advanced Excel skills; comfortable working within Oracle or equivalent planning systems
/03 Additional Info
BeneFITs:
Employee discount (hello ASOS discount!)
Employee sample sales
25 days paid annual leave + an extra celebration day for a special moment
Private medical care scheme
Discretionary bonus scheme
Opportunity for personalised learning and in-the-moment experiences that enable you to thrive and excel in your role
We believe being together in person helps us move faster, connect more deeply, and achieve more as a team. That's why our approach to working together includes spending at least 3 days a week in the office. Its a rhythm that speeds up decision-making, helps ASOSers learn from each other more quickly, and builds the kind of culture where people can grow, create, and succeed.
Why take our word for it? Search #InsideASOS on our socials to see what life at ASOS is like.
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
what our people say
Meet The Team
Meet Geeta Gohil -
Commercial @ ASOS
Meet Ian Amer -
Commercial @ ASOS
Meet Mui Abdul -
Commercial @ ASOS
Working at ASOS has made me realise how much I feel like I belong here. It’s exciting and refreshing. The authenticity and inclusivity ASOS has makes it even better to work here. Everyday is a different day; I am learning new things, meeting new people and be involved in so many amazing buying projects.
I love ASOS for two main reasons – firstly because as a company it is never afraid to try something new or challenge the way we work; we really have the autonomy to push ourselves in new directions.
ASOS is incredibly inclusive which means so much to me as a queer Black woman. There are so many opportunities here beyond your role, so you can really boost and build your dream career here. And the people! I’m inspired everyday by my colleagues, the creativity here is unparalleled!
Geeta Gohil
Commercial @ ASOS
Working at ASOS has made me realise how much I feel like I belong here. It’s exciting and refreshing. The authenticity and inclusivity ASOS has makes it even better to work here. Everyday is a different day; I am learning new things, meeting new people and be involved in so many amazing buying projects.
Ian Amer
Commercial @ ASOS
I love ASOS for two main reasons – firstly because as a company it is never afraid to try something new or challenge the way we work; we really have the autonomy to push ourselves in new directions.
Mui Abdul
Commercial @ ASOS
ASOS is incredibly inclusive which means so much to me as a queer Black woman. There are so many opportunities here beyond your role, so you can really boost and build your dream career here. And the people! I’m inspired everyday by my colleagues, the creativity here is unparalleled!
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
our business values
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We are Customer First
We couldn’t be ASOS without our customers.
Across every behaviour, value, and all that we do, we see everything through our customers’ eyes. That means never taking anything for granted and always zeroing in on every single detail. So we can always bring our best as a team, and our customers can have an amazing experience, every time.
We are Authentic
We work together to be honest, transparent, and our full authentic selves.
This is our ASOS. Our culture, built on collaboration and togetherness, and supported by what’s real and honest. We know that we win bigger when we win as a diverse team. That means celebrating our differences and using them to help us stand out from the crowd, without losing our authenticity and individuality.
We are Brave
We challenge each other to aim high and reach our potential.
Doing nothing gets us nowhere. We may be proud of everything we’ve done so far, but there’s still so much more to explore. We believe we can always be wiser, faster, stronger, bigger, braver, kinder…so asking ‘why’ isn’t just a question, it’s a necessity. We use our voice to drive us forward, speaking up on the things our people and customers care about and using our curiosity to create possibility.
We are Creative
We know innovation leads to inspiration – it’s what makes us stronger
Change is in our DNA. By acting fast and staying one step ahead of the curve, we can be a leader, not a follower. But for our products and platform to be innovative, they have to be fuelled by creative passion and a deep understanding of our customers and our people.
We always Deliver
We couldn’t be excellent without evidence – so whatever we’re doing, we have proof of why we’re doing it.
It takes facts and data to tell our stories and help us make our decisions in the most effective way possible. This means we can do what we say and own what we do, no matter how long it takes us to do it. We aren’t about nonsense ifs, buts and maybes, we’re about creating an ASOS that’s built for future success on delivered success.
Our Benefits
Employee Discount
The most asked-about benefit! As an ASOSer, you’ll receive an exclusive employee discount. You can also nominate a family member or friend to share your discount with.
Pension
Retirement might not be on your mind right now, but it’s important to prep for it. We offer matched contributions up to 5% to help you save.
Private Medical Care scheme
If you join our Private Medical Care scheme, you’ll get fast and effective access to medical cover.
Bonus
What we achieve is always a team effort. That’s why we offer a discretionary bonus scheme which rewards you based on our group financial and strategic performance.
Celebratory Day!
Get an extra day off in addition to the 25 days of annual leave you get! Spend it celebrating the big days in life, whether it’s birthdays, cultural holidays, weddings and anything else.
Shuttlebus Service (if you're based in our Leavesden office)
It’s more of a work perk, but we offer a free shuttlebus between Watford station and our office in Leavesden.
Sample Sales
We’ve always got fun things happening in our offices, but the one ASOSers get most excited about is our sample sales. Plus, all proceeds from the sample sale get donated to the ASOS Foundation, which helps our charity partners abroad.
Career Development
You’ll have the opportunity for personalised learning and in-the-moment experiences to create a dynamic and agile learning environment that empowers you to thrive and excel in your role.
Summer Hours
We finish at 3pm on Fridays in June, July and August!! This perk doesn’t mean a dip in your salary – it just gives you extra freedom to enjoy those summer weekends however you want.
Location
Our HQ in London
Our HQ in Camden was once a cigarette factory – now, the iconic Art Deco building has been completely renovated with spacious office areas, ASOS Studios (where we shoot all our products), beauty rooms and a free gym. There’s also a subsidised canteen and café.