About us:

From our humble beginnings in 1964 as a traditional furniture store in Windhoek, Namibia, Weylandts has grown into South Africa’s leading furniture and homeware retailer with 9 stores nationwide. Chris Weylandt inherited his father’s eye for extraordinary furniture and an appreciation for good living in its broadest sense. Under his leadership, the brand evolved into one that is synonymous with bold, confident aesthetics and timeless taste. At the heart of Weylandts’ vision is a unique fusion of clean, contemporary design with the soul of natural material.

Role Purpose:
This position is responsible for planning and forecasting the merchandise range within the designated business unit of Weylandts.

Key responsibilities:

• Ensuring in-stock availability of product ranges for the relevant categories on a weekly basis.
• Ensure that stock orders are placed in a timely manner, aligned with each supplier’s lead time.
• Ensure that order quantities are optimized to maximize container utilization while taking stock holding levels into consideration
• Manage stock levels through new orders and clearance sales / Always on Sale (AOS).
• Understand each SKU’s lifecycle and production cycle to determine whether to build up stock to maintain adequate stockholding, or to manage a smooth and controlled depletion of stock ahead of replacement
• Aligning historical and future product performance to forecast on a weekly and monthly basis, as well as for budgeting purposes annually.
• Rate of Sales (ROS): ensure correct and that changes are presented with reasoning.
  • Review on SKU level ROS movement – present changes in ROS – investigate why, bulk orders etc.
• Critically appraise past successes and failures to identify risks and opportunities.
• Identification of category opportunities, for example (natural sells better than darker colours, but if display stock changes the ROS will change accordingly) OR Shipping: risks & opportunities (CNY, Port congestion) etc.
• Review cost estimates for existing products.
  • MTO – ensure that pricing is in line with active stock.
  • Price increases quarterly.
  • Impact of inflation/deflation on ROS
• Proposal of new orders required (in conjunction with Buyer).
• Place orders on time.
• Have one month stock holding in DC of Local product.
• Ongoing control of the spend to approved budget.
• Forecasting for promotions (social media promotions) with the buyer and department manager, as well as placing of promotional orders and track sell through.
• Develop and maintain effective clearance triggers and strategy.
• Proposes potential AOS product and timing.
• Partake in range review as required: prepare, analyse, and making recommendations.
• Liaising with information systems to design reports to ensure visibility of the correct information [i.e. stock, margin, availability].
• Tickets – Handle ticket systems queries and store special requests. Allocate requests to relevant department / employee.
• Reassess current systems and processes and propose ongoing improvements.

What you bring:

• Relevant certificate, diploma, or degree.
• Proven working experience as a Merchandise Planner (minimum 2 years), specifically dealing with replenishment.
• Good understanding of retail industry/ trends.

Competencies and behaviours for success:

• Highly degree of numeracy, able to work with large volumes of data.
• Strong analytical skills – ability to think strategically & commercially.
• Attention to detail, accuracy, disciplined to check work.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office including Excel.
• Team working and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to multitask.
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Why Join Weylandts?

• Competitive Compensation: Highly competitive salaries aligned with market standards, performance-based incentives, and generous staff discounts.
• Employee Benefits: Provident Fund which includes life assurance, income protection & funeral cover
• Work-Life Balance: We’re committed to employee wellbeing and work-life balance through reduced working hours and access to wellness support.
• Flexible Leave: Our updated leave policy offers up to 20 days for Retail and Head Office teams and up to 18 days for the Distribution Centre.
• Growth Culture: We champion internal growth by promoting from within, nurturing a learning culture, and investing in high-potential talent.
• People-First Culture: Driven by design, integrity, and shared passion

Note: Whilst this job description covers most aspects of the employee’s role, it is not an exhaustive list. There may be other related areas where the Company can reasonably expect the employee to become involved in.  Similarly, subject to operational requirements, this description will be reviewed from time to time.