Pentland Brands→
Demand Planner - Speedo at Pentland Brands in London, England, GB
Skills
Job Description
We’re Pentland Brands: a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands. We bring integrity, energy and ambition to our work, setting high standards and striving to deliver great outcomes without ego.
Design swimwear built for movement, confidence and performance in the water
At Speedo, product has to do more than look good. It has to move with the swimmer, feel comfortable in the water and support performance, confidence and freedom of movement, whether someone is training, competing, learning or simply enjoying the swim.
As a Demand Planner for Speedo, you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring the right product is in the right place at the right time, delivering outstanding availability for our customers while achieving ambitious sales, margin and inventory targets. Working closely with our commercial and merchandising teams, you'll lead demand reviews, challenge and refine forecasts, champion our core ranges, and balance stock investment with exciting growth opportunities. Through data-driven decision making and strong cross-functional collaboration, you'll help drive commercial performance and shape the success of our brands.
What you’ll be doing:
- Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to strategically plan category and product type volumes based on growth plans, historical data, and market strategies.
- Develop pre-season forecasts critical for vendor and material planning, working closely with Regional Market Merchandising and Commercial teams.
- Lead demand reviews, confidently analysing and responding to changes in current and future demand, while adeptly challenging forecast robustness.
- Prepare transparent monthly buy summaries, ensuring clear visibility of proposed spending across units, categories, and customer mix.
- Manage the dynamic buy calendar, allowing flexibility while ensuring thorough checks before purchase order management.
- Drive our core business through maintaining inventory stability and optimising sales conversion.
- Collaborate with Commercial and Market Merch teams to effectively allocate stock investments and ensure in-season/yearly sales conversion.
- Monitor orderbook movements, collaborate with Commercial teams and Customer Operations to adapt plans as necessary.
- Monitor the trading funnel and make recommendations for markdown and clearance which drive sales, margin and protect cash and stock health.
What you’ll bring:
- Ability to analyse sales data, trends and market research to make informed decisions and inventory levels, pricing and assortment planning; proficient in Excel.
- Proficiency in working with numbers, calculations and understanding financial metrics like margin, turnover and forecasting.
- Clear and collaborative communication skills.
- Familiarity with merchandising software, inventory management systems, and data analysis tools.
- Understanding of market trends and consumer behaviour.
- Attention to detail and a proactive approach to problem solving.
- Strong experience in Excel, Power BI and or knowledge of AI tools.
- Willingness to travel to other sites for sales launches or critical stage gate meetings.
This vacancy is a newly created role as part of organisational changes. Final appointment will depend upon the outcome of consultation processes and affected employees will have priority for consideration.
Why Speedo?
Speedo is one of the world’s most iconic swimwear brands, built on a heritage of innovation, performance and a lifelong love of swimming.
From elite competition to everyday fitness, leisure and learning, Speedo creates product for every type of swimmer. It is a brand trusted in the water because it understands what matters: fit, movement, comfort, durability, confidence and performance.
Joining Speedo means becoming part of a team that cares deeply about helping people feel at home in the water, whether they are chasing a personal best, building confidence, training regularly or discovering the joy of swimming for the first time.
Perks & Benefits
We offer a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, hybrid working, flexible start and finish times, generous holiday allowance, product discounts, sample sales, enhanced family-friendly policies, healthcare support, gym and fitness discounts, cycle to work scheme and electric car scheme.
You can find full details of our benefits and perks on our UK Benefits page.
The Interview Process
We want our interview process to feel clear, straightforward, and supportive. If your experience and expectations look like a strong match for the role, here’s what you can expect next:
- Talent Team Intro Call - A 30-minute video call with our Talent Team to get to know each other, talk through the role and your experience, and answer any questions you have.
- Experience Interview - A more in-depth interview (usually online) with the hiring manager to explore your skills, experience and approach, and how these align with the role, our principles, and our ways of working.
- Final Interview - A final in-person interview at our office, focused on deeper discussion and practical application, giving you the chance to meet more of the team and see Pentland Brands in action.