Job Description

Catalyst Creative Group is a trend-leading Men's apparel Design and Manufacturing company based in Irvine, CA. In addition to designing our own brands and licenses (Ezekiel, Party Pants, Dockers), we have become a dominant player in private label apparel design and manufacturing because we help provide solutions to our customers' most fundamental needs—to elevate their brands, products, margins, and sell-through performance at retail. We are market leaders in men's swimwear, casual woven tops and bottoms, and casual knit tops and bottoms. Our customers rely on our exceptional apparel products to help them gain more market share. Our customers include many of America's most successful brands and retailers, including Nordstrom, Levi’s, Target, Tilly's, Buckle, Zumiez, PacSun, Costco, Sam's Club, Kohls, Walmart, TJMaxx, Ross, Dockers, etc. We attribute much of our success to our strong team of "A Players," which we define as those having passion, a positive attitude, excellent judgment, strong initiative, and ownership of their responsibilities.

GENERAL SUMMARY

CCG is seeking a highly strategic Director of Sales & Merchandise Financial Planning with extensive private label experience to lead forecasting, planning, and financial strategy across key retail partners. This role serves as the strategic backbone of our business—leading cross-functional planning, directing financial and sales strategy, and ensuring our private label programs are optimized for profitability, efficiency, and growth.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise working with major retailers (Target, Walmart, Amazon, Department Store and/or Specialty), understands private label buying cycles, and excels at building rigorous financial models and merchandise plans. They bring a strong balance of analytical rigor, strategic thinking, and partnership leadership.

This individual will lead planning conversations both internally and externally, guide junior planners, and work hand-in-hand with Sales, Product Development, Operations, and Executive teams to ensure CCG meets and exceeds business goals.

Department: Planning

Reports To: SVP Sales

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as the senior planning lead for all private label accounts—driving strategic financial and merchandising decisions.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to define revenue targets, margin goals, and long-range planning strategies.
• Lead cross-functional planning sessions, aligning Sales, PD, Operations, and Finance on shared business objectives.

Sales & Financial Planning

• Build and own annual, seasonal, and monthly forecasts across accounts, categories, and key programs.
• Develop sophisticated financial models supporting pricing strategy, margin analysis, and P&L optimization.
• Direct topline revenue planning and provide ongoing performance readouts to leadership and retailer partners.
• Identify risks, upside, and mitigation strategies based on real-time data and market trends.

Merchandise Planning & Assortment Strategy

• Oversee creation of assortment strategies, SKU architecture, category plans, and launch seasonality for private label programs.
• Provide guidance to Product Development on SKU efficiency, productivity expectations, and category expansion.
• Drive item-level planning for initial buys, replenishment strategy, and lifecycle management.
• Evaluate category trends and competitive insights to identify whitespace opportunities.

Retail Partner & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a senior planning partner to key retailers, presenting financial strategies, forecasts, and business insights.
• Lead communication with retail buying teams on forecast updates, OTB, program performance, and inventory flow.
• Partner with Operations to ensure supply chain alignment with demand forecasts, minimizing liabilities and maximizing in-stocks.

Reporting & Analytics

• Oversee creation of dashboards and reporting structures for sales, KPIs, margin, and inventory health.
• Elevate reporting capabilities through improved tools, processes, and data insights.
• Guide teams in analyzing sell-through and identifying optimization tactics.

Team Leadership & Development

• Supervise and mentor planners across sales, merchandise, and financial planning areas.
• Establish best practices, planning processes, and standard operating procedures to elevate team performance.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and strategic thinking.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO SUCCEED

• 8–10+ years in Sales Planning, Financial Planning, and/or Merchandise Planning.
• Significant private label apparel experience required ideally with major national retailers (Target, Walmart, Kohls, Tillys or similar).
• Proven success leading planning functions and influencing senior-level retail partners.
• Expert-level Excel/Google Sheets capability and comfort with advanced financial modeling. Full Circle expertise is key.
• Strong understanding of retail math, forecasting, OTB, and category planning.
• Experience managing high SKU counts and complex, multi-category assortments.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with executive presence.
• Strong leadership experience with the ability to mentor and grow a team.
• Highly collaborative, solutions-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Key Leadership Qualities

• Strategic, proactive, and confident in decision-making
• Deep understanding of private label dynamics and retailer expectations
• Able to turn complex data into clear recommendations
• Inspires trust with both internal teams and retail partners
• Strong operational and financial acumen
• Thrives in ambiguity and builds structure where none exists

BENEFITS

Employees receive two weeks of paid vacation, one week of paid sick leave, and ten paid holidays (8 days + 2 floating). Employees may elect to participate in our health care plan (health, dental, or vision) with 100% of the employees’ costs paid by Catalyst Creative Group (dependents may also join the plan with their premium paid by the employee). Catalyst Creative Group offers a 401k match and reduced Friday hours during the summer months.

LOCATION INFORMATION

This is an in-office position. Our office is located at 133 Technology Drive, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618.

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