Michael Kors Vice President, Planning (EMEA)
About Michael Kors
Michael Kors is a globally recognised luxury lifestyle brand known for accessories and ready-to-wear, operating as part of Capri Holdings Limited. The brand combines fashion-led design with global retail, wholesale and e-commerce operations, offering a fast-paced, commercially driven environment attractive to candidates with international experience in luxury and consumer goods.
Michael Kors seeks a Vice President, Planning (EMEA) in London to lead multi‑channel merchandise planning, forecasting and inventory strategy.
Role & Responsibilities
- Define and execute the merchandise planning strategy for EMEA across retail, e‑commerce, outlet and wholesale, ensuring alignment with global brand and financial targets.
- Lead seasonal and annual planning cycles, owning buy plans, open-to-buy (OTB) governance, assortment strategies and growth scenario modelling.
- Drive forecast accuracy using advanced analytics, historical sell-through, market trends and AI-enabled forecasting methodologies.
- Own inventory health and optimization — flow, allocation, replenishment, markdown strategy and end‑of‑life management to maximise margin and turn.
- Manage channel planning performance, balancing sales, productivity and inventory between retail, digital and wholesale channels, including buy-through and liquidation strategy.
- Partner with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Ecommerce, Finance and Regional Leadership to translate demand plans into production, distribution and commercial programmes.
- Build and scale a high‑performing, multi‑channel planning organisation across EMEA; coach and develop planning talent and define future capability requirements.
- Own planning KPIs (forecast accuracy, inventory turn, GMROI, in‑stock rate, markdown efficiency) and deliver clear reporting and scenario-based recommendations to leadership.
Qualifications
- 12–15+ years of merchandise planning, demand planning, allocation or related experience, with significant leadership responsibility in multi‑channel environments.
- Proven track record leading planning functions across Retail, E‑commerce and Wholesale in complex, matrixed global organisations.
- Strong analytical and financial acumen with demonstrable mastery of planning methodologies and data-driven decision frameworks.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and cross‑functional influencing skills; experienced in presenting insights to senior leadership.
- Background in fashion, luxury or consumer goods industries strongly preferred.
Skills
Experience
Senior leadership experience (12–15+ years) in merchandise, demand or allocation planning within multi‑channel retail environments, preferably with prior roles covering retail, e‑commerce and wholesale across regional or international markets.
Education
Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Economics, Finance or a related discipline; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
Workplace
The successful candidate will be located in London, England, UK.
Culture
Michael Kors operates in a fast‑paced, design‑driven luxury environment that values commercial rigor, creativity and global collaboration. As part of Capri Holdings, the organisation emphasises cross‑functional partnership, talent development and inclusive recruitment practices appropriate to an international fashion business.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Michael Kors, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Head of Planning, EMEA», «VP Merchandise Planning», «Head of Demand & Allocation Planning», «Senior Director, Merchandise Planning», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.