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Planners work really close with marketing to deliver our front door campaigns. We plan our calendars six months in advance and decide what time is best for each brand based on history and trends. We also work closely with the planning team in Italy to ensure we receive the stock on time.

The buyer and planner team meet with marketing once a week to discuss any issues, usually delivery dates and merchandising. Today we spoke about our Christmas campaign which is the most important campaign of the year. We have some really great ideas for this year’s campaign!

It is exciting and rewarding to be part of a campaign from inception to completion. Once the campaign finishes I analyse the sales and feedback to the business if the campaign was successful or not.

Working with Luxury brands we always have an exciting story to tell with beautiful product. Our current campaign is Prada and we have some amazing results with this one!!

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There is no more exciting part of my day then when I am told that my latest samples have arrived. Everyone loves getting presents and new sunnies are just the best! I had two store managers from interstate come into HQ and they were lucky enough to be here during such an occasion. They were blown away! The excitement when you open a new box, when you see next seasons sunnies for the first time, and when you start to see the new materials, new designs and new styling is just brilliant. Love my job!

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Hi there. I’m back in the country after a wonderful week away in Singapore and I’ll share some gossip with you about that later.

So unfortunately with a week off work, comes a week’s worth of work in two days. It’s not long before I catch up though. My first port of call is to go through my unread emails and respond to any urgent requests.

The biggest task for me this week is the MSSI. The responsibility of a Merchandise Planner is to maintain and manage the MSSI (Monthly Stock in Sales and Inventory). This is a document that shows by month, at brand level, the stock and sales in units and cash value. This is a very useful tool that provides a lot of information to see the bigger the picture and lots of data to decipher and interpret. We have to review at the end of each month the previous months actualized figures based on key performance indicators such as budget and Last Year. The planner has to then reforecast the coming months which in turn can open up a number of opportunities or risks to the brand. The planner and buyer then present this to our peers. This is a great time to showcase fantastic performances on winning brands such as Tiffany, which we are seeing double digit growth year on year. It can also be challenging when a brand is not performing, in this situation it involves digging around looking for answers in data and history. Before you know it, a lot of spreadsheets are open on your screen and your head’s in a spin from number crunching. Eventually a sound recommendation through logical steps comes to light and how we can recover quickly. This process is a great part of the job, to see the results of direct actions and how we can push a brand above and beyond.

A few words about my holiday in Singapore. You never really switch off from your job even when you’re on holiday. Whilst I was walking around in 35 degree heat, sweating out last night’s alcohol and feeling a little worse for wear, I went shopping in Singapore’s famous Orchard Street. Literally a mile of shopping malls from Gucci and Prada, to the market stalls that sell phone covers. But to my amazement I stumbled across an OPSM! It sold similar brands, the same name and inside was well presented as if it was one of our stores. However we know that Luxottica only has two airport stores that are Sunglass Hut. So it’s flattering that somebody somewhere has branded the same name and set up a Luxottica inspired store (with real product).

Also on my travels I came across Bvlgari inspired sparkling water! I thought that was a nice touch. It made the drink feel exclusive and premium – fantastic advertising from Bvlgari.

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Everyone wants to be famous, and the way to get closer to your fav celeb is by looking like them. We are fortunate at Luxottica; celebrities love our brands! Just try to pick up a magazine without seeing a dozen or so pictures throughout it of celebs in Ray-Bans. Some of the biggest advocates are: Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Alba, George Clooney, Beyoncé & Jay-Z, and Brad & Ang. If you want to get the world’s most worn sunglass, you would want the Ray-Ban RB3025 Aviator.

Celebs in RB3025

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Hi again,

It’s been a busy week in the world of planning. I’ve been working our third party orders for suns high season. After meeting with the suppliers over the last few weeks and picking the ranges with my buyer I now have to plan their assortment. For best selling styles that we are keeping on range I need to forecast our sales for the rest of the year to ensure we have enough stock to sell. For new styles I need to decide what stores will carry this sku; this will help me determine how much I want to order. Thankfully we have an assortment tool that helps with display quantity and gives some method to the madness that is forecasting. You can never be certain how a style will perform so it is incredibly important to stay on top of your new releases and monitor them closely in their first few weeks on sale. This will allow you to react to a fast/slow seller.

Now for the fun stuff….

The Burberry event was fantastic. The champagne was flowing and the celebrities were out in force, although not being a local I needed some help to spot a few!! We rocked out to British band Life in Film who were personally chosen to perform by Burberry’s creative director Christopher Bailey.

The English theme carried through the catering with mini pies and mushy peas on offer while The Smiths and Joy Division played out through the store.

When the band finished we had the chance to walk through the store and admire the beautiful product.

Of course the sunnies were my favourite!!!!

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