Who We Are:
Since 1906, New Balance has empowered people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world. We innovate fearlessly, guided by our core values and driven by the belief that conventions were meant to be challenged. We foster a culture in which every associate feels welcomed and respected, where leaders and creatives are inspired to shape the world of tomorrow by taking bold action today.
JOB MISSION:
The Senior Category Planning Manager, EMEA is the commercial planning lead for New Balance’s consumer performance and lifestyle categories. You will own the full seasonal planning cycle — from pre-season strategy to in-season trading and post-season hindsight — ensuring category ambition translates into commercial results across all EMEA channels and markets.
Sitting within the centralised EMEA Sales Planning function, you act as the bridge between Brand, Merchandising and the commercial organisation. You define how the category sells: building seasonal sales frameworks, investment logic, channel targets and in-season action plans that drive growth, healthy distribution and strong sell-through.
This role is ideal for someone who is highly analytical, commercially sharp and deeply connected to product, consumer and market.
MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Lead Pre-Season Category Sales Planning
- Build and own the seasonal category sales plan for all EMEA channels: wholesale, DTC and e-commerce.
- Translate Brand and Merchandising priorities — key franchises, seasonal stories, range architecture — into clear commercial frameworks and revenue targets.
- Define option counts, depth-by-channel and investment levels to drive strong sell-in and healthy sell-through.
- Present and align plans with the Commercial Planning Director and senior commercial stakeholders, clearly articulating assumptions, risks and opportunities.
Drive Category Go-to-Market Execution
- Lead the Sales Planning contribution to the category GTM process from range sign-off to sell-in execution.
- Build seasonal sell-in toolkits: channel targets, assortment guidance and story prioritisation by account tier.
- Partner with Marketing to align sell-in plans with seasonal activation calendars and key consumer moments.
- Support market and account teams in sell-in preparation and coordinate allocation recommendations for constrained or launch product with Sales Planning and Supply Chain.
Manage In-Season Category Trading
- Own the in-season performance view across EMEA: weekly sell-through, inventory levels, reorders, best/slow sellers and markdown exposure.
- Identify risks and opportunities at category and franchise level and drive proactive commercial actions — reorders, stock rebalancing, exit strategies.
- Lead regular in-season category reviews with the Sales Planning Director and cross-functional partners.
- Work closely with market and account planning teams to resolve distribution health issues.
Build Category Intelligence & Consumer Insight
- Develop deep expertise in category dynamics: consumer profiles, seasonal demand patterns, franchise lifecycle, competitive positioning and market trends.
- Translate consumer insight and competitive intelligence into actionable commercial recommendations.
- Produce regular category market intelligence reports and contribute structured insight into global GTM and product creation processes.
Integrate Category Planning Across EMEA
- Act as the category planning authority within the central Sales Planning function.
- Ensure category dynamics are accurately reflected in the EMEA rolling forecast and annual commercial plan.
- Partner with Finance to align revenue and margin assumptions with EMEA financial targets.
- Build strong cross-functional relationships with Merchandising, Marketing, Customer Service and Supply Chain.
Support Market & Key Account Execution
- Ensure category plans translate effectively into market and account-level execution without compromising category strategy.
- Provide targeted support to key account teams on assortment recommendations, sell-through targets and in-season trading plans.
- Lead post-season hindsight reviews and translate learnings into improved frameworks for future seasons.
Talent and Team Development
- Develop and manage a small high-performing category planning team.
- Foster a culture of accountability, innovation and collaboration and across cross-functional partners.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS:
- Experience in sales planning, category planning, assortment planning or commercial operations, ideally within sports, footwear or lifestyle.
- Strong understanding of category performance drivers: franchise lifecycle, assortment architecture, sell-through dynamics, inventory health and margin management.
- Highly analytical with advanced Excel skills; experience with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, SAP, o9 or equivalent) preferred.
- Deep knowledge of seasonal GTM processes and experience partnering with Merchandising on assortment optimisation.
- Consumer-first mindset with strong product intuition and market awareness.
- Proven ability to collaborate across Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain in a matrix organisation.
- Experience managing, developing and leading a team.
- Confident communicator able to influence senior stakeholders.
- Solid understanding of the sporting goods and lifestyle retail landscape in EMEA.
- Degree in Business, Economics, Merchandising or related field.
- Fluent in English; additional European languages an advantage.
- Willingness to travel across EMEA for planning reviews, sales meetings and trade events.
BENEFITS:
Benefits will differ based on the location of the associate
- Discretionary Bonus Opportunity
- Discount on the health insurance
- Flexible Working Hours
- Pension Scheme
- 25 days Annual Leave per year
- Hybrid working
- On-site Gym
- Employee Discount
- Flexibility to work 20 days from anywhere each year
- Wellbeing and Mental Health Benefit (24/7 Employment Assistance Program & Support)
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Equal Opportunity Employer:
New Balance is committed to equality of opportunity for all current and prospective associates regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership and gender reassignment. We are an equal opportunity employer and support a culture of diversity and inclusion.
If you have not already done so, please let us know if you require any support so we can make the right adjustments and considerations should they be required.
Skills Required
- Experience in sales planning, category planning, assortment planning, or commercial operations, ideally in sports, footwear, or lifestyle.
- Strong understanding of franchise lifecycle, assortment architecture, sell-through dynamics, inventory health, and margin management.
- Advanced Excel skills.
- Experience with BI tools such as Tableau, Power BI, SAP, o9, or equivalent.
- Knowledge of seasonal go-to-market processes and experience partnering with Merchandising on assortment optimization.
- Consumer-first mindset with strong product intuition and market awareness.
- Ability to collaborate across Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain in a matrix organization.
- Experience managing, developing, and leading a team.
- Confident communication and ability to influence senior stakeholders.
- Understanding of the sporting goods and lifestyle retail landscape in EMEA.
- Degree in Business, Economics, Merchandising, or a related field.
- Fluency in English.
- Additional European languages.
- Willingness to travel across EMEA for planning reviews, sales meetings, and trade events.
New Balance Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about New Balance and has not been reviewed or approved by New Balance.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision options alongside wellness resources like health coaching. Fitness reimbursement is also cited as part of the overall health and wellness offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as strong, with a 401(k) plan and a company match described as dollar-for-dollar up to a stated contribution level in some locations. Life insurance and disability benefits are also included as part of the broader financial protection package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are characterized as generous, with paid holidays, vacation time, and paid sick leave highlighted. Flexible schedules and telecommuting options are also described as supporting work-life balance.
New Balance Insights
What We Do
In 1906, New Balance began as a humble one-man operation founded on the belief that “we were born to move,” and has since grown into an international corporation, selling footwear and apparel in over 120 countries and employing over 8,000 associates worldwide. Our mission has always been to support the performance of athletes, and with an unparalleled focus on quality and craftsmanship, we’ve come to set the standard for comfort and fit in an industry all too often driven by hype. We’re incredibly proud of our history and how far we’ve come, but companies don’t thrive for over a century by being content. Whether it’s setting a new style trend, retooling our manufacturing process, or building a new state-of-the-art headquarters, we pursue innovation with a spirit of fearless independence. As the only privately held major footwear company in the world, we’re free to do things our way, pushing limits and testing boundaries as we continually reimagine what could be. After all, the status quo isn’t static. But doing things our way wouldn’t mean much if we weren’t also doing them the right way. We invest in our associates as they invest in us, and as we move forward, we make a point of giving back, supporting communities around us through ambitious philanthropic efforts and involvement programs. We are a company that cares, and our culture is one of integrity and teamwork where together we become greater than the sum of our parts.
