---
title: 'Senior Director of Merchandise Planning & Allocation at Lola Blankets'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-of-merchandise-planning-allocation-lola-blankets-new-york-tqtg3vqzah0c'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-19'
---

# Senior Director of Merchandise Planning & Allocation at Lola Blankets

- **Company:** Lola Blankets
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Posted:** 2026-10-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-19
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lolablankets/jobs/4391052009

## Job description

## About the Role

Lola Blankets is a fast-growing comfort and lifestyle brand on a mission to make the world a cozier place. We are seeking an entrepreneurial and highly strategic Senior Director of Merchandise Planning & Allocation (MP&A) to lead the company's inventory planning and allocation function through its next stage of growth.

This role will be responsible for translating business strategy, customer demand, and product plans into disciplined inventory and investment strategies across a growing, multi-category, multi-channel business. The Senior Director will partner closely with Merchandising to build seasonal line plans, shape pricing and margin architecture, evaluate long-range forecasts, and ensure inventory investments support both growth and profitability.

The ideal candidate brings deep MP&A expertise from a fast-growing DTC environment and is equally comfortable operating at the strategic level and diving into the details of the business. They will be a trusted thought partner to senior leadership, bringing a data-driven perspective while balancing customer demand, inventory productivity, cash investment, and operational realities.

This is a highly collaborative role that requires strong executive presence, the ability to influence, and a proactive, entrepreneurial approach to problem solving.

Core Responsibilities

Merchandise Planning & Inventory Strategy

- Lead the Planning & Allocation function across Lola's growing multi-category, multi-channel business.
- Establish planning frameworks, processes, and financial targets that enable the business to scale with discipline.
- Partner with Merchandising to develop seasonal and annual line plans, including category, channel, product, and inventory investment strategies.
- Translate sales, margin, inventory, and customer objectives into actionable merchandise plans.
- Advise Merchandising and senior leadership on retail pricing, margin architecture, inventory investment, and assortment productivity.
- Establish and monitor key planning metrics, including sales, margin, inventory turns, weeks of supply, sell-through, and in-stock rates.

Forecasting & Long-Range Strategy

- Lead evaluation and refinement of demand forecasts across categories and channels.
- Develop long-range inventory and financial strategies that support product roadmaps, category expansion, and overall business growth.
- Partner with Merchandising to evaluate the inventory implications of new product launches, category extensions, and assortment changes.
- Identify demand risks and opportunities early and translate them into clear recommendations for leadership.
- Balance forecast accuracy with appropriate levels of risk-taking to support an entrepreneurial, high-growth business.

Allocation & Inventory Optimization

- Oversee allocation strategies to ensure inventory is positioned appropriately across owned retail, ecommerce, wholesale, and other channels.
- Establish principles for initial allocation, replenishment, transfers, and inventory rebalancing.
- Optimize inventory placement to maximize sales and customer availability while minimizing excess and aged inventory.
- Partner with Operations and Production to align inventory deployment with inbound timing, capacity, and supply constraints.
- Continuously improve inventory productivity and capital efficiency across the business.

Cross-Functional Partnership

- Partner closely with Merchandising to shape assortment strategies and seasonal line plans.
- Collaborate with Design, Product Development, and Sourcing to incorporate product development timelines and launch strategies into inventory plans.
- Partner with Finance to align merchandise plans with company financial targets, budgets, and cash flow objectives.
- Work with Operations and Production to ensure inventory plans are executable and aligned with supply capabilities.
- Collaborate with Marketing and Retail leadership to incorporate promotional calendars, campaigns, store openings, and other demand drivers into forecasts and inventory strategies.

Business Performance & Executive Leadership

- Lead regular business reviews, providing senior leadership with clear insights into performance, risks, and opportunities.
- Develop recommendations to accelerate sales, improve inventory productivity, manage lifecycle transitions, or adjust investment levels.
- Establish a strong culture of accountability, analytical rigor, and proactive problem solving within the MP&A organization.
- Build consensus across functions while constructively challenging assumptions and advocating for the best business outcome.
- Serve as a strategic voice in decisions regarding category growth, product launches, channel expansion, and inventory investment.

## Team Leadership & Capability Building

- Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team within the Planning and Allocation function.
- Establish clear roles, processes, performance expectations, and development plans for the team.
- Build scalable planning capabilities, tools, and processes that evolve with Lola's growth.
- Identify opportunities to improve systems, forecasting methodologies, reporting, and analytical capabilities.

This role will report to the Head of Product and Merchandising and is based in our office in Brooklyn (3 days per week). Candidates open to relocation are encouraged to apply.

## Qualifications

- 10+ years of proven experience leading MP&A at a fast-growing, multi-category, multi-channel DTC brand
- Deep expertise in merchandise financial planning, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, allocation, and replenishment.
- Experience developing long-range merchandise strategies and evaluating product/category roadmaps.
- Strong financial and analytical acumen with the ability to translate complex data into clear business recommendations.
- Exceptional executive communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build consensus across senior stakeholders.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias toward action and a willingness to operate hands-on when needed.
- Highly proactive, solutions-oriented, and comfortable operating in an evolving organization with limited precedent.
- Experience with ERP and/or demand planning systems; experience implementing or optimizing planning technology is a plus.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred.

## What We Offer

- Competitive base salary and annual bonus based on company and individual performance
- 21 days paid vacation + all federal holidays
- Full health benefits (health, dental, vision, mental)
- 16 weeks paid birth parent leave; 8 weeks non-birth parent leave
- 55% off Lola Blankets for friends and family
- Opportunities for career growth within Lola Blankets
- An opportunity to make a direct impact on a high-growth, design-forward brand
- A collaborative, passionate, and purpose-driven team

## About Lola Blankets

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lola Blankets is a design-driven, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand that creates luxury faux-fur blankets, aiming to deliver "life-changing softness" while supporting breast cancer patients through donations and community initiatives.
- **Entity Type**: Private
- **Headquarters**: Beverly Hills, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Tommy Higham and Will Higham

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Textile Manufacturing / Consumer Home Goods & Lifestyle Products
- **Target Customers**: B2C (direct-to-consumer), primarily individuals passionate about home comfort, luxury, and fashion-forward design (referred to by the brand as "the details of life"). Also conducts B2B bulk/corporate sales.
- **Mission/Purpose**: To provide "life-changing softness" with a life-changing impact. A core part of their mission is giving back to the cancer community, donating to the Huntsman Cancer Institute and other charities in honor of their mother, Amy Higham.

## Products & Services
- **[Lola Blankets — The Core Product]**: Luxury faux-fur blankets, pillows, and throws. The brand is known for its exceptionally soft fabric and vibrant, fashion-forward colors. The product line also includes apparel, accessories, and candles.
- **[Casa de Lola]** A physical creative retreat and brand experience ("the soft spot of the desert") designed for creators and influencers to slow down and reset, serving as an extension of the brand's lifestyle.
- **[Blankets for the Brave]** A program that provides blankets to breast cancer patients through the Huntsman Cancer Institute, honoring the brand's founding story and commitment to giving back.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Funding**: Not publicly available. The company is privately held and growing quickly without public funding rounds.
- **Key Metric — Total Funding**: Not publicly available. The company appears to be privately funded or bootstrapped and is currently profitable enough to scale rapidly.
- **Notable Investors & Partners**: No institutional investors publicly listed. Key executive hires include leaders from *birddogs*, *McKinsey & Company*, and *Teva Pharmaceuticals*. Strategic partners include the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
- **Growth Signals**: Extremely high growth trajectory. Notable data points include **+200% headcount growth year-over-year**, currently employing 36 people. Web traffic has seen +517.4% yearly growth, with a strong digital DTC presence. They have a physical branded space ("Casa de Lola") and have taken activations to major events like Coachella.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Powerful Brand & Origin Story**: A deeply resonant story of honoring the founders' mother, Amy Higham, which drives brand loyalty and a meaningful corporate giving mission (Huntsman Cancer Institute).
- **"Luxury-for-Everyone" Positioning**: They have captured a trend of combining high-fashion, design-forward aesthetics with the comfort/décor category, successfully positioning themselves as a lifestyle brand, not just a blanket company.
- **High Rapid Growth & Brand Momentum**: Demonstrating very strong DTC flywheel with massive traffic growth, high social engagement, and a successful influencer/creator strategy.

## Strategic Focus
- **Retail & Channel Expansion**: Actively hiring for a *Retail Marketing Manager* and a *Bulk/Corporate Sales Account Executive*, indicating a push into physical retail and B2B wholesale.
- **Product Diversification**: Hiring for multiple *Product* and *Merchandising* roles (including a *Color & Print Designer*, *Production Manager*, and *Product Development Manager*) suggests an aggressive expansion of the product line.
- **Brand Experience & Community**: Building out physical experiences ("Casa de Lola") and deepening their creator/influencer network to stay at the forefront of lifestyle marketing.
- **Technology & Operations**: Growing the tech team with a *Senior Digital Product Manager* and *Operations Technology and Systems Engineer*, signaling a move to invest in internal digital tools and scale operations.

## Why Work Here
- **High-Growth Environment**: A genuinely fast-growing company (headcount up 200% YoY) that offers massive "ride the rocket" experience. This translates to great opportunities for career growth and taking on significant responsibility early.
- **Strong Culture & Values**: They explicitly list their values as "Dream Big," "Commit to Excellence," and "Have Fun." Employees consistently cite working with "obsessive attention to detail" in a creative, supportive atmosphere.
- **Robust Benefits & Perks**: Offers a strong package for a fast-growing startup: **21 PTO days + Federal holidays**, full health benefits, a 401(k) plan, **16 weeks of paid parental leave for birth parents** (and 8 weeks for non-birth parents), a "Lola Summer vacation" perk, and 50% off Lola Blankets for friends and family.
- **Remote & Hybrid Flexibility**: Roles are a mix of Remote, New York, and Utah-based. They support flexible work arrangements.
- **Mission-Driven Work**: The opportunity to work for a brand with a core "give back" mission (Huntsman) makes the work feel meaningful beyond the product.

## Sources
1. [lolablankets.com](https://lolablankets.com/pages/careers)
2. [LinkedIn - Lola Blankets](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lola-blankets)
3. [Greenhouse - Lola Blankets Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lolablankets)
4. [Greenhouse - Job Posting (Influencer Manager)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lolablankets/jobs/4132176009)
5. [Greenhouse - Job Posting (Sys & Integration Manager)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lolablankets/jobs/4212055009)

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