Top Benefits
About the role
The Role: Director, Merchandising Planning and Analysis
What you are looking for:
- A closely connected culture
- A total rewards package meant to enhance your work-life flexibility
- Fully utilizing your talent
- Professional growth and development via challenging projects and assignments
- Warm and fuzzy feelings knowing you have helped your community, your team, the business and social causes through the Rexall Care Network
The Director, Merchandising Planning and Analysis a strategic planning leader responsible for driving the development, integration, and execution of front-store business plans. Reporting to the SVP, Chief Merchant, this role supports the Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Marketing and Loyalty, by translating strategic priorities into actionable, insight-led plans that deliver sales, margin, inventory turnover, and market share growth.
This role serves as the central planner across Vitamins and OTC medications, Personal Care, and General Merchandise — enabling structured, data-driven execution across assortment, pricing, promotions, and vendor programs. The Director collaborates extensively with Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, Loyalty, and Store Operations to ensure planning excellence and operational alignment across the business.
What you’ll be doing:
Strategic Category Planning Support
- Partner with the Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Loyalty and Marketing to develop annual and long-range business plans across key front-store categories.
- Translate strategic priorities into cross-functional execution plans — including assortment, pricing, promotional strategies, vendor funding, and performance targets.
- Support category lifecycle assessments (e.g., growth, rationalization, reinvention) and assist in shaping appropriate planning approaches.
- Apply consumer insights, POS trends, and competitive data to inform category initiatives.
Enterprise Planning & Financial Integration
- Lead the planning processes that bridge strategic goals with enterprise financial deliverables (sales, margin, supplier revenue, inventory turnover).
- Collaborate with Finance and FP&A to align top-down targets with bottom-up plans across all front-store categories.
- Build business cases, scenario models, and investment frameworks to support category decisions and funding allocation.
- Monitor and refine key KPIs including GMROI, promotional lift, inventory turns, and margin performance.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution
- Act as the primary planning liaison between Category Management and cross-functional partners in Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Marketing, Loyalty and Finance.
- Work together with Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Marketing and Loyalty by integrating business and promotional plans that reflect customer strategy, category priorities, and executional readiness to deliver company KPIs.
- Work closely with Store Operations leaders to support successful in-store execution and performance follow-through by providing reporting and analysis for FS initiatives.
- Support vendor reviews and joint business planning by providing insight-driven financial and planning context.
- Collaborate with finance partners on all company budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes in line with corporate calendar.
Process Improvement, Tools & Reporting
- Champion planning tools and analytics that enhance decision-making and execution discipline across the organization.
- Create standardized planning templates, performance scorecards, and executive dashboards for use across teams.
- Continuously improve planning processes and forecasting accuracy using data modeling, business intelligence tools, and cross-functional feedback.
- Mentor direct reports and merchandising team members fostering a culture of analytical rigor and customer-centric planning.
Knowledge, skills and experience:
- 5-8 years of experience in category planning, merchandising strategy, or retail business planning, ideally within pharmacy, grocery, or mass merchandise.
- Strong experience working with national and private label brands in a multi-category retail environment.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex planning processes and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
- Proven success supporting category strategy execution through disciplined planning, financial modeling, and business case development.
- Advanced Excel (pivot tables, macros, lookups), PowerPoint, and Power BI or Tableau skills.
- Preferred Proficiency in SQL and Python for data querying, analysis, and modeling.
- Familiarity with planning or ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JDA, Anaplan).
- Experience working with syndicated data (Nielsen, IRI, Numerator) and customer insights platforms.
- Strong financial acumen and ability to develop data-backed models and recommendations.
- Leadership and development of planning and analytics professionals.
- Talent management and collaboration among peers.
- Strategic thinker with strong planning and organizational discipline.
- Skilled at synthesizing complexity into clear plans and influencing across levels.
- Strong communicator and presenter, with the ability to tell compelling stories with data.
- Comfortable operating in a matrixed, cross-functional environment.
- Passion for health and wellness, with a customer-first mindset
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Management, Economics, Commerce, Retail Management or a related field required.
- MBA or Master’s in a strategic, financial, or analytical discipline
At Rexall, we are better together. We serve our customers, partners, and patients best—we are our best—when everyone brings their true self to work. Our connected, inclusive culture celebrates our lived experiences, backgrounds, expertise, and self-expression to let us win as one team. Leveraging our differences distinguishes us and brings out our best performance.
Are you #ALLin?
Rexall Pharmacy Group is committed to providing an accessible environment for all of our customers, employees, and job applicants. Rexall Pharmacy Group will make available to any selected applicants’ accommodations and/or accessible formats should they require. Candidates are encouraged to discuss any accommodation they may need in order to allow for the most effective selection process.
About Rexall
With a heritage dating back more than 100 years, Rexall has evolved to become one of Canada's most trusted pharmacy brands.
Our legacy of helping Canadians has endured through successive evolutions of Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus, from the apothecary-type drugstores to the modern community pharmacies we are today. Rexall in Canada was established in 1904 in the early days of the United Drug Company and quickly established itself as an innovator in retail pharmacy. At the same time, Tamblyn Drugs was establishing itself in Toronto, Ontario, and would eventually become Pharma Plus.
This progression has led us where we are today, a proud member of the McKesson family ranked seventh on the Fortune 500 and the industry's oldest, largest, most experienced and sophisticated pharmaceutical distributor.
At Rexall, our employees are family, and our culture reflects a close-knit community. From coast to coast, from retail store to Support Centre, we are ALL IN!
A lot may have changed over the years, but our commitment to helping Canadian families and communities be healthier has never been stronger. This vision continues to guide us as we look to the future and increase access to convenient, quality healthcare and products that Canadians can feel good about.
Our 390+ Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus locations are supported by 7,000 staff dedicated to providing exceptional service and care in 180 communities across Canada. From providing vaccinations such as flu, COVID-19 * or other services within the expanding scopes of pharmacy care. Or offering exclusive daily living products that can help put you on a healthy path, Rexall is focused on continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of our patients and customers.
Rexall is a member of the Rexall Pharmacy Group ULC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of McKesson Corporation.
*Where regulations permit pharmacists to administer the flu vaccinations.
Top Benefits
About the role
The Role: Director, Merchandising Planning and Analysis
What you are looking for:
- A closely connected culture
- A total rewards package meant to enhance your work-life flexibility
- Fully utilizing your talent
- Professional growth and development via challenging projects and assignments
- Warm and fuzzy feelings knowing you have helped your community, your team, the business and social causes through the Rexall Care Network
The Director, Merchandising Planning and Analysis a strategic planning leader responsible for driving the development, integration, and execution of front-store business plans. Reporting to the SVP, Chief Merchant, this role supports the Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Marketing and Loyalty, by translating strategic priorities into actionable, insight-led plans that deliver sales, margin, inventory turnover, and market share growth.
This role serves as the central planner across Vitamins and OTC medications, Personal Care, and General Merchandise — enabling structured, data-driven execution across assortment, pricing, promotions, and vendor programs. The Director collaborates extensively with Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, Loyalty, and Store Operations to ensure planning excellence and operational alignment across the business.
What you’ll be doing:
Strategic Category Planning Support
- Partner with the Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Loyalty and Marketing to develop annual and long-range business plans across key front-store categories.
- Translate strategic priorities into cross-functional execution plans — including assortment, pricing, promotional strategies, vendor funding, and performance targets.
- Support category lifecycle assessments (e.g., growth, rationalization, reinvention) and assist in shaping appropriate planning approaches.
- Apply consumer insights, POS trends, and competitive data to inform category initiatives.
Enterprise Planning & Financial Integration
- Lead the planning processes that bridge strategic goals with enterprise financial deliverables (sales, margin, supplier revenue, inventory turnover).
- Collaborate with Finance and FP&A to align top-down targets with bottom-up plans across all front-store categories.
- Build business cases, scenario models, and investment frameworks to support category decisions and funding allocation.
- Monitor and refine key KPIs including GMROI, promotional lift, inventory turns, and margin performance.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution
- Act as the primary planning liaison between Category Management and cross-functional partners in Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Marketing, Loyalty and Finance.
- Work together with Senior Directors of Category Management, Merchandising, Marketing and Loyalty by integrating business and promotional plans that reflect customer strategy, category priorities, and executional readiness to deliver company KPIs.
- Work closely with Store Operations leaders to support successful in-store execution and performance follow-through by providing reporting and analysis for FS initiatives.
- Support vendor reviews and joint business planning by providing insight-driven financial and planning context.
- Collaborate with finance partners on all company budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes in line with corporate calendar.
Process Improvement, Tools & Reporting
- Champion planning tools and analytics that enhance decision-making and execution discipline across the organization.
- Create standardized planning templates, performance scorecards, and executive dashboards for use across teams.
- Continuously improve planning processes and forecasting accuracy using data modeling, business intelligence tools, and cross-functional feedback.
- Mentor direct reports and merchandising team members fostering a culture of analytical rigor and customer-centric planning.
Knowledge, skills and experience:
- 5-8 years of experience in category planning, merchandising strategy, or retail business planning, ideally within pharmacy, grocery, or mass merchandise.
- Strong experience working with national and private label brands in a multi-category retail environment.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex planning processes and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
- Proven success supporting category strategy execution through disciplined planning, financial modeling, and business case development.
- Advanced Excel (pivot tables, macros, lookups), PowerPoint, and Power BI or Tableau skills.
- Preferred Proficiency in SQL and Python for data querying, analysis, and modeling.
- Familiarity with planning or ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JDA, Anaplan).
- Experience working with syndicated data (Nielsen, IRI, Numerator) and customer insights platforms.
- Strong financial acumen and ability to develop data-backed models and recommendations.
- Leadership and development of planning and analytics professionals.
- Talent management and collaboration among peers.
- Strategic thinker with strong planning and organizational discipline.
- Skilled at synthesizing complexity into clear plans and influencing across levels.
- Strong communicator and presenter, with the ability to tell compelling stories with data.
- Comfortable operating in a matrixed, cross-functional environment.
- Passion for health and wellness, with a customer-first mindset
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Management, Economics, Commerce, Retail Management or a related field required.
- MBA or Master’s in a strategic, financial, or analytical discipline
At Rexall, we are better together. We serve our customers, partners, and patients best—we are our best—when everyone brings their true self to work. Our connected, inclusive culture celebrates our lived experiences, backgrounds, expertise, and self-expression to let us win as one team. Leveraging our differences distinguishes us and brings out our best performance.
Are you #ALLin?
Rexall Pharmacy Group is committed to providing an accessible environment for all of our customers, employees, and job applicants. Rexall Pharmacy Group will make available to any selected applicants’ accommodations and/or accessible formats should they require. Candidates are encouraged to discuss any accommodation they may need in order to allow for the most effective selection process.
About Rexall
With a heritage dating back more than 100 years, Rexall has evolved to become one of Canada's most trusted pharmacy brands.
Our legacy of helping Canadians has endured through successive evolutions of Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus, from the apothecary-type drugstores to the modern community pharmacies we are today. Rexall in Canada was established in 1904 in the early days of the United Drug Company and quickly established itself as an innovator in retail pharmacy. At the same time, Tamblyn Drugs was establishing itself in Toronto, Ontario, and would eventually become Pharma Plus.
This progression has led us where we are today, a proud member of the McKesson family ranked seventh on the Fortune 500 and the industry's oldest, largest, most experienced and sophisticated pharmaceutical distributor.
At Rexall, our employees are family, and our culture reflects a close-knit community. From coast to coast, from retail store to Support Centre, we are ALL IN!
A lot may have changed over the years, but our commitment to helping Canadian families and communities be healthier has never been stronger. This vision continues to guide us as we look to the future and increase access to convenient, quality healthcare and products that Canadians can feel good about.
Our 390+ Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus locations are supported by 7,000 staff dedicated to providing exceptional service and care in 180 communities across Canada. From providing vaccinations such as flu, COVID-19 * or other services within the expanding scopes of pharmacy care. Or offering exclusive daily living products that can help put you on a healthy path, Rexall is focused on continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of our patients and customers.
Rexall is a member of the Rexall Pharmacy Group ULC., a wholly-owned subsidiary of McKesson Corporation.
*Where regulations permit pharmacists to administer the flu vaccinations.