■Background of the Recruitment
Fast Retailing has created a new business model—the “information-driven manufacturing and retail industry”—which integrates planning, production, and sales from a customer-centric perspective, and has achieved sales revenue of approximately 3 trillion yen. Among its brands, GU has reached a scale of approximately 300 billion yen and is accelerating its global expansion as the company’s second pillar, following UNIQLO.Under the banner of “YOUR FREEDOM,” as we aim to grow into a 1 trillion yen company, strategies that holistically integrate merchandise, sales, and inventory—along with swift decision-making—are essential. The Merchandise Planning Department serves as the core unit responsible for formulating these strategies.
We are seeking leadership candidates to drive business growth and transformation so that we can deliver “master trends” through product strength, demand-driven planning, and a strengthened system for additional production—and thereby expand our global market share by fulfilling GU’s unique mission: “Delivering trendy fashion at surprisingly low prices to as many customers as possible.”

■ Department Overview
“Product Planning” involves devising the plans that form the foundation of our business—determining which products to produce, when to produce them, how many units to produce, and what narrative will engage customers. As the lead department in this process, the Product Planning Department analyzes past sales performance and future forecasts from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives to formulate and execute strategies—from establishing product budgets to optimizing inventory and delivering products to customers. In particular, because GU deals in fashion apparel, our product lineup changes with each season.Since we produce and sell on a massive scale—ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of units per product—we achieve significant results and customer satisfaction through highly sophisticated planning and forecasting, precise numerical control, and swift decision-making and execution.

■Job Description
As a category manager for Women’s, Men’s, or Kids’ apparel, you will be responsible for the entire business planning process—from formulating sales budgets and sales plans (by season, month, and week) for your assigned products to developing the production plans needed to achieve those goals—and will oversee the end-to-end management of these initiatives to ensure they are executed according to plan.
Specific duties are as follows:
(1) Strategy and Tactics Development: Analyze the market environment and formulate strategies and tactics to achieve sales and profit targets. You will also establish product management KPIs (such as SKU count and pricing) to manage the execution of these strategies and tactics.
(2) Formulation of Product Budgets: Create monthly, seasonal, and departmental budgets, as well as portfolios for sales, gross profit, cost ratio, and discount rates.
(3) Formulation of Product Plans: Scrutinize product plans developed by MDs (Merchandisers) using a quantitative and logical approach based on actual sales performance to improve the accuracy of the plans.
(4) Demand Forecasting and Sales Planning: For the product plans developed in (3), we formulate, verify, and revise demand forecasts on a per-product basis. Based on the verified demand forecasts, we collaborate with relevant departments (Corporate Planning, MD, Marketing, VMD, Inventory Control, and Sales) to develop countermeasures for identified issues and formulate sales plans.
(5) Based on the sales plan, sales tactics are shared with stores. Progress is monitored and plans are revised in light of actual results to ensure the achievement of business targets (sales, gross profit, gross profit margin, and end-of-period inventory).

・The Job Description is subject to change within the scope of duties related to each department at headquarters due to departmental transfers or organizational changes.

■ Career Path
・The Product Planning department comprises three roles: Japan Operations, Overseas Operations, and E-commerce.
・Upon joining the company, you will begin as a product planning specialist for the Japan business to gain a comprehensive understanding of GU’s overall operations. Subsequently, in addition to honing your expertise within the Product Planning Department (Japan, Overseas, or E-commerce divisions), you will have access to a wide range of career opportunities across the Fast Retailing Group, including Merchandising (MD), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Marketing, Visual Merchandising (VMD), Corporate Planning, Overseas Operations, Group Operations, and roles such as COO at overseas subsidiaries.
・As a product planner, you will be involved in operations spanning the entire GU value chain—from upstream to downstream—and gain experience in product management, which is Fast Retailing’s core competency (creating plans based on fundamental principles, adjusting plans in response to immediate business conditions, and devising and executing sales strategies).

[Career Examples for Mid-Career Hires]
・Case 1: Leveraging planning skills honed through numerical data analysis of profit and loss projections and budget planning in previous roles, this individual, as a merchandise planner, goes beyond mere numerical analysis to formulate, execute, and adjust sales plans based on customers’ explicit and latent needs, as well as market trends. After demonstrating leadership on the men’s team, they now work in the area of international merchandise planning, overseeing the U.S. business and leading the team through activities such as sales planning.

・Case 2: During the first six months after joining the company, this individual gained a deep understanding of products, customers, and services through in-store training, learning about the business cycle and store management from a frontline perspective. After returning to headquarters, they took charge of the men’s shirt category.Leveraging both the data-driven analytical skills gained from managing planning metrics in a previous role and the on-the-ground perspective acquired during store training, he drives the development, execution, and revision of sales plans that integrate headquarters and store operations, leading to strong numerical results for his assigned product category.

■ Required Experience, Skills, and Abilities
・Experience at a business company, trading company, consulting firm, or similar organization in identifying issues through fact-based and quantitative analysis, and logically evaluating and implementing measures
・Interest in clothing
・Ability to identify problems on the front lines and devise solutions using data
・Ability to view the big picture and make calm, objective analyses and judgments
・Leadership skills to set a direction, engage others with enthusiasm and passion, and drive execution
・Communication skills to grasp the essence of a problem and convey it accurately

■ Desirable Experience, Skills, and Abilities
・Experience or skills in business planning, marketing (brand management), merchandising (MD), or management accounting
・Business English (emails, document creation and reading, internal and external meetings, dealings with external parties, etc.)

■Company Name
GU Co., Ltd.

■Employment Type
Full-time Employee (Permanent Position, with a 3-month probationary period)

■Annual Salary　
・Annual Salary Range: 6.56–9.80 million yen (Monthly Salary: 410,000–560,000 yen)
・Allowances: Commuting allowance, overtime pay, etc. (*All subject to company regulations)
・Bonuses: Semi-annual bonuses twice a year, year-end bonus (eligibility and amount determined based on company performance and performance evaluations)
・Promotions twice a year (determined based on performance evaluations)
*Salary will be determined based on company regulations, taking into account your previous annual income and experience, and is not limited to the figures listed above.

■ Working Hours
Flexible Work Hours System
Standard daily working hours: 8 hours; Break: 1 hour
Core hours: 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Flexible hours…6:00–9:00 and 14:00–20:00 (Overtime may be required)

■Holidays and Leave
Two days off per week (Saturdays and Sundays; national holidays are considered workdays) Annual paid leave, special leave (including leave for weddings and bereavement), childcare and family care leave systems, etc.
*In addition to paid leave, special leave is granted in the first and second halves of the fiscal year (the number of days granted varies depending on employment status and the company to which you belong)

■Insurance Coverage
Social Insurance (Health Insurance, Employees’ Pension Insurance, Employment Insurance, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance)

■Employee Benefits
Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Mutual Aid Association, Partnered Welfare Programs, Employee Discount Program, Cafeteria, Dedicated Shuttle Bus (for commuting to the Ariake Office), Defined Contribution Pension Plan

■Other
・We are actively hiring mid-career professionals across various Group companies (Fast Retailing, UNIQLO, GU, etc.). We would appreciate it if you could review the information below and consider applying.
- You may apply to multiple companies within the Fast Retailing Group simultaneously. However, please note that even if the selection process proceeds at multiple companies, you can only advance to the final selection stage for one position at a time.
- Based on your submitted resume and interview evaluations, we may contact you to discuss opportunities at other companies or for other positions within the Fast Retailing Group.
・Secondhand Smoke Policy: Smoking is prohibited on the premises and indoors; we do not have designated smoking rooms. (Smoking is prohibited during working hours, including break times.)

Ariake Headquarters: 1-6-7 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, UNIQLO CITY
*Your location may be changed to a location designated by the company, including overseas locations.