Retail Business Analytics Manager

The best of your adventures is the one you have yet to sail!

The Retail Business Analytics Manager is responsible for transforming retail data into actionable business insights that improve commercial performance, inventory productivity and decision-making across MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys.

The role provides analytical leadership across sales performance, profitability, demand planning, inventory optimization and commercial governance.

Working closely with Retail Leadership, Category Managers, Planning teams, Finance, Operations and Digital teams, the role develops the analytical frameworks, dashboards and insights required to optimize assortment, inventory investment and retail performance across the global fleet.

The position acts as a strategic business partner, enabling data-driven decisions and continuous improvement across all retail categories

Business Performance Analytics

• Develop and maintain retail performance dashboards covering sales, margin, inventory and productivity indicators.
• Provide regular performance analysis by:

1. Ship

2. Boutique

3. Category

4. Brand

5. SK

6. Itinerary

7. Guest segment

• Identify commercial opportunities and performance gaps.
• Translate data into clear recommendations and action plans for Retail Leadership and Category teams.

KPI Framework & Reporting

• Define and improve the global retail KPI framework, including:

1. Sales performance

2. Conversion rate

3. Average Transaction Value (ATV)

4. Units Per Transaction (UPT)

5. Sales per square meter / selling space

6. Sell-through

7. Gross margin

8. Inventory productivity

9. Stock turn

• Create automated reporting tools to improve decision speed and visibility.
• Support weekly, monthly and seasonal business reviews.

Demand & Inventory Analytics

• Support demand forecasting by SKU, ship, boutique and geographic area.
• Analyze sales trends, seasonality, itinerary impact and guest behavior to improve forecasts.
• Identify best sellers, slow movers and inventory risks.
• Provide recommendations for:

1. Allocation

2. Replenishment

3. Stock balancing

4. Inventory optimization

• Support stock shortage prevention and opportunity capture.

Commercial Control & Profitability

• Monitor margin performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Support pricing validation and pricing consistency across categories.
• Analyze promotional performance and markdown effectiveness.
• Support annual budgeting, forecasting and Open-To-Buy (OTB) governance.
• Evaluate profitability by:

1. Category

2. Brand

3. Product

4. Ship

5. Boutique

Assortment & Category Insights

• Provide analytical support to Category Managers for assortment decisions.
• Analyze:

1. Product productivity

2. SKU contribution

3. Collection performance

4. Brand performance

5. Price architecture

• Identify opportunities to improve assortment depth and efficiency.
• Support seasonal assortment reviews and buying decisions.

Inventory Productivity

• Monitor inventory health across the fleet.
• Identify:

1. Overstock situations

2. Stock shortages

3. Obsolete inventory

4. Low productivity products

• Recommend actions to improve inventory return and cash efficiency.
• Support markdown and liquidation decisions when required.

Data Management & Tools

• Partner with IT and Digital teams to improve retail data availability and reporting capabilities.
• Support the development of future retail systems and analytics solutions.
• Ensure data accuracy, consistency and governance.
• Contribute to the transition from manual Excel-based reporting toward automated analytics.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with:

1. Head of Forecast, Budget and Analytics

2. Category Managers

3. Retail Operations

4. Merchandise Planning

5. Finance

6. Supply Chain

7. IT / Digital teams

• Act as a trusted analytical partner supporting commercial decisions

• 5-10 years of experience in retail analytics, merchandise planning, business intelligence or commercial performance.
• Experience in luxury retail, fashion, travel retail or multi-store environments.
• Strong experience analyzing sales, inventory and profitability data.
• Experience building dashboards and performance reporting frameworks.
• Experience with retail planning systems, BI tools and advanced Excel.

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Excellent understanding of retail business drivers and commercial KPIs.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear business recommendations.
• Strong understanding of inventory management and merchandise planning principles.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with BI tools (Power BI, Tableau or equivalent).
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence stakeholders.
• Business-oriented mindset with attention to operational details.
• Ability to work in a fast-moving international environment.
• Fluent English; additional languages are an advantage.

We are committed to building a future that values diverse perspectives, embraces the world beyond borders, and fosters an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves. Our commitment extends to taking meaningful, measurable actions that have a long-term positive impact on our guests, our employees and our planet.

Ready to turn your passion into something extraordinary? Join us at MSC Cruises, where new opportunities await. Apply today to be part of a global team that is pushing boundaries and achieving something remarkable. Your journey starts here!