Position: Merchandise Buyer (Category to be determined)
Report To: Director of Merchandise
Role:
The Merchandise Buyer is accountable to sales, margin, and inventory within one or more product categories. By fully understanding customer needs, they can maximize profits and provide a commercially viable range of merchandise at competitive prices. Keeping up to date with market trends, reacting to changes in demand, and leading the working pod are key elements of this role.
Responsibilities:
Category Knowledge
- Significant product knowledge of assigned categories.
- Current with what competitors product positioning, pricing, and product lines are.
Research and Anticipate Sales Trends
- Analyze sales performance by class and store.
- Works with Marketing Manager to conduct consumer surveys and keep up with the latest trends and fashions in each category.
- Ensure that merchandise is price, quality competitive, and current.
- Attend trade shows to follow and buy the latest trends.
- Keep core product in stores at all times and work with the suppliers to ensure forecasting of the needs of these products are in place at all times.
- Determine A, B, and C stores and evaluate their replenishment needs.
Store Profiling
- Maintain an active store profile by brand, department, and class.
- Work with Merchandise and Store Manager to keep the store selection and demands of the customer in line with the product selection and identify what products are needed and which ones are not.
- Recognize that each store is different and may need specific product selection to address a certain customer.
Develop Vendor Base
- Develop positive supplier relationships. Negotiate prices, terms, and agreements with vendors.
- Work with vendor on special buys for trending items. Negotiate exclusivity wherever possible.
Develop and Execute Buy Plan
- Report to Merchandise Manager to develop the buy plan. This plan considers the appropriate stock levels, selection for each store, product size scale, margins, costs, and retail pricing.
- Keep inventory in line with the budget as well as in line with the store needs and capacity
- Maintain gross margin targets
- Forecast prices and market trends in order to meet seasonal buys in advance.
- Develop inventory turn and markdown targets for Merchandise Manager approval.
- Keep an accurate profile of each brands delivery by month.
Monitor and Allocate Orders
- Monitor the progress of orders with suppliers to ensure they are arriving on the requested delivery date and complete.
- Perform physical quality check upon arrival to ensure the brand standards are being met.
- Contact vendor with any issues and work out terms of a return authorization.
- Allocate inventory to the correct store in regards to the store profile.
- Maintain the proper amount of inventory in each store while being aware of the season and local events that will influence sales and product volume demand.
- Keep Warehouse Manager informed of important incoming product from stores or vendors.
Product Promotion and Markdown Management
- Works with Marketing Manager on the yearly Product Promotion calendar to stimulate seasonal sales and new products.
- Reviews inventory turns on a monthly basis to determine appropriate markdowns to achieve and markdown targets.
Skills:
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in an organized and timely fashion with proven track record of delivering on projects and process improvements
- Excellent communication and organizational skills
- A creative problem solver, pro-active and able to use initiative to develop solutions
- Demonstrated team-building skills including experience in goal setting, motivating, leading, evaluating and developing a high-performance team.
Qualifications:
- Post-secondary education in a field related to retail buying, such as Retail, Operations/Management, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or Economics.
- 1+ years’ experience as a Category Buyer or 2+ years’ in a Merchandise Planner/Allocation role
- Experience in Retail Environments is an asset.
