Buyer

Job Title

The Buyer is responsible for building an exciting and balanced assortment that will meet or exceed sales and gross margin plans for their specified departments.

Product Duties:

• Create and implement merchandise strategies that support financial plans.
• Shop monthly market and trade shows to select, edit, and build a balanced assortment that meet customer's demand.
• Build private label assortment through collaboration with key vendors.
• Drive all aspects of the product life cycle; identifying style, negotiating cost, assigning retail, managing style changes and delivery with vendors.
• Manage SKU & style intensive businesses and manage location intensive assortments.

Financial Duties:

• Partner with planning on the development of annual, seasonal, monthly, and weekly financial plans.
• Achieve IMU, GM%, WOS, and sales goals for assigned categories.
• With support from planning, select buy quantities and door strategies based upon historical data, current trend, and anticipated future events.
• Analyze weekly and monthly sales, inventory, and receipt plans to drive sales and minimize markdowns.
• Communicate a point-of-view on product supported by facts and data.
• Provide expert analysis on trends and recommendations to drive immediate purchases, cancellations, future purchases, and assortment strategies.
• Intimately familiar all details of their assigned categories open-to-buys; closely collaborates with planning weekly to ensure accuracy of incoming receipts, product IMU, and coming markdowns.

Leadership Duties:

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with internal and external sources.
• Work with cross functional team members to ensure that the original vision/intent for product is executed across marketing and visual merchandising initiatives.
• Collaborate with store teams to refine knowledge of customer needs and to ensure stores are informed on product attributes, highlights, and outfitting strategies to build outfits for SMU customers.
• Maintain an on-going development and mentorship of direct reports.

Job Required Knowledge, Skills and Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Merchandising or a related field.
• 1-2 years as a Buyer, with consideration for seasoned Associate level experience.
• 3-5 years merchandising, planning, buying, or equivalent experience in the retail industry preferred.
• Ability to understand customer demographic and to identify appropriate product that will appeal to the customer.
• Strong understanding of retail math and measures used in financial reporting.
• Analytic Skills: Ability to think objectively and interpret meaningful themes from quantitative and qualitative data.
• Financial and Business Acumen: Ability to evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable information to drive results.
• Problem Solving & Decision Quality: Able to use rigorous logic and methods to solve problems with effective solutions
• Relationship Management: Able to build constructive and effective relationships with a broad and diverse group of business partners, both internally & externally.
• Presentation Skills: Effective in a variety of presentation settings including one-on-one, small and large groups, and with peers and Executives
• Systems and Tools Acumen: Microsoft Excel, Proficiency in Microsoft Access, PowerPoint and Word. Must also have aptitude to learn other technical applications quickly.
• Coachability: Ability to embrace constructive feedback with an open mind. Willingness and eagerness to learn, question norms, and continuously improve.
• Risk Management: Anticipate risks and identifies contingency plans and processes to prevent disruptions when risks occur.

Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. South Moon Under maintains the right to modify all or part of any job description at its discretion to meet and or exceed the needs of the business.