The Buyer is accountable to source and purchase goods within one or more product categories. By fully understanding customer needs, they are able to 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.
Essential Responsibilities • Make decisions affecting sales, gross margin, and inventory turn • Guide team members from analysis through to recommendations to build five year annual and semi-annual merchandise plans to determining pricing, style and amount purchased. • Set design directions in conjunction with the Apparel Development Team • Be a champion for the specific product category (source, negotiate and purchase goods). • Responsible for product design and development • Build the assortment framework and coordinate the preliminary assortment • Lead, coach and mentor other members of the working pod • Make recommendations specifying the number of customer choices appropriate for different store clusters and the correct depth for each choice • Prove input to identify both the fashion and basic assortment by cluster and provide input to create key item list • Be responsible for in-season management: trending receipts, sales and markdowns • Conduct category scans and line reviews • Make recommendations for fixture presentation standards and set design direction • Recommend fixture presentation standards • Develop the fashion and basic assortment for specific product categories • Select marketed assortments, recommend and coordinate final assortments, and assist in consolidating master assortments • Plan item lifecycles and tailor store assortments in conjunction with cross functional team • Work in conjunction with the Planner and the Analyst to plan product flow • Provide recommendations to the GMM prior to review and approval of assortment plan • Determine item substitutions and notify vendors of projections
Job Requirements
Skills / Qualifications
• 4+ years of sourcing, procurement and retail experience • University degree in a related discipline or related working experience • Awareness of the fashion, footwear and apparel industries • Demonstrated ability to influence the actions and opinions of others in a desired direction • Effective presentation skills • Demonstrated negotiation skills • Excellent organizational and follow-up skills • Excellent PC skills including experience with MS Word and Excel • A natural leader with the ability to guide and direct at all times while still remaining a team player • Demonstrated relationship management skills • Ability to act quickly and decisively • Strong negotiation skills
About R. Cope & Associates Inc.:
We are a Large Staffing, Recruitment and Executive Search Firm based in Toronto , Ontario but recruit throughout North America and Europe
