Sr Buyer, Ladies Footwear

Responsibilities:
• Negotiate contracts, discounts and payment terms with suppliers to improve margins and cash flow across the department in line with buying strategy and KPIs.
• Plan launch of key brands together with the Category Manager.
• Maintain awareness of yearly & seasonal business revenue shapes and manage inventory planning for uptake in sales keeping in mind and potential loss in margin due to promotional activity.
• Work closely together with the Category Manager on Marketing and Content trends and planned brand shoots for various marketing channels.
• Reconcile top-down budgets with bottom-up department plans and forecasts alongside the Merchandise Planner and present these to the Category Manager.
• Commercials & Assortment Availability –
• Ensure that purchased products are competitively priced while margins are kept in line with budgets and business requirements.
• Plan deliveries in line with sales targets & % mix by category, price level and stock levels to achieve sales, profitability and turnover.
• Develop, maintain and communicate to team members as well as Category Manager a clear and well-articulated buying plan supported by sales, promotion and branding/supplier strategy.
• Understand product and price positioning of products and gather knowledge of how the design and specifications impacts on target cost price.
• Drive and manage the assortment development and review, providing analysis to support decision-making whilst owning product selection oversight.
• Determine which samples will be used in monthly edits, social pushes or special events in a timely manner.