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Associate Buyer, Modern Collections
Saks Fifth Avenue
New York, NY, United States
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Job Description
Location: New York City
Reporting Relationships: The Associate Buyer reports to the Buyer or Senior Buyer
Company Description
Hudson’s Bay Company is one of the fastest-growing department store retailers in the world. In North America, HBC’s leading banners include Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Gilt, Saks OFF 5TH, Find @ Lord & Taylor, and Home Outfitters. In Europe, HBC’s banners include GALERIA Kaufhof (the largest department store group in Germany), Galeria INNO (Belgium’s only department store group), and Sportarena. At HBC we are a company of adventurers who explore uncharted territory, challenge convention, and work with imagination and fun.
Role responsibilities include:
1. Merchandising: Develop a thorough understanding of the needs, wants and expectations of the store, online and omni-channel customer. Build a comprehensive omni-channel understanding of the market and competitors; monitor industry trends. Develop and execute the online and store merchandise strategy, including product selection, pre-order selection and product and key item development. Develop the selling strategy and communicate to store and online support functions Execute vendor selection and develop vendor partnerships for the omni business. Negotiate vendor agreements (e.g., exclusives, terms, pricing, vendor funded markdowns, RTV agreements). Attend markets. Manage store space planning and construction and work with Store GMs to resolve vendor issues. Provide merchandising guidance to store and online support functions (e.g., custom product array, store visual, fixtures, square footage). Conduct visits to stores and contact center as feasible; ensure response to notes from visits to stores/contact center. Ensure the dissemination of product knowledge to store associates and contact center. Monitor site daily to ensure products on site and properly represented and to identify QA, issues; work with Distribution Center, Merch Ops and/or vendors to resolve. Provide input on site enhancements as needed. Create and analyze item selling reports. Oversee appropriate product ticketing and in-store signage. Conduct line reviews/style outs for management and staff. Supervise the Best/Worst Seller Review. Work with Fifth Avenue Club to drive high spend customer business; manage special orders business. Support studio team in managing and resolving sample and photography issues.
2. Financial Planning: Manage the development of the online and store vendor matrix. Partner with Planning to approve financial plans for departmental sales, average stock targets, and fashion purchases. Partner with Planning to create ad-hoc financial reports as needed.
3. Open to Buy Monitoring:Supervise the development and maintenance of the shipping log to accurately forecast receipt flows for the open-to-buy. Manage the markdown projection process and the negotiation and collection of vendor allowance. Develop and execute aged inventory exit strategies. Partner with Planning to manage the forecasting of sales and inventories through the OTB review process. Evaluate receipt flows, actual-to-planned receipts and analysis of vendor profitability. Present strategies to improve inventory productivity levels during OTB review process with DMM/DPM. Provide analytic support for consolidation sale planning, logistics and performance evaluation.
4. Purchasing, Allocation, Hold & Flow / Replenishment:Utilize assortment planning best practices to purchase the optimal product selection for site and stores. Analyze class performance, planned class penetration, and average retail by class. Manage the timely placement and maintenance of purchase orders. Develop Hold & Flow strategy; manage Hold & Flow issues. Partner with Demand Planning team to develop and drive allocation strategies. Oversee merchandise transfer initiation. Execute returns to vendor as negotiated and necessary.
5. Pricing & Marketing:Partner with marketing to develop marketing strategies and tactics for area of business. Partner with marketing to develop 360 vendor co-op proposals; present proposal to vendor and negotiate marketing package and co-op; select ad styles; collect co-op. Partner with Market Editor team to develop site marketing roadmap. Provide input to Market Editor team to shape online editorial and email stories. Support Marketing and Market Editor teams as needed with marketing related vendor relations (e.g., editorial sample issues, vendor approval, social media, media partnerships). Evaluate pre and post advertising stock position. Review omni-channel advertising and marketing effectiveness. Establish and approve pricing strategy. Evaluate target markup and apply appropriately to buying decisions. Recommend and approve item price changes, and ensure that price changes are input in a timely manner. Evaluate financial impact of price changes.
6. People Development:Participate in skills training and development. Participate in the team's activities and help to support a teamwork atmosphere. Assist in training, development and support of Assistant Buyers.
Qualifications
Personal Characteristics
• Business Acumen, Dealing with Ambiguity, Drive for Results, Customer Focus
• Demonstrated managerial and leadership skills.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills; Ability to develop strong relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to build / maintain strong Vendor partnerships.
• Willingness to travel, including overseas.
• Strong business and financial analysis skills; proven ability to create and execute a sound business strategy.
Professional Qualifications
University or College degree or commensurate retail experience. 3-5 years’ experience in buying office. Strong retail math acumen, including elements of markup, margin planning, open to buy, inventory productivity measures (WOS, T/O, GMROI), Assortment Planning.
Travel
Office environment, 0% of Travel