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Buyer
Catherines
Columbus, OH, United States
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External Job Description
Buyer, Woven Tops and Jackets - Catherines
Buyer is responsible for meeting planned sales, margin and inventory turnover goals for their designated area through focused merchandise assortments, productive marketing, and sound merchandise management while enhancing the overall department, division, and company strategy. Works closely with the management team, merchandise planning team, design/PD team, sourcing team, and marketing team to significantly improve profitability and maximize shareholder value.
Business Line Planning
• Develops strategic vision of department integrating customer insight, competitive information, market intelligence, sales, fashion trends, fashion intuition and product distortion to maximize sales and profit.
• Leads and creates a balanced line plan while communicating a strategic vision that integrates fashion, lifestyle, fit, pricing pyramids and tiered strategies to the product development and merchandising team.
• Develop customer driven assortments that support departmental goals and key item focus
• Ensures merchandise mix balances quantity, style, size, price, and fashion consistent with the company and individual market requirements
• Provides collaborative guidance, direction and support to the PD team in the development of merchandise and key items as well planning team in the development of class, subclass, and ladder plans
• Prepares for and presents product at Line Review, Line Close, and Business Review
• In season, reacts to current business trends; ensures the integration of fashion newness, develops upside strategies, recognizes product evolution and potential voids; prepares contingency plans to drive sales and profit objectives.
Intelligence: Customer/Market/Competitive
• Understands the customer, researches and anticipates what the customer wants next; uses information from store visits in decision making and planning process.
• Patterns competitors and fashion leaders and understands how they are projecting their brand. Focuses on overall assortment, fashion offering, pricing/promotional cadence, and presentations. Uses information in season and future line planning
• Collects market information and integrates it into the development of the strategic vision and the future selection of product.
• Synthesizes intelligence (customer/market/competitors) and determines its relevancy to CATHERINES brand strategy.
Business Management
• Pre-seasonally partners with planning and allocation around sales forecasting/planning, average store, promotional cadence, flow order, color/size buys, minimum /maximum quantities, etc.
• Drives superior performance by reviewing business in-season to maximize sales and profit; owns the in-season management of sales and profits in partnership with Planning & Allocation Teams.
• Partners with the planner to complete accurate forecasts by evaluating financial information, current trends, and anticipated market changes that impact buy decisions and strategies
Product/Place/People
• Develops a brand strategy and vision for the department
• Collaborates with Product Development in fabric development and selection and manages integration regarding design, sourcing, and brand development
• Ensures final assortment is integrated with the Design Concept and the Product Strategy
• Delivers on time fashion assortment that projects one eye point of view
• Makes merchandising/promotional recommendations to distort key categories/items which integrate with the merchandising, marketing and promotional plans
• Leads by example by inspiring passion and innovative thinking while fostering teamwork and collaboration with cross functional partners. Ensures cross-functional teamwork, collaboration and execution.
• Takes accountability for self-learning and development. Prepares self for broader responsibilities.
• Coaches and develop associates to ensure growth and readiness for next level position. Resolves escalated associate/assistant buyer issues
Requirements
• Bachelors Degree required; Fashion Merchandising or related field a plus.
• 5-7 years experience in buying position for a leading retailer.
• Understands our brand and has extensive buyer experience working with a fashion brand.
• A successful track record and a reputation of exceeding performance expectations.
• Demonstrates strong analytical skills and superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong TEAM builder who can execute effective conflict resolution.
• Ability to manage a large collaborative team and drive result through others.
• Ability to communicate with all levels of the organization.
• Leader who can Lead/Manage/Plan.
• Proficiency with Microsoft office suite.
• Prior experience with flexPLM, RMS and Microstrategy is a plus