Buying & Merchandising Manager

• Our client is seeking an experienced Buying & Merchandising Manager to lead merchandise planning, buying, inventory optimization, and commercial trading across multiple sales channels.
• The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the right product assortment, inventory availability, pricing strategies, and merchandising plans are in place to maximize sales, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
• This role requires a commercially driven leader with strong analytical capabilities and extensive experience managing retail inventory, supplier relationships, and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities
Merchandise Planning & Buying:

• Develop seasonal buying and merchandise plans aligned with business objectives, customer demand, and market trends.
• Define product assortments, category plans, and inventory strategies to maximize sales and profitability.
• Lead demand forecasting, open-to-buy planning, and product lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with commercial teams to ensure product offerings meet customer expectations and market opportunities.

Commercial Trading & Sales Performance:

• Monitor sales trends, inventory movement, and product performance to identify commercial opportunities and risks.
• Optimize product performance through effective in-season trading and commercial decision-making.
• Evaluate product launches, promotional activities, and seasonal performance to improve future buying decisions.
• Drive initiatives that improve full-price sales while maintaining healthy inventory levels.

Inventory & Allocation Management:

• Develop allocation and replenishment strategies to ensure optimal product availability across all sales channels.
• Monitor inventory levels, stock movement, and replenishment cycles to reduce stock-outs and excess inventory.
• Coordinate stock transfers and inventory balancing to improve operational efficiency.
• Partner with Supply Chain teams to ensure timely product distribution and availability.

Omnichannel Merchandising:

• Support inventory optimization across retail stores, franchise locations, and e-commerce platforms.
• Ensure merchandising strategies support seamless customer experiences across online and offline channels.
• Contribute to new store openings, expansion projects, and omnichannel retail initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve merchandising processes and operational efficiency.

Promotions & Commercial Planning:

• Develop pricing, promotional, and markdown strategies that balance sales growth with profitability.
• Support seasonal campaigns, inventory clearance initiatives, and commercial events.
• Evaluate promotional performance and recommend improvements based on business results and inventory positions.
• Ensure effective stock management while protecting brand value and commercial objectives.

Business Analytics & Process Improvement:

• Analyze sales performance, inventory productivity, customer demand, and forecasting accuracy.
• Generate actionable business insights to support strategic planning and commercial decisions.
• Drive process improvements and leverage merchandising technologies to enhance efficiency.
• Prepare regular performance reports and recommendations for senior management.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Buying and Merchandising team to achieve business objectives.
• Build strong partnerships with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Retail Operations, E
• Commerce, and other internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with regional and international business partners to support merchandise planning and commercial execution.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Fashion Management,
• Supply Chain Management, or a related discipline.
• 8–12 years' experience in Buying, Merchandising, Category Management,
• Inventory Planning, or Retail Commercial Management.
• Experience within fashion, footwear, lifestyle, sportswear, FMCG, or large-format retail is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of omnichannel retail, merchandise planning, inventory optimization, and commercial trading.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, ERP systems, inventory planning, and merchandising platforms.
• Experience using retail planning systems such as SAP or similar enterprise solutions is an added advantage.

Key Competencies:

• Merchandise Planning & Buying
• Category & Assortment Management
• Commercial Trading
• Inventory Planning & Optimization
• Demand Forecasting
• Omnichannel Retail Management
• Financial & Commercial Acumen
• Data Analysis & Business Intelligence
• Negotiation & Stakeholder Management
• Leadership & Team Development
• Strategic Planning
• Problem Solving & Decision Making.