Senior Buyer - Menswear
Location: Merseyside – Hybrid working
Multi-Channel Retailer
£Excellent plus benefits


**Candidates will be highly experienced in Menswear - candidates who also have footwear experience will be of particular interest. We are very keen on candidates who have retail / mail order experience**
Our client, a well-established multi-channel retailer offers its customers a wide range of quality lifestyle, fashion and homeware products.


What our client is looking for:


A senior individual to be responsible for the entire menswear department covering both clothing and footwear, ensuring sales and profitability are in line with company growth and the B&M strategy, whilst selecting a range that appeals to customers.


Key responsibilities:


*Manage product development, selection, and sourcing whether that is direct from manufacturer, through UK importers or via offshore trading agents, and from the best manufacturing source for business needs.
*Monitor trading performance, evaluate external market trends and analyse competitors to assess the impact this may have on future performance and plan accordingly.
*Work with Merchandising to review the size and colour sales of the current offers to analysis range, product and SKU performance and streamline where required.
*Attend trade shows to source new products and/or suppliers.
*Negotiate prices to correct level for the product quality.
*Accountable for ensuring products are costed appropriately and sold at the required price to ensure margins targets are achieved and maintained.
*Prepare thorough and accurate line details
*Work with QA to ensure goods are to the required quality and standard of make, through sealing processes up to production and intake.
*Produce pagination briefs and write product copy for catalogues.
*Obtain compensation from suppliers in accordance with the supplier manual when garments fall short of the required standard and are high returning lines.
*Work with Design and Repro teams to ensure the highest possible standards are achieved.
*Approval of lab dips, bulk fabrics and trims to a commercial standard on MTO lines
*Review pagination of all paper offers, provide products for marketing campaigns, check and approve all artwork and any relevant product copy
*Oversee fittings for photography shoots to ensure products have the right styling and fit
*Manage dormancy levels with Merchandising for effective clearance and in season promotions.
*Review changes to the market, consumer trends and the activities of competitors, identify gaps within our product ranges for growth.
*Monitor and review performance of products and publications using key metrics and wider data by departments in line with KPIs.
*Carry out EOS reviews as well as seasonal ranges and present findings for final approval.
*Prepare and present weekly department sales and stock analysis with commentary.
*Review and monitor supplier performance to ensure any issues are addressed and information is communicated with suppliers.
*Attend supplier visits when required to review ranges and maintain relationships
*Work with Merchandising to put together B&M budgets to meet demand and cost targets, as well as reporting on applied and achieved margin performance
*Ensure communication and efficiency is always maintained between Buying & Merchandising
*Ensure the Buying critical path is always followed
*Participate in project work as and when required
*Implement best practices and procedures where appropriate
*Assist with training, coaching and guiding Buying Admin Assistants.




Key Requirements:


*Essential to have a buying background within Mens Clothing. It would be highly advantageous to also have experience in Mens Footwear.
*Previous experience working at a clothing retailer, ideally within mail order and a similar customer target market
*Able to demonstrate a proven track record managing ranges within clothing and footwear departments, while hitting KPI’s and tight deadlines.
*Previous experience implementing buying strategies and best practices
*Ability to analyse trends, market/competitor performance and maximizing sales as well as product performance.
*A full understanding of the Buying and Merchandising lifecycle.
*Essential to be commercially driven and possess the ability to ensure we achieve the best possible prices
*Beneficial to have previous system experience, specifically Microsoft D365
*Proficient in presenting to senior stakeholders
*Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, within a team as well as operate using your own initiative
*Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as excel proficiency.




Apply online or for further information please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialist consultants quoting reference number: NJR16160