Assistant Buyer

Job description

Assistant Buyer - Home Category Experience - Minimum 2 Years for Buying experience. Role Overview The Assistant Buyer – Soft Furnishing will support the Buyer in range planning, product development, sourcing, vendor management, market research, costing, and commercial performance. The role will work closely with cross-functional teams and vendors to ensure the right product assortment, quality, pricing, and timely delivery. Key Responsibilities: • Product Development & Range Planning • Assist the Buyer in product development, product presentations, packaging, and promotional planning. • Support range planning and assortment building in line with seasonal and category strategies. • Review and adjust seasonal and weekly plans based on business performance, market trends, and requirements. • Support the Buyer in achieving budget, sales, and margin targets. • Market & Competitor Research • Conduct regular market and competitor research to track emerging trends, pricing, MRP, quality benchmarks, product innovations, and new product opportunities. • Identify market gaps and opportunities to strengthen the soft furnishing range. • Vendor Identification, Development & Commercial Management • Identify, evaluate, and develop new vendors and sourcing opportunities. • Support the vendor onboarding process and maintain strong vendor relationships. • Support negotiations with vendors to achieve competitive costs and healthy margins. • Assist in tracking and recovering vendor-related financial claims, including performance penalties, markdowns, and promotional contributions. • Sample & Product Development Tracking • Coordinate with vendors to ensure samples are developed and delivered within agreed timelines. • Track sample status and follow up with vendors to ensure timely completion of product development milestones. • Quality Management • Work closely with QA/QC teams to establish and maintain quality standards for merchandise. • Coordinate with vendors to address quality issues and ensure products meet defined standards. • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Work closely with Marketing, Product Design, Visual Merchandising, Merchandising, and other relevant teams to align product development and promotions with seasonal themes and product launches. • Ensure timely communication of product information, features, and key benefits to the front-end/store teams. • Stock & Commercial Performance • Work closely with the Merchandising team on stock management, style options, quantities, promotions, and markdowns. • Monitor product performance and support corrective actions to optimize sales, stock, and margins. • Costing & Commercial Management • Support negotiations with vendors to achieve competitive costs and healthy margins. • Assist in tracking and recovering vendor-related financial claims, including performance penalties, markdowns, and promotional contributions. • Top KPI’s (Ideally Measurable) for this role are • Design and coordinates understating. • Strong understanding of soft furnishing products, sourcing, and retail trends • Market and competitor analysis • Product development and range planning • Vendor management and sample tracking. • Good understanding of costing, margins, MRP, and inventory • Strong coordination and follow-up skills • Cross-functional collaboration • Good communication and presentation skills