Head of Buying

Purpose:

The job holder will be responsible for developing product strategy and strategic buying plans for delivering the sales & profit targets for the assigned group/department. The job holder will also be responsible for ensuring smooth buying operations through vendor identification, evaluation, and selection, in compliance with the contract principles, as well as effective people management to achieve the strategic and financial objectives of the group/department.

Minimum Requirement:

Education & Qualifications: Bachelors/master's degree in relevant field

Experience: 10 plus years of experience in the retail industry and a minimum of 5 years in a similar role.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Development

• Build & communicate product GO TO MARKET strategy as per store catchment.
• Build Strong understanding of trend & customer with an ability to commercially adapt.
• Build brand focuses in conjunction with operational requirements; utilize market feedback to develop marketing intelligence for positioning of products and enhancing customer experience at retail store level.
• Liaising with teams to ensure a wholistic and coherent product proposition for customers.
• Accountable for implementation of sales promotional activities as a part of brand building and market development effort.
• Ability in streamlining internal & external reporting processes and liaison with brand requirements.

Buying Budget and Planning

• Determine buying requirements and formulate buying plan and budget for the assigned department/category.
• Align the buying plan to the overall department/category business plan and the merchandize strategy as laid down by the function head.
• Responsible for sales & profit targets by ensuring timely procurement of merchandise & effective stock control (through working closely with suppliers/retail/sourcing on budgeting, mark-down, Intake margin, OTB management, in-store, etc.)
• Ensuring that the entire buying strategy is as per the buying budget with appropriate phasing and coherent with size of the buying.
• Forecasting business based on changing market conditions.
• Inventory and aging management skills.

Order & Vendor Management

• Build and maintain relationships with vendors and suppliers and gain confidence of supplier to invest in the retail footprints.
• Negotiating & Finalizing Contractual Commercial Terms with Suppliers.
• Formation of pricing strategy as per the market requirement, weekly ordering cycle is being monitored, and inventory is within the company agreed norms.
• Ensure department compliance to product requirements, company processes etc. in collaboration with sourcing.
• Ensure critical path milestones are met & reduce exceptions.

Market Research/Competitor Benchmarking

• Conduct regular store visits in own stores across territories for feedback and in competition stores in our markets to benchmark product range, quality, and pricing.
• Keep abreast of the latest trends in buying and apply the same to maximize business.
• Drive better customer understanding through store/online surveys, focus group meetings & loyalty program analysis.
• Focus on improving store standards and customer experience.

People Management

• Develop and grow talent within Department and Support team by providing consistent direction and support to achieve stretch targets and take leadership positions.
• Retain and engage the talent employed and build a collaborative and high-performance team.
• Enhance team productivity through recognition, skills development and coaching.
• Ensure objective periodic administration of the performance appraisal process followed by monitoring of feedback implementation for the team.

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