Assistant Buyer

Position Summary: Supports the Buyer in all facets of product assortment, financial planning, and vendor partnerships in accordance with the sales margin, turnover and flow goals of an assigned division.

Primary Responsibilities:
Assists Buyer with product assortment, pricing, and merchandising strategies reflecting goals based on historic data, current trends and future forecasts.
Assists Buyer in developing and maintaining vendor partnerships. Assists with negotiating product costs, terms, and shipping/returns issues. Acts as a liaison between merchandising, distribution center and stores in an effort to track shipments and floor purchase orders.
Reviews inventory regularly including merchandise order. Maintains current data on sales and fashion trends to plan future purchases. Assists with seasonal presentation to upper management.
Analyzes business trends and opportunities by identifying and maximizing key items via test strategies. Assists with execution of short term buying plans based on open-to-buy dollars and long term strategies.
Determines advertising placement and proof copy to ensure desired outcome. Plans special promotional events. Ensures ad merchandise arrives in stores before ad dates and follows up with vendors and distribution centers to track ad prep and sales results.
Participates in recommending, setting, and approving product-pricing strategies to achieve specific margin objectives and executes exit strategies on slow selling items and recommends appropriate markdowns.

Preferred Qualifications:
Multiple years in Retail Merchandising, Business Administration, and/or marketing or related area.
Multiple years experience as an Assistant Buyer with a major retailer.
Strong negotiation skills and group presentation skills.
Strong oral and written communication skills sufficient to communicate credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization.
Ability to prioritize multiple projects and maintain strict deadlines.
Ability to travel periodically.

Additional Information and Disclaimers:
Regular attendance is required
Ability to work as part of a team and interact effectively with others
Critical features of this job are described under the headings above. They may be subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.