The Lead Buyer is responsible for conducting data-driven analysis and forecasting to estimate future demand for products to steer sourcing and buying decisions related to merchandise for our retail shops.

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan, develop, and deliver merchandise ranges to budget, schedule, and customer profile in line with the department and company strategy.
• Conduct data-driven demand forecasting that includes analysis of internal/external factors, historical sales data, etc. to estimate future/ongoing order needs.
• Analyze stock-holding data and develop/recommend diverse plans to ensure inventory is cleared at expected sell-through rate.
• Conduct analysis (e.g., of historical sales data, market/competition) to ensure appropriate retail prices.
• Provide analytical support to maximize product sales performance.
• Support the Head of Retail & Merchandise Planning to conduct monthly communication meetings with the retail teams and circulate minutes of meetings afterward.
• Assist the Head of Retail & Merchandise Planning and the Director of Retail & Merchandising with the preparation of annual department budgets.
• Oversee submission of new purchase requests to the merchandise committee, recommending appropriate order quantities by analyzing past sales patterns and ensuring that stock levels are optimized.
• Provide merchandise administrators with the information required to prepare purchase request approval forms for submission to the merchandise committee.
• Deliver buying projects within specified budget parameters, maintaining strong gross margins, and expediting orders within target lead times and coordinating with stakeholders to pre-empt obstacles and troubleshoot anticipated issues.
• Support the Merchandise Manager by ensuring the milestones related to merchandise development projects are achieved on time, flagging delays, and troubleshooting anticipated issues.
• Support the Merchandise Manager with creation of a standardized merchandise project critical path document with agreed-upon project milestones that meet target lead times for delivery of bespoke/readymade product.
• Liaise closely with the Logistics Team to facilitate and expedite the timely shipment of supplier orders.
• Recommend enhancements to existing processes to achieve further efficiencies.
• Support the Retail Manager in expediting corporate sales orders.
• Provide support and recommendations for shop displays to enhance sales and clearance of slow-moving stock.
• Maintain awareness of trends in the wider retail industry, museum retail, local market, and new suppliers, keeping updated through research and trade show visits.

Qualifications:

• Higher secondary or degree-level qualification required
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in merchandise buying
• Well-developed computing skills, including the understanding of relevant IT products and software (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)