Activewear Buyer

Full-time Salary/Exempt

Summary

This position reports directly to the Director of Merchandising and is responsible for the buying, merchandising and product development for the Active categories. This person will assume a position as the Active brand ambassador by creating emotional connections and building relationships with the Active consumers and influencers.
• Exhibit market awareness and insights of relevant brands and reference points.
• Be personally passionate and inspired by everything Active.
• Develop seasonal strategies that will deliver the Wantable customer the greatest on-trend mix possible, with the highest quality and perceived value.
• Deliver planned financial targets through customer right vendors/brand relationships, curating the best items while negotiating the best costs that deliver the highest perceived value and gross margin.
• Exhibit a data driven mindset that uses consumer insights and data to drive results.
• An assumed leader that thinks strategically and drives the business based on passion and sound results.

Primary Responsibilities
• Drive the overall strategic vision and seasonal assortment. Partner with the planning team to construct and manage seasonal financial targets.
• Drive KPI's; Average Order Value and Take Rate.
• Manage the Open to Buy plan. Analyze the business and react with timely reorders and cancellations.
• Leverage customer data to build seasonal product assortments to ensure a superior customer experience.
• Seek out and onboard new vendor partners; source new products.
• Negotiate all costs, payment and shipping terms, markdown $ and RTV's with vendors.
• Analyze business performance and present strategic next steps to both functional and cross-functional teams.
• Analyze business at a macro and micro level (such as color, size, etc.) and present solutions to drive results.
• Able to identify key item programs and re-order opportunity within designated category; analyze and execute strategies to optimize inventory levels ensuring decisions align with overall department goals.
• Work closely with Product Development department to create compelling products.
• Hindsight of seasonal, vendor, product and financial results by product category at the macro level and analyze product performance.
• Partner with all cross-functional and functional partners (Receiving, Quality Control, Accounts Payable, Marketing, Creative, Stylists and Customer Service) on all issues that may occur and resolve in a timely manner.
• Attend trade shows, market weeks and vendor showrooms to ensure that our mix is at the forefront of market trends.

Required Education and Skills
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience.
• 5-10 years buying experience in Activewear Apparel.
• Analytic Skills: Ability to think objectively and interpret meaningful themes from quantitative and qualitative data; prior planning experience a plus.
• Problem Solving & Decision Quality: Able to use rigorous logic and methods to solve problems with effective solutions.
• Collaboration: Able to build constructive and effective relationships with a broad and diverse group of business partners.
• Influencing & Negotiation: Can present ideas and directions that lead others to action.
• Presentation Skills: Effective in a variety of presentation settings including one-on-one, small and large groups, and with peers and bosses.
• Financial and Business Acumen: Ability to evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable information to drive results; proficiency in retail math.
• Systems and Tools Acumen: Expertise in Microsoft Excel including creating and using pivot tables and advanced formulas, as well as have aptitude to learn technical applications quickly.
• Process Management: Able to create and organize work and processes to get things done in the most efficient manner.
• Possess strong organizational and time management skills.
• Demonstrate strong listening, written and oral communication skills.
• Full understanding of the statistical components of the business (IMU%, GM%, turn, WOS, etc.) and the OTB process.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, work hours, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.