Job Title: Buyer/ Purchasing Agent - Intermediate
Duration: 4 Months (W2 contract, possible conversion)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Leading retail company

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the creation, management and execution of end to end sales, gross margin and inventory strategies to hit Department or Division sales plans.

• Collaborate with a centralized Merchandising team (GM) to ensure the seasonal, global assortment meets the customer and business needs.

• Assist in web management – managing product features, category sorts and seasonal flow strategies that drive customer engagement on site.

• Contribute to the development of pre-season Class and Department financial targets that align with the Division’s seasonal product strategy and include sales, gross margin and inventory.

• Assist in the development of seasonal Department or Divisional product strategies that align with financial goals of the season.

• Create and execute sizing strategies that support Department or Divisional objectives.

• Contribute to the reconciliation of top-down & bottoms-up Divisional sales and inventory plans.

• Measure weekly, monthly, and quarterly sales and inventory performance by Department or Division.

• Measure site performance metrics.

• Strategize, recommend, execute, and recap in-season pricing strategies – including seasonal markdowns and promotions.

• Develop and manage Basics sales and inventory forecasts to maximize sales opportunity while driving optimal inventory service levels and profitability.

• Assist in the forecast of in-season sales and inventory trends through the monthly OTB process. Develop product, site and financial strategies to maximize opportunities and mitigate risk.

• Hindsight seasonal product and financial results through hindsighting process by Department or Division.

• Assist in the development of seasonal product strategies and department/divisional Long Range Plans.

• Assist with assortment communication to all cross functional partners. Communicate changes and updates to production through Style tracker/Change log.

• Deliver on online exclusive business strategies including product recapping, needs analysis and presentation on site.

• Assist with web management to create a compelling product experience on the site, to include inspirational merchandise presentation, simple and intuitive category navigation and clear and accurate product details.

• Responsible for timely workflow of web management deliverables and timelines: includes overseeing and validating the work completed by merchandise coordinator.

• Attend weekly site meetings - promo outlook, site review, creative review to ensure clarity on all execution.

• Review Omniture reporting to understand customer’s preferences. Apply learnings to future concepts, linking and sorting.
  

Requirements:

• 2-3 years in buying or IM in retail or online business

• Proficiency in enterprise applications (Venus, NOVA, etc.) as well as GOL specific tools (cube platform), Microsoft Excel

• Experience with retail, in buying or Planning/Inventory management

• The ability to use financial metrics to measure the performance of the business.

• The ability to read and react to business results

• Basic knowledge of international production processes.

• Strong presentation skills.