Introduction:
Founded in 1875, our long history has been built on innovation, craftsmanship and above all, incredible talent. Born from the adventurous spirit of our founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, we remain true to our heritage. From our fulfilment centres to our flagship store, passion, vision and dynamism are part of our DNA, and that extends to our team.
Role Overview:
In this role, you will lead buying strategy across all channels to drive sales and profit growth, curating a unique, commercial and press-worthy product edit. Working cross-functionally with merchandising, customer insight and retail, you will ensure the range meets the target market and retail space. You will act as a brand ambassador internally and externally, while overseeing the admin team to maintain on-time deliveries and a well-run buying office.
Key Responsibilities
- Supporting the creation of product strategy, working closely with buying managers, merchandising and retail to ensure each department has the most unique, commercial and press worthy brands and products which deliver sales and margin targets.
- Helping to deliver the brand and product strategy within the agreed OTB.
- Building strong relationships with suppliers and growing lasting partnerships.
- Working with merchandising and ecommerce to ensure the most profitable range is available online, delivering sales and margin targets as agreed.
- Delivering sales and margin targets for all departments each season.
- Working closely with the merchandiser each season to maximise re-order opportunities and minimise end of season markdowns.
- Attending floor walks with retail, merchandising and VM to review sales and sell through and drive appropriate actions to improve underperforming areas.
- Constantly researching and reviewing the market to source new brands and products that provide Liberty with a point of difference and keep our offer relevant with current trends.
- Attending key market events in the UK and abroad as appropriate.
- Working with retail and marketing to ensure we animate the offer with timely, compelling activity
- Conducting detailed ad-hoc analysis when required.
- Delivering a centre of excellence for buying best practice, processes and system use.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- 3 years of buying experience in a fast-paced, luxury retailer.
- Thorough understanding of global and local market, category and product with a keen eye for trend.
- Ability to spot declining trends and when to step away.
- A self-starter with strong attention to detail.
- Strong critical thinking and problem solving skills.
- Clear, confident communicator, able to communicate clearly and effectively across all functions.
- Organised and works well under pressure.
- Ability to thrive in a fast paced, high pressure environment.
- Able to self-manage and multi-task, to manage a busy and complex workload.
- Solid understanding of all buying processes and best practice.
- Ability to extract meaning from reporting, product feedback and market information.
- Ability to work collaboratively with other functions across the business.
- Strong project management skills.
Please note, this is a fixed-term, 1 year contract.