Assistant Buyer - West Elm Global (Company Owned)

About the role

You’ll be part of the Global Buying team, responsible for supporting seasonal assortments and business strategies. Our team helps ensure that every global customer experiences the best of the brand through thoughtful assortment curation, localized product strategies, accurate product setup, and strong cross-functional execution.

The Assistant Buyer, Global will report to the Buyer and support the development and execution of business strategies and seasonal assortment plans across franchise markets. This role is critical to driving revenue, protecting business continuity, and supporting growth across key global markets.

Responsibilities

• Partner with buying leadership to develop and deliver financial plans for your category of business (Growth %, Sales, MMU$, Inventory)
• Develop seasonal and foundational assortment strategies, participate in the planning and execution both pre-season and in season
• Analyze and report on weekly company owned business performance and drive associated action steps
• Perform market analysis, competitive shop and analyze sales trends to keep abreast of current trends
• Obtain feedback from stores to improve product and add to collections
• Identify emerging trends and develop business strategies outlining strengths, weaknesses, new opportunities and threats
• Communicate annual and seasonal strategies to functional areas (Inventory, Ecommerce, Visual)
• Develop and recommend seasonal and core product mix for department or area
• Collaborate with Inventory Management to develop annual and seasonal financial plans
• Collaborate with Inventory Management and buying leadership on final assortment plans (line lists), product details, target retails, estimated IMU, importance to overall assortment (rank & big bets), flow to DC and channel distribution
• Participate in visual mapping process to ensure floor plan direction supports market-specific and store-specific visual display and sales plans
• Responsible for in season management of a category, and OTB management in partnership with Inventory team and buying leadership
• Manage Merchandising Line Lists
• Support pricing activity, including regular pricing, promotions, markdowns, cost updates, and market-specific pricing needs across DTC and retail channels
• Drive retail store & ecommerce execution of your category in close partnership with store Visual, Store operations and Ecommerce marketing teams
• Develop promo and markdown strategies to ensure inventory targets and sales are met each season
• Review EDM, Homepage creative and participate in monthly UAT activities
• Summarize and communicate merchandising information for store newsletters and emails
• Coordinate with Store Operation for disseminating information through appropriate channels
• Correspond with functional areas, resolve, handle and escalate difficult issues to Buyer, Call Center and Stores
• Investigate and respond to field issues

Requirements

• Previous experience in a retail buying office, merchandising, inventory management, planning, eCommerce, or related retail function
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 1–3 years of retail buying, merchandising, or related experience preferred
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Comfortable learning and working within multiple systems, trackers, and reporting tools
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills
• Highly detail-oriented with a strong degree of accuracy and the ability to detect inconsistencies in data
• Strong organizational, prioritization, follow-up, and time management skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects and shifting priorities in a fast-paced, results-driven environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with cross-functional partners at all levels of the organization
• Collaborative, flexible, proactive, and comfortable working independently as well as part of a team
• Strong interest in merchandising, product, global markets, and the West Elm brand
• Demonstrated commitment to high professional and ethical standards

Benefits

• A generous discount on all WSI brands
• A 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities
• Paid vacations, holidays, and time off to volunteer
• Health benefits, dental and vision insurance, including same-sex domestic partner benefits
• Tax-free commuter benefits
• A wellness program that supports your physical, financial and emotional health

Pay

The expected starting pay range for this position is $60,000-$70,000. Applicable pay ranges may differ across markets. Actual pay will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law.

Schedule

This role is in office 4x a week