Associate Buyer

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of category strategies aligned with company goals and customer insights.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, and customer preferences to inform category decisions.
• Drive vendor negotiations and relationship management to enhance category performance.
• Curate and maintain a compelling product assortment.
• Analyze sales data and customer feedback to identify assortment gaps and opportunities.
• Own product selection, line reviews, and seasonal planning processes.
• Manage and maintain product data to ensure the Good/Better/Best strategy is accurately reflected in all systems.
• Support pricing strategy development to ensure competitiveness and profitability.
• Monitor price changes, promotions, and markdowns to optimize margin and inventory levels.
• Conduct regular pricing analysis and provide recommendations for adjustments.
• Assist in building and maintaining financial plans including sales forecasts, margin targets, and inventory levels.
• Track performance against financial goals and provide actionable insights to improve results.
• Partner with planning and allocation teams to ensure alignment with financial objectives.
• Manage a small team of individual contributors, contributing to their growth and development.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of buying experience, exhibiting progressively responsible assignments with the merchandising organization.
• Planning and inventory experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in utilizing Excel or other data analysis tools to extract insights and make data-driven decisions.
• Strong collaboration skills to partner with cross-functional teams.
• Flexible, resilient, and comfortable working in an environment that is constantly changing.
• Strong decision-making ability, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Detailed-oriented with excellent organizational skills.

Benefits

• Health insurance (medical, dental, and vision).
• Paid time off.
• Tuition assistance.
• Generous employee discounts.
• Other benefits as per company policy.

About the Role

The Associate Buyer executes product strategies and manages vendor relationships for assigned categories. This role leads merchandise selection, performance analysis, and operational execution, helping ensure the right products are available at the right time.