Senior Buyer

About the role

As a Senior Buyer at iHerb, you will evaluate, curate, price, promote, and grow the brands/products in your assigned category while cultivating strong vendor partnerships that create mutually beneficial opportunities. You will source new suppliers, manage assortment aligned with category trends and team objectives, and collaborate with the Category Manager to align on business strategies and growth targets. This role is responsible for merchandising decisions for large volume accounts and may lead, manage, develop, and mentor Assistant Buyers.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Category Manager and team to ensure alignment on business strategies and short- and long-term growth objectives.
• Directly responsible for key category metrics (KPIs) including new and existing brands, new products, pricing, gross margin, promotions, and product life cycle, identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Negotiate with vendors to secure exceptional everyday pricing, marketing and promotional budgets, special opportunity buys, growth incentives (including rebates and accruals), delivery terms, and payment terms for large volume accounts.
• Foster relationships with large volume existing and new vendors to drive sales, product innovation, margin growth, and promotional support; maintain regular and consistent communication to ensure clarity on short- and long-term goals and capabilities.
• Negotiate contracts, evaluate products, address quality issues, resolve customer service questions, and maintain supplier and product databases.
• Drive the new product and brand onboarding and maintenance process to ensure timely market addition.
• Calculate, maintain, and evaluate cost, pricing, and product adjustments in the system to ensure desired mark-ups and margin targets.
• Partner and coordinate with the Inventory Management and Planning Team on inventory turns, vendor forecasts, new item projections, service level, order cycles, rebate and marketing programs, special opportunity buys, and general supply chain practices.
• Develop promotional co-op activities that are profitable and highly effective in conjunction with Marketing.
• Create, review, and utilize reports to enable in-depth analysis of category successes and challenges.
• Comply with company policies and procedures, including safety, business ethics, and standards of conduct.
• Cultivate, direct, and support Assistant Buyers, enabling their development and growth with tools for success.

Requirements

• Strong, successful, and proven negotiating skills.
• Strong analytical, data management, and decision-making abilities.
• Strong mathematical skills with an understanding of retail pricing concepts.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally with people at all levels of the organization and with external contacts.
• Great attention to detail; highly organized with strong project management skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks, problem solve, and prioritize with awareness of importance and deadlines.

Equipment Knowledge

• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Experience with Google Business Suite (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms) preferred.
• WMS, EDI, SAP, Tableau experience a plus.

Experience Requirements

Generally requires a minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in buying or a directly related role with equivalent responsibilities, preferably in an e-commerce environment with natural products experience a plus.

Education Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Merchandising or related field preferred, or a combination of education and equivalent work experience.

Pay

The expected salary range for this role is $84,957 – $140,000 USD. The actual base pay offered will be determined by factors such as the candidate’s relevant experience, education, geographic location, and internal equity.