Director of Buying

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Buying will lead the global buying strategy, in partnership with the VP of Global Buying, Planning & Consumer Insights, for the Direct-to-Consumer business for all product categories. The Director of Buying will directly manage an Associate Buyer, and work cross-functionally to analyze inventory and sales by location, understanding global market needs, lead in-season business management, oversee market prep, and define product assortment and sales strategies globally. The Director of Buying should possess a deep understanding of global market and product trends.

The Director of Buying will also be responsible for liaising with cross-functional teams in support of seasonal brand and commercial objectives, as defined in partnership with the VP of Global Buying, Planning & Consumer Insights. Key cross-functional partners include, but are not limited to: Retail, Digital, Merchandising, Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Store Planning, Wholesale, Finance, Operations, and Logistics. Travel may be required for this role.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to:

Business Management

• Manage full product life cycle as it relates to the DTC business, from market preparation to outlet disposition
• Monitor and understand daily / weekly / seasonal business opportunities and challenges by market, recap, inform and recommend action steps
• Create and communicate product strategy through seasonal product trainings and maintain regular communication with regional retail and digital channel managers to better understand market needs
• Develop partnerships with internal departments: Wholesale, Merchandising, E-commerce, Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Operations and Logistics
• Lead seasonal markdown process in partnership with Wholesale and Merchandising
• Initiate seasonal in-store or digital product activations
• Stock balancing / inter-store and warehouse transfers
• Manage outlet product assortments

Reporting & Analysis

• Responsible for weekly, monthly, and seasonal sales reporting (seasonal sell-through and style selling reports)
• Stock to sales by location, by season, by classification
• Market Prep and OTB support
• Ad hoc reports

Market (4 markets per year)

• Responsible for SKU-level buying for all product categories, including ad hoc buys outside of the regular market cadence
• Lead buy preparation and manage support during buying session: reference selling history, prior season orders and stock to sales; analyze current business trends
• Partner with merchandising, retail, digital, visual merchandising
• Maintain management of daily business during market

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum Education: 4 Year college degree relevant or related field.
• Minimum Years of Experience: 10+ years in a buying or merchandising related job
• Experience with creating development and execution of merchandising strategies a must
• Luxury and apparel category experience preferred.
• Management experience preferred.
• Excel, PowerPoint and BI tool (Microstrategy, PowerBI, Tableau, Looker) expertise required.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Strong initiative, desire and ability to drive results
• Proactive vs. reactive approach
• Strong analytical and strategic skillset
• Ability to multi-task
• Team player
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills to drive teams to execution
• Attention to detail and organized
• Strong understanding of retail math (stock to sales, sell-through etc.)
• Selection ability/ strong taste level
• Communication skills
• “Big” idea mentality
• Public speaking skills
• Knowledge of competitive landscape
• Passion for the industry

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer M/D/F/V

In compliance with the New York City salary transparency requirements, the potential salary for this position is from $135,000 to $145,000, which represents a range commensurate with experience, knowledge, and skills required.