Assistant Buyer - Upholstery

Job description / Role

Assistant Buyer - Upholstery

The job holder will be responsible & supporting Category Buyer for buying operations through Product Sourcing, vendor identification, evaluation and selection for Furniture Department.

Vendor and Product Research

- Keep abreast of the latest trends in buying and assess realign the existing processes

- Support to identify and leverage alternate buying opportunities to source products and to ensure that company maintains its competitive edge by constant renegotiation

Vendor Management

- Support in developing an adequate vendor base for the company through attending Fair & Exhibitions

- Build and maintain relationships with vendors and suppliers and negotiate the best deals with them for procuring merchandise

- Maintain contact with vendors; update list of vendors for bidding purposes; attend product demonstrations, obtain samples and literature regarding potential products and vendor capabilities and confer with end users

- Identify, evaluate and suggest appropriate vendor mix to achieve business objectives

Order Management

- Place orders for the new items and initiate repeat orders for the category based on the Buying plan and Planogram. Ensure merchandise is delivered as per the plan based on the agreed service level agreement.

- Follow up with Supplier for Production and Packaging status

- Support Category Buyer to implement financial and credit services agreement with the vendor that maximize profit and positively contribute to cash flow

Market & Competition study

- Market & competition study in categories he is responsible and suggests new product ranges accordingly

Skill:

- Must have 4-5 years of relevant experience from Furniture buying

- Good knowledge of Furniture category.

- Good knowledge of Retail Industry and products

- Vendor management & Strong negotiation skill

- Planning and organizing skills

- Analytical skills

- Commercial business acumen

- Market research & Competition study

Job Description

An assistant buyer works closely with vendors, maintaining positive relationships while negotiating specs, pricing, and deadlines. They must be able to work independently and prioritize job duties, as well as prepare cost analyses and competitive retail strategies. They must communicate with merchandise departments, logistics, finance, operations, clubs, and vendors to provide information and problem solve.

Key responsibilities and Process:

- Range Planning with the Senior Buyer and updating the Range Plan File for each season,prior to leaving for the buying trip.

- Co-ordination with the Design Team for Development packs / Art works etc.

- Dispatch the Development packs to the respective Vendors & follow up the Costing sheets from them.

- Travelling on the seasonal buying Trips for order placement.

- Sending the PO's to the Vendors & following up the PI's

- Up loading the PO's into the System & sending the Barcode files to the respective Vendors.

- Overseeing the Product Approval process with the Merchandiser / QA Team

- Monitoring the orders with the Vendors on a Weekly basis & following up the shipments up to respective Territories.

- Vendor payments to be followed up.

- Prepare the final seasonal Range plan for the VM Team / Retail Team / Ware House Team.

- Updating the Buying Summary on daily Basis for Budget updates.

- Monitoring the Store Level Sales to ensure that the Store Sales are in line with the Targets, If not need to work with Retail Team to understand the reasons for the Gap and take necessary actions.

Requirements

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Education

Graduates / High School with Diploma

Language

English - Mandatory

Job Experience

4-6 years of experience

Technology

Basic MS office, Excel and Power point.

Others

- Good Negotiation Skills.

- Flair for Fashion

- Should have an eye for detail.

- Should be ready to travel extensively.

- A Hard worker with a right attitude.

About the Company

Founded in 1973 in Bahrain, the Landmark Group has successfully grown into one of the largest and most successful retail organizations in the Middle East. An international, diversified retail conglomerate that encourages entrepreneurship to consistently deliver exceptional value, the Group operates over 900 stores encompassing a retail presence of over 13 million sq. ft. across Middle East, India, Egypt, Turkey, Yemen and Pakistan (franchise operation). The Group employs around 31,000 employees.