Assistant Buyer - REEDS Jewelers

Every piece of jewelry tells a story and commemorates a life experience. At REEDS Jewelers, we inspire customers to tell their story with the perfect piece of merchandise for sale both online and in stores.

REEDS Jewelers proudly celebrated our 75th Anniversary in 2021. We’re family owned and operated with the highest standards of quality merchandise, superior customer service, and industry ethics.

We're thrilled to announce we are NOW HIRING an Assistant Buyer to join our Merchandise department. This opportunity is located in the beautiful coastal city of Wilmington, NC.

• Product sourcing
• Pricing metrics
• SKU maintenance
• Vendor communication
• Forecasting order quantities
• Store Distribution to maximize sales
• Responsibly plan financial goals
• Competitive analysis

An Assistant Buyer at REEDS Jewelers is a buyer in training and may eventually be responsible for a product category with limited sales volume.

Additional Details of Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop innovative and on trend competitively priced merchandise programs. Gather and analyze marketing research and trend reports from fashion publications, trade magazines, internet research and social networks. Shop local markets to review assortments, trends, pricing, marketing and digital applications at the competition and within our own Reeds stores. Use research and analytics to identify white space for assortment testing and assortment building supporting sales growth and productivity.
• Work with buyer(s) to understand the responsibilities of merchandising as it relates to the assistant buyer role. Jointly accountable for category sales, inventory levels and gross margin goals. Management of the specific merchandise categories include PLU maintenance, data entry, ticketing, purchase order placement and follow up. Partner with buyer(s) and analyst(s) to establish program parameters, product attributes, assortment sizes, sales forecasts and turn goals. Exercise fiscal responsibility while effectively managing the OTB. Review business reports with the buyer(s) on a regular basis to understand sales and productivity shifts, the impact on established financial targets and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Establish retail pricing to maximize gross margins while still conveying value to the consumer. Understand product cost components to support development of a value driven quality assortment. Partner with buyer(s) to determine product quality, cost and delivery dates. Continuously monitor the quality of merchandise to ensure merchandise exceeds customer expectations.
• Develop and maintain vendor relationships to include follow through of negotiations, merchandise selections, delivery, costs and payment terms. Monitor and follow up on organizing, managing and returning vendor samples. Monitor and follow-up on setting up and maintaining vendor files and product cost sheets. Participate at buyer’s discretion in vendor meetings.
• Effectively develop and communicate assortment strategies and vision across the organization. Provide merchandise selections for catalog, signage, digital, social media and other consumer facing vehicles. Assist in coordinating all product needs with e-commerce, marketing and operations.
• Exemplify the REEDS’ Mission and Core Business Values. Perform additional duties and projects as assigned. Conduct business affairs in a legal and ethical manner, building a socially conscious environment.

High School Diploma

Four Year College Degree or minimum 2-3 years of equivalent work experience

Computer proficient; Microsoft Office Suite

GIA AJP certification or completed within 6 months of being in the position

Strong negotiation, written and verbal communication skills

Strong mathematical and analytical skills

Agile and flexible in a fast paced ever changing work environment

Job performed in a basic office environment

Flexible Schedule and possible travel

Physical demands include repetitive movement, light lifting less than 25 lbs

Perform tasks in a sitting down position for extended periods of time

Vision and hearing necessary to perform required tasks

Benefits

REEDS Jewelers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value the diversity of our team, and employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. REEDS provides a smoke and drug-free environment.