Associate Buyer - Private Brand Millennial
Overview
The Associate Buyer will be known as a trusted, collaborative and results-oriented leader, business partner and change agent who can lead through influence and who possesses professional maturity and industry credibility. The ideal candidate needs to be comfortable and effective leading through significant complexity. Candidates must be comfortable with quickly evaluating and sun-setting legacy approaches that no longer align to the strategy. The ideal candidate will be known for both vision and an equally strong orientation for speed.
The successful candidate will:
- Make “company first” decisions
- Actively influence market to drive business
- Develop self by participating in ongoing professional development and training
- Seek out innovative solutions to existing customer and/or Company challenges
- Communicate with candor and value open debate to ensure the best ideas come to life
Essential Functions
- Make all purchasing decisions independently of Buying Director that satisfies the customer demand and achieves sales, turn and margin plan.
- Understands competitive marketplace and pursues white space opportunities that align with Polaris strategy
- Competitive shop and determine the action necessary to address competitive challenges. Identify any product opportunities and provide suggestions and input in product development to vendors.
- Support Buying Director to drive in-season business effectively by influencing promotional strategies based on current business needs.
- Regular, dependable attendance and punctuality.
- Attend Market appointments prepared with strategic assortment plans and an understanding of product to support customer preferences.
- Set the vision and determine call to action for assortment-building opportunities in partnership with Planning, Fashion Office, and Digital teams.
- Collaborate with planning partner to develop and execute assortment strategy.
- Develop pre-season assortment vision that ties to company key priorities and insights from Digital and Planning Director counterparts.
- Partner with Financial Planning to ensure department-level financial targets support assortment strategy.
- Decide on in-season changes for the department and vendors based on sales, margin, and turn forecast from Financial Planning.
- Support the Financial Planning and Buying Director in building seasonal strategy components based on targets.
- Provide Buying Director with category, class, and item performance analysis to assist in determining in-season item-level changes to make.
- Maintain an industry presence that allows for connections, new business opportunities, and ideas at Macy’s. Represent and support the Macy’s brand while maintaining this presence.
- First point of contact with Vendor Community, Marketing, Visual, Stores, and Pricing.
- Communicate with vendors to ensure timely collection of MDAs/markdowns/RTVs and partner with Financial Planning to ensure alignment with in-season VMT input.
- Partner with the Pricing team on Pricing strategy and in-season adjustments
Education / Experience
- Bachelor's Degree from a 4-year college or university
- 3+ years of direct experience
Communication Skills
- Able to develop, plan, present, and execute strategies.
- Ability to influence partners
- Practices open and continuous communication, values keeping others informed, effectively presenting information in a clear, concise manner.
- Excellent leadership, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across functional lines and at many levels.
- Ability to think creatively, strategically, and technically
Other Skills
- Knowledge of MS Office computer programs are required
Work Hours
- Ability to work a flexible schedule based on department and Company needs.