Head Buyer & Merchandiser

Head Buyer & Merchandiser

fashion, data, and growth

Key Responsibilities

Trend & Product Strategy

• Collaborate with the founder to define the seasonal and long-term product roadmap in line with brand vision and market trends.
• Track and translate emerging fashion trends into winning, brand-right collections.
• Identify whitespace opportunities and build product capsules around key trend directions.
• Collaborate with design to ensure the product offerings are high-margin, trend-relevant collections with efficient and within target costing, and delivery timelines that ensure profitability and agility.
• Oversee vendor coordination and product launch readiness.

Merchandising, Planning & Analytics

• Own range planning, assortment optimization, and lifecycle management across all SKUs.
• Use data-driven insights to drive reorders, replenishments, and rationalization and exit of underperforming SKUs.
• Conduct monthly and quarterly business reviews to evaluate sell-through, margin, and stock health.
• Develop pricing and margin strategy along with founder.
• Lead the Open-to-Buy (OTB) process to balance inventory investment with revenue targets.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Align product flows with sales plans and campaign calendars.
• Partner with creative teams to inform campaigns and drops based on product data and trends.
• Support marketplace and consignment partners with product planning and inventory allocation.
• Ensure timely catalogue planning, markdowns, and in-season reactivity for all channels.

Performance Management

• Track category performance and recommend actions — repeats, reorders, markdowns, or exits.
• Monitor competitor offerings and pricing to stay ahead of the market.
• Analyse KPIs such as sales, margin, sell-through, and inventory turnover to drive growth and efficiency.
• Support implementation of new systems, planning tools, and process improvements.

Skills & Experience

• 6+ years of experience in

  fashion buying, merchandising, or category leadership

  (accessories, jewelry, lifestyle, or apparel preferred).
• Proven track record of building commercially successful, trend-led product assortments.
• Strong analytical and inventory-planning skills — adept with Excel, analytics dashboards, and forecasting tools.
• Excellent vendor negotiation and sourcing network.
• Demonstrated success in leading design, buying, or merchandising teams.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, high-growth, digital-first retail environment.
• Bonus: Familiarity with AI-driven product planning or demand forecasting tools.

Preferred Background

• Accessories/Apparel Buying & Merchandising experience.
• Undergraduate degree and/or Masters degree in Fashion Merchandising / Retail Management.