Buyer-Cushions and Throws in Leicester

The Commercial team are responsible for sourcing, developing and selling products that represent fantastic value for money, offer great quality, are innovative and sustainable.   The commercial team are also responsible for trading ranges to optimise sales and profit and for developing strong relationships with our suppliers.

You will be joining a talented team of Buyers, Merchandisers and Designers. 

The Commercial Team environment is fast-paced and energetic.  We are positive, ambitious, forward-looking and data driven.  We have to take calculated risks, to keep growing market share. 

The goal of Commercial is to drive sales and profit for Dunelm through sourcing the best quality products, at the best prices, from sustainable and ethical sources.  The Commercial Team encompasses Buying, Merchandising, Sourcing, Technical and Design. 

You will be a key member of the Commercial Team, accountable for executing the trading and sourcing strategy for your product department. 

What this role requires of you:

• Creating, presenting and delivering departmental strategy, using key insight and data to improve performance and customer experience.  This involves sales and profit analysis, working with the Merch team to understand historical performance, gap analysis and competitive pricing analysis. This also involves working cross functionally to identify key opportunities for new product innovation, quality changes, sustainability initiatives and visual merchandising initiatives.
• Day to day management and review of the sales and profit budget, proposing trading actions to improve performance. 
• Confidently negotiating with new and existing suppliers on all costs, T’s and C’s, exit plans, rebates, promotional support and MOQs to improve sales and profit.

  End to end range building for my department, including web exclusive products that complement our in-store range.  This

• Creating, presenting and delivering departmental strategy, using key insight and data to improve performance and customer experience.  This involves sales and profit analysis, working with the Merch team to understand historical performance, gap analysis and competitive pricing analysis. This also involves working cross functionally to identify key opportunities for new product innovation, quality changes, sustainability initiatives and visual merchandising initiatives.
• Day to day management and review of the sales and profit budget, proposing trading actions to improve performance. 
• Confidently negotiating with new and existing suppliers on all costs, T’s and C’s, exit plans, rebates, promotional support and MOQs to improve sales and profit.
• End to end range building for my department, including web exclusive products that complement our in-store range.  This involves research into new products and trends, developing new products, planning the range architecture, price architecture and exit plans/churn planning.
• Building successful long-term relationships with supply base.  This involves overseas trips to visit overseas suppliers. This also involves an in-depth understanding of the supply chain and production processes, and cross-quoting and re-tendering, to ensure Dunelm get the best deal.
• Managing promotions including buying special purchases, agreeing promotional deals and rebates with suppliers and profitably exiting promotions.  Optimising sales and profit return from promotional space, across total business. This also involves buying seasonal promotional ranges for Seasonal Campaigns.
• Working closely with Merchandising to agree rates of sale (ROS), optimising our space by ensuring products are graded correctly, exit planning for End of season and promotional buys, monitoring sales and sell through and ensure that new ranges are delivered on time, following critical path. Working with the Merchandising team I also support the delivery of stock or substitute stock, to ensure we meet customer availability targets.
• Critical path planning for my department for all new range launches, marketing and promotional activity.  I am responsible for ensuring products are photographed and packaging is developed in a timely and accurate manner, with strong attention to detail.
• Working with the Web team and ME Team (Visual Merchandising) to ensure that planograms for new launches showcase our products and optimise our in-store space, and that web presentation of our products is accurate, customer friendly and drives views and conversion. 
• You will lead a team which can include junior buyers along with Buyers Assistant.  I am accountable for all the product data for my department including: Accurate line set up, accurate costings, ensuring packaging and pricing is 100% correct and ensuring all product photography is accurate.
• Following red and gold seal sampling processes, and supporting the Quality team with factory audits, to ensure that products are the correct specification. Where quality issues are identified, working with the Quality team to resolve issues to improve customer experience, and to minimise the cost to Dunelm. Working with the Quality team to improve our supply base, making it more ethical and sustainable and ensuring that Dunelm quality standards are met.
• Drive category KPI’s – sales, margin, availability, stock, mark down, contribution, market share and returns rates

Essential skills:

You will play a critical role in growing sales and profit and shaping our product offer.  We are looking for a Buyer who has:  

• A Buyer with established experience working in Buying.  
• A real passion for homewares and the energy to constantly innovate and drive forward the product offer. 
• Strong attention to detail. 
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to lead others internally and externally.
• A “get things done” mindset, knowing how communicate the direction whilst delivering value quickly 
• Strong stakeholder communication skills, especially to senior and members of Dunelm and our suppliers - demonstrating a "stronger together" approach. 
• Track record for successfully negotiating in complex negotiations.
• Strong organisation skills, with clear ability to be able to prioritise workload

Curiosity.  Willing to listen and learn.  Will ask for help when it’s needed.  

Behaviours:

The following behaviours are some examples of how these values materialise for Buyers at Dunelm:

• Customer First: Always start with the customer, working backwards to create the best products and customer experience.  Encouraging the team to adapt an ever more customer first approach.  
• Communicating: Making time to actively connect, with and without an agenda, creating pathways for easy communication and sharing of information. 
• Be Curious, internally and externally, continuously engaging with our suppliers, sourcing team and sourcing agents, Quality, Merchandising, Design, Sustainability and other departments to gain knowledge and understanding.  
• Being Resourceful: Using data and latest research to acquire a deeper understanding of our customers and their experiences and using this data to inform forward thinking and planning.
• Making Decisions: Making timely and proactive decisions based on intuition, information, understanding risks and implications, knowing when we know enough.    
• Innovating: Being an ambassador for new ideas, coming up with new initiatives and ways of doing things, to improve customer experience.
• Self-Awareness: Showing a sustained effort to stretch yourself and the colleagues you work with.  Providing clear, simple and succinct messages that engage others.

We recruit people from all types of backgrounds, who share our entrepreneurial, hands-on approach to work. We are committed to creating a fully inclusive environment that is representative of our customers and locations. We recognise the value and importance in inclusion and diversity and welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of sex, age, race, religion, disability, neuro-diversity.