Buyer in City of London

Job description

We have partnered with a luxury womenswear brand looking for a commercial buyer to join the business.

Role purpose

The Womenswear Buyer leads the end-to-end seasonal buy for luxury womenswear categories, balancing creative vision with commercial performance. The role owns assortment strategy, Open-to-Buy (OTB) and margin delivery across regions and channels, ensuring the collection is curated, priced and phased to maximise full-price sell-through while protecting brand equity.

Key responsibilities

• Assortment & OTB: Build seasonal and in-season buy plans by region/channel; own OTB, intake margin (IMU) and stock targets; manage cash/stock flow and risk.
• Market & vendor management: Lead market appointments (Paris/Milan/NY/London); brief suppliers; negotiate terms, exclusives, delivery windows and MOQs; secure capsules and re-cuts.
• Pricing & lifecycle: Set pricing architecture with Merch/Finance; govern markdown, RTV and RTV alternatives; drive healthy weeks-of-cover, stock turn and end-of-season outcomes.
• Trading cadence: Run weekly trade, analyse style/SKU productivity, WOS, ROS and regional performance; action reorders, cancels, chases and swaps to plan.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Partner with Design/PD on range balance, fabric/yield and critical path; with Merch/Planning on phasing and clustering; with eCommerce/Retail/VM on launches and storytelling.
• Channel strategy: Tailor assortments for boutiques, wholesale and e-com; deliver door and cluster-level plans; align with key accounts on JBPs and exclusives.
• Customer & market insight: Monitor competitor movement, trend and client feedback; translate insights into future buys and in-season pivots.
• Quality & sustainability: Support product integrity, compliance and responsible sourcing standards; escalate quality issues and corrective actions with PD/QA.
• Data & systems: Maintain clean data in PLM/ERP; produce concise reporting packs for leadership; champion test-and-learn and ROI accountability.
• People: Coach and develop the assistant/BAA team; foster a high-performance, detail-driven culture.

Experience & capabilities

• Proven track record buying luxury/premium womenswear (e.g., RTW, knitwear, tailoring, dresses) with international market experience.
• Strong commercial acumen: OTB, margin management, pricing and lifecycle governance.
• Deep vendor and showroom relationships; confident negotiation and term setting.
• Analytical, highly organised and deadline-driven; comfortable with rapid in-season decision-making.
• Advanced Excel; working knowledge of PLM/ERP and reporting tools.
• Clear aesthetic judgment aligned to luxury standards and brand DNA.
• Team leadership experience with the ability to influence cross-functionally.
• Willingness to travel during market seasons and key launches.

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

City of London

Type of Contract

Part-time jobs

Published at

09-10-2025

Profession type

Retail

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English