About Our Company

Lids Sports Group is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-oriented headwear and apparel across the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia. Operating out of Indianapolis, IN, our retail stores offer officially licensed headwear and apparel from collegiate and professional sports teams, plus top brands like Nike, New Era, Adidas, and Mitchell & Ness.

We currently operate 1,200 locations domestically and 50 internationally, including specialty concept stores for the NBA, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, and numerous MLB teams. In recent years, Lids has built partnerships with iconic global brands including Marvel, Playboy, and the Harlem Globetrotters, and gained ambassadors like Justin Jefferson, Quavo, and Josephine Skriver – creating a community for both sports fans and fashion lovers.

The company is currently expanding with the goal of becoming the largest licensed brick-and-mortar sports retailer across the globe.

General Position Summary

The Buyer is responsible for all aspects of Buying and Merchandising within the department such as analyzing sales, inventory levels, purchase orders, trends, profitability, competition, and work closely with the your supervisors to make decisions and determine the best direction for the distribution of product within certain categories or departments inside Lids U Retail to maximize the profitability of Lids Sports Group.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and manage the entire process and timeline for product development/selection through delivery, to include communication and coordination with vendors, price negotiation to achieve maximum margin, sample approvals, and coordination with sourcing to ensure on-time delivery of quality merchandise.
• Create seasonal assortments for the appropriate merchandise categories. Prepare and maintain assortment plans for all categories of responsibility.
• Work with merchandising and sourcing teams to ensure appropriate planning, allocation, and order placement of specific categories.
• Research the market regularly to understand the competitive landscape and brand opportunities by category.
• Prepare and make seasonal product presentations regularly to a variety of internal and external audiences.
• Compile and communicate product information to be used in direct-to-consumer marketing and operational vehicles.

Job Required Knowledge & Skills

• Bachelors degree in Merchandising or related field of study.
• 5 years of related experience.
• Strong communication skills to include presentations.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong ability to make sound decisions.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Must have strong knowledge of standard concepts, practices, and procedures of a merchandise buyer and product development.
• Must rely on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
• A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required to perform responsibilities.

Reports To

• Director of Buying

EEO Statement:

Hat World, Inc., Lids Holdings, Inc., dba Lids and subsidiaries is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to complying with all federal, state, and local EEO laws. Hat World, Inc., prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants for employment based on the individual's race or color, religion or creed, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, marital status, sex, pregnancy status, age, military status, disability, or any other protected characteristic or class protected by law. Hat World, Inc. provides reasonable accommodation for disabilities in accordance with applicable laws.

Notice to Applicants:

In connection with your application, we collect information that identifies, reasonably relates to or describes you (“Personal Information”). The categories of Personal Information that we collect include your name, government issued identification number(s), email address, mailing address, other contact information, emergency contact information, employment history, educational history, criminal record, and demographic information. We collect and use those categories of Personal Information about you for human resources and other business management purposes, including identifying and evaluating you as a candidate for potential or future employment or future contract positions, recordkeeping in relation to recruiting and hiring, conducting criminal background checks as permitted by law, conducting analytics, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements and Company policies.

Need accessibility assistance to apply?

Applicants who require accessibility assistance to submit an employment application, please email us at onboardingsupport@lids.com. A member of our Talent team will respond as soon as reasonably possible. This email address and is only for individuals seeking accommodation when applying for a career at Lids.