Free People Senior Buyer - Intimates

Role Summary

Free People is searching for a Senior Buyer to create a compelling and timely Omni Channel product assortment that meets or exceeds the sales volume and profits for their department. They are expected to partner with their team to own and articulate a vision for this business and intuitively respond to customer feedback and market trends. In addition, this person must develop action plans that drive category specific growth and increase profitability. The Senior Buyer is responsible for the success of their business unit and is expected to use their trend and business intuition to direct the assortment of their category.

Role Responsibilities

• Managing a team to exceed sales and profit plan for retail, direct and wholesale business
• Demonstrating and building collaborative relationships between design, production, merchandising, planning, allocation and sales
• Partnering with the planning team to distort buys and ensure in-stock positioning for key items and classifications
• Filtering high level, topline selling takeaways to divisional and director with action plan
• Understanding the retail and wholesale calendar and ability to maximize efficiency of calendar for retail, direct and wholesale business
• Managing, coaching, and developing buying team
• Disciplining self and others to understand customer, competition, and ability to think creatively to seek business opportunities and drive the business
• Managing the financials of business: OTB, IMU, MD, Closeouts, Inventory and receipt plan
• Partnering with design and production to exceed customers’ expectations for brand quality
• Partnering with the allocation/planning and sales team to thoroughly understand our store and wholesale customers (department, specialty, international and ecommerce) and develop assortments to best fit their needs
• Analyzing assortment mix (private label, wholesale, and market) for retail, director and wholesale business

Skills:

• Strong management and leadership skills
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced environment
• Strong presentation, communication, and negotiation skills
• Strong financial and analytical skills
• Incredible interpersonal skills
• Keen awareness of emerging trends
• A demonstrated history of smart risk taking
• Able to prioritize tasks and balance the immediate and long term needs of the business
• Team player

Role Qualifications

• An understanding of the customer’s wants and needs and the ability to identify the appropriate product/trend that will appeal to the customer and exceed their expectations.
• The ability to conceptually plan assortments that meet financial objectives.
• The ability to prioritize tasks and the ability to balance the immediate and long term needs of the business.
• The ability to collect, assimilate, analyze, package and present information to the CEO, General Merchandise Manager and Divisional Merchandise Manager in a way that permits them to make an informed decision and take measurable action.
• The ability to recognize a new trend, item, look, fabrication/technique early in its lifecycle.
• Use creative thinking as an asset in recognizing and managing changing paradigms.
• An understanding of the Free People customer and the shopping experience and that it is the final category edit for the merchandising assortment.  The buyer has to possess the ability to identify, gather and assimilate information specific to our customer.
• The ability to make the transition from strategic (conceptual and planning) to execution.  Financial acumen and the ability to manipulate numbers are critical in achieving tactical objectives.
• Leadership skills to build and develop a solid team of individuals that share a common vision and understanding of the Company. 
• The ability to develop partnerships with other Buyers, Directors and Department heads.
• Four-year degree in Fashion or Business preferred
• 8 years of buying with a retailer
• Experience managing Assistant, Associate Buyers and/or Buyers.

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The Perks

URBN offers comprehensive Perks & Benefits to employees. Availability and eligibility to specific benefits may be subject to your location and employment status. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, PTO, generous employee discounts, retirement savings and much more! For additional information visit www.urbn.com/work-with-us/benefits 

EEO Statement

URBN celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression), religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. We believe strongly in fostering a safe, fair and respectful work environment. To ensure compliance with our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, we offer anti-harassment training to managers and employees.