What are the responsibilities and job description for the Assistant Buyer position at Portabella?
Assistant Buyer – Men’s Shoes
Location: New York, NY (On-Site)
Company: Portabella – NYC-Based Fast Fashion Retailer
Summary:
Portabella is a fast-growing, NYC-based fashion retailer with over 70 store locations and a strong presence in men’s footwear. We are seeking a detail-oriented and highly organized Assistant Buyer to support our Men’s Shoes department. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume retail environment, is passionate about product, and eager to grow their career in buying.
You’ll work closely with the Buyer, vendors, and planning teams to deliver trend-driven footwear that aligns with our customers' style and value expectations.
Responsibilities:
- Support the Buyer in product selection, order placement, and vendor communication.
- Analyze sales performance, identify trends, and suggest actions to drive sell-through.
- Maintain accurate purchase orders, pricing, and SKU information across systems.
- Monitor inventory levels and delivery timelines to ensure in-stock availability.
- Recommend reorders, transfers, and markdowns based on store-level performance.
- Participate in market appointments, vendor meetings, and trade shows.
- Coordinate with planning and merchandising teams to ensure cohesive assortments.
- Assist in creating seasonal line plans, style grids, and reporting decks.
- Conduct competitor and trend analysis to stay ahead of market shifts.
- Collaborate with logistics and warehouse teams to support on-time execution.
Qualifications:
- Minimum of 2 years of experience in retail buying, merchandising, or planning (footwear or fashion retail preferred).
- Ability to excel in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining strong attention to detail and accuracy.
- Strong understanding of men’s footwear trends and customer preferences.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and data analysis tools).
- Experience working with POS and inventory management systems (Oracle Retail experience is a plus).
- Excellent organizational skills and time-management abilities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Team-oriented with a proactive, solution-focused mindset.
- Passion for fashion, retail, and delivering high-performing product assortments.
Opportunities & Benefits:
- Eligible team members may be selected to travel domestically and internationally to attend industry trade shows and buying markets.
- Demonstrated performance may lead to promotion into a Head Buyer role within two years, based on merit and meeting departmental goals.
- Collaborative team culture with real opportunities for upward mobility.
- Exposure to executive leadership and cross-functional teams in a growing retail company.
