Director of Buying – Footwear

Director of Buying – Footwear

Requirements

• BFA or BA in Fashion Merchandising, Business, or related field preferred
• Must have 15+ years of Apparel Buying/Merchandising experience, with 5 years min of Buying Management experience, ideally within women’s footwear
• Experience with product development preferred
• Must be able to adapt to constant change and multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Must be results oriented and have excellent organizational skills
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Must possess a keen eye for design, trends and color
• English, additional language(s) an advantage

Responsibilities

• Drive Assortment Strategy: Develop and execute buying strategies to curate trend-driven product assortments that align with customer preferences and seasonal trends, while achieving optimal SKU count and balancing newness vs. replenishment inventory
• Trend Forecasting: Stay ahead of fashion trends by conducting market research, keeping a pulse on runway trends, and analyzing social media and competitors to ensure a competitive and forward-thinking product mix. Utilize research to work with in-house production team and suppliers to drive on-trend newness
• Cost Negotiation & Margin Optimization: Lead pricing negotiations with suppliers to secure the best cost structures while maintaining product quality, ensuring profitability, and maximizing margins in a highly competitive market
• Financial Management: Manage weekly sales performance, open-to-buy budgets, pricing, margin targets, and inventory levels, ensuring alignment with sales goals and profit margins, while optimizing the balance of newness and replenishing and minimizing markdowns
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with production, replenishment, planning, and creative teams to ensure timely deliveries, fast replenishment of high-demand styles, successful promotions to maximize sales opportunities, and cohesive product launches
• Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize sales performance data, customer reviews, and market insights to continuously optimize product assortments and increase profitability
• Lead weekly open-to-buy meetings with planning and buying teams to ensure the department achieves financial targets for turn and sell-through
• Train, develop, and mentor the buying team to ensure that financial and product goals are met
• Develop and maintain a profitable and productive partnership with vendors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with product development preferred
• English, additional language(s) an advantage