Job Overview:
Buying is a scientific approach to building customer perception and satisfaction ensuring products and brand within the category drive profits. It seeks to leverage the relationships between brands and retailers, creating a collaborative approach to better meet the needs of the shopper. A Buyer must be a category expert who understand that the tripartite relationship between the category/brand, the seller and the shopper is the foundation for a sustainable competitive strategy.
The Buyer collaborates with the visual merchandiser in designing store planograms and category hierarchy, they target consumers, plan the merchandise, implement selling strategy and evaluate results. They are responsible for the end-to-end processes of driving the sales, profits and curating a winning merchandise portfolio, collaborate with external and internal hosts and stakeholders in the sourcing, buying process, forecasting trends and inventory demands, work closely with cross function, to deliver winning results."
Key Objectives
• Take full ownership of the buying department by driving a balanced business scorecard that delivers on critical performance indicators, including revenue growth, margin optimization, efficient inventory management, and strategic merchandise procurement, ensuring alignment with overarching business goals
• Develop and execute joint business plans with vendors, while measuring and analyzing internal and external performance metrics and KPIs.
• Provide strategic direction, leadership, and oversight to inspire and manage the various functions and agencies that support the brand’s growth and operations.
• Stay ahead of key market trends, including customer behavior, category dynamics, and competitive landscape, to inform strategic decision-making.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement a data-driven, customer-focused strategy for retail planograms, pricing, and selling plans across both retail and e-commerce channels.
• Execute tasks assigned by the direct manager with diligence and professionalism, ensuring alignment with the company’s interests and objectives.
Qualification:
Bachelor’s degree preferable in Business or equivalent qualification.
Experience
• Minimum 3 years of consumer electronics
• Possess clear understanding of:
i. consumer electronic business, consumer habits and industry developments.
ii. Budgeting, merchandise buying plans, demand planning, drive sales and profit, cost control.
iii. Consumer habits and industry developments.
iv. Category Development and positioning, building rapport with brand host and other functionaries, contribute to marketing and advertising plans
v. Direct, supervise and control various activities and functionality associated with the category/brand
Skills
1. Analytical Skills - Quantitative reasoning thru data driven approach, ability to measure, justify, and refine category/branding efforts based on data. This means knowing how to create a deep-dive category/brand review, dig into analytics, measure campaign performance, and continuously gather competitive intelligence. If there are changes in the market, you can adapt and implement new strategies while maintaining category/brand consistency.
2. Relationship management - Build and maintain rapport with Vendors, Suppliers and your Team
3. Result oriented, focused on setting and reaching goals
4. Effective Communicator - Keep everyone aligned behind the category/brand and ensure their agenda matches up to your category/brand strategies.
5. Setup and Monitor Balanced Business Business Scorecards
6. Critical thinker and problem-solving skills
Other Skills
• Microsoft Office Proficiency.
• Team worker, will need to work with colleagues and coordinate with multiple departments.
• Knowledge in tech related goods.
• Prioritization and Time management.
• Ability to work under pressure.
Responsibilities
• Identify customer preferences and forecast consumer trends.
• Evaluate supplier options according to prices, quality etc. and determine the best choices.
• Discover and purchase new products & brand and check the quality and popularity of those already on our shelves.
• Negotiate terms of agreements to achieve the best deal for our company.
• Ensure the timely delivery of products and compliance with the contracts of purchase.
• Monitor stock levels and make plans for buying within budget.
• Create reports on sales, and adjust company strategies accordingly.
• Maintaining the category of mobile & accessories / smart wearables / smart gadgets & car accessories & charging & cable.
• Develop Category Strategy to achieve Sales/Profitability Target, and maximize market share.
• Devise long-term development strategies for product categories
• Drive promotion strategy through direct team & support functions to ensure business objectives are met.
• Develop exit strategies for unsuccessful products.
• New Product Development & Sourcing for Own Brands.
• Follow & analyze market trends to ensure competitiveness in assortment and pricing.
• Determine the positioning of a product category to maximize visibility.