Buyer - Toys/Stationery & Confectionery

Job Title : Buyer - Toys, Stationery & Confectionery

Location : Gurugram

Experience : 5+ Years

Role & Responsibilities :

The Buyer - Toys, Stationery & Confectionery will be responsible for driving category growth by developing effective buying strategies, managing vendor relationships, optimizing product assortments, and ensuring inventory availability.

The role requires strong commercial acumen, market awareness, and the ability to negotiate favorable supplier agreements while maximizing category profitability.

Technical Skills & Expertise :

- Category Buying & Merchandising

- Category Buying

- Category Management

- Merchandise Planning

- Product Assortment Planning

- Range Planning

- Product Lifecycle Management

- Retail Merchandising

- Seasonal Buying

- Vendor & Supplier Management

- Vendor Management

- Strategic Sourcing

- Supplier Relationship Management

- Vendor Evaluation

- Supplier Performance Management

- Contract Management

- Commercial Negotiation

- Procurement Planning

- Inventory & Supply Chain

- Inventory Management

- Inventory Optimization

- Demand Forecasting

- Stock Replenishment

- Supply Planning

- Purchase Planning

- Warehouse Coordination

- Supply Chain Management

- Commercial & Financial Management

- Pricing Strategy

- Margin Management

- Cost Optimization

- Budget Planning

- Profitability Analysis

- P&L Understanding

- Commercial Analytics

- Market & Consumer Insights

- Market Research

- Consumer Trends Analysis

- Competitor Analysis

- Product Benchmarking

- Category Performance Analysis

- New Product Identification

- Tools & Analytics

- Microsoft Excel (Advanced)

- ERP Systems (SAP/Oracle/Dynamics or equivalent)

- Power BI (Preferred)

- Retail Analytics

- Reporting & Dashboards

Preferred Candidate Profile :

Category Buying & Assortment Planning :

- Develop and execute category buying strategies for Toys, Stationery, and Confectionery.

- Plan product assortments aligned with customer preferences, seasonal demand, and business objectives.

- Identify new products, brands, and market trends to strengthen category performance.

- Drive innovation through product selection and assortment optimization.

Vendor & Supplier Management :

- Build and maintain strong relationships with domestic and international suppliers.

- Conduct vendor evaluation, onboarding, and performance reviews.

- Negotiate pricing, commercial terms, payment conditions, and promotional support.

- Ensure timely procurement while maintaining quality and cost efficiency.

Inventory & Demand Planning :

- Monitor inventory levels and optimize stock availability across stores.

- Collaborate with supply chain and warehouse teams to ensure timely replenishment.

- Analyze demand forecasts and sales trends to minimize stock-outs and excess inventory.

- Improve inventory turnover while maintaining product availability.

Commercial & Business Performance :

- Drive category sales, profitability, and margin improvement.

- Monitor category KPIs, pricing strategies, and competitive positioning.

- Analyze sales performance and recommend corrective actions to improve business outcomes.

- Prepare business reports and present category performance insights to leadership.

Cross-functional Collaboration :

- Work closely with merchandising, marketing, finance, operations, and supply chain teams.

- Support promotional campaigns, product launches, and seasonal planning.

- Ensure alignment between procurement, inventory, and sales objectives.

- Build strong stakeholder relationships across internal and external teams.

Mandatory Skills :

- 5+ years of experience in Category Buying, Procurement, or Merchandising.

- Experience in Toys, Stationery, Confectionery, Retail, FMCG, Consumer Products, or Modern Trade.

- Strong expertise in category buying, vendor management, and strategic sourcing.

- Proven experience in commercial negotiations and supplier relationship management.

- Strong knowledge of assortment planning, inventory optimization, and demand forecasting.

- Excellent analytical, commercial, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.

- Proven track record of driving category growth, sales, and profitability.

Nice to Have :

- Experience working with large-format retail, supermarkets, hypermarkets, or omnichannel retail businesses.

- Knowledge of SAP, Oracle, or other retail ERP systems.

- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Power BI.

- MBA in Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Management, or Business Management.

- Experience managing private label products or international sourcing initiatives