Chief Role - Buying & Merchandising - Fashion Apparel Business

Description: Lead the end-to-end buying and merchandising strategy for fashion and lifestyle portfolio. Drive product assortments, vendor partnerships, pricing strategies, and inventory productivity to maximize sales, margin, and customer relevance across all store formats.

Key Responsibilities:

- Define and execute merchandising and assortment strategies aligned with brand positioning, customer trends, and business goals.

- Lead seasonal category planning for mens, womens, kids apparel and general merchandise to optimize product mix and profitability.

- Drive vendor selection, negotiation, and contract management to secure best costs, quality, and on-time delivery.

- Set pricing, markdown, and promotional strategies to balance sell-through, margin, and inventory freshness.

- Collaborate with Design & Product Development on trend, fabric, and SKU rationalization to ensure differentiated offerings.

- Monitor inventory performance, stock cover, aging, and plan corrective actions using data insights.

- Build and mentor a high-performing merchandising team; define KPIs and performance benchmarks.

- Partner with Supply Chain, Planning, Operations, and Finance to align forecasts, allocations, and financial targets.

- Use data analytics and market insights to adjust assortments and react to demand signals in real time.]

Qualifications:

- 20+ years of experience in retail buying/merchandising, with 5+ years in a leadership role; value fashion or apparel retail preferred.

- Strong understanding of product lifecycle, sourcing, pricing, and inventory management.

- Demonstrated success in vendor negotiations and category growth.

- Proficiency with merchandising and planning tools (e.g., Excel, data analytics, PLM/POS systems)