Description:

Role Overview

We are seeking a seasoned Head of Buying & Merchandising to lead the end-to-end product, category, and commercial strategy across Mens, Womens, and Kids for a fast-growing value fashion retail brand.

This is a CXO-level / leadership role with full ownership of category P&L, assortment strategy, pricing, inventory, margins, and sourcing, across offline and online channels. The role requires a sharp balance of fashion sensibility, commercial acumen, and data-driven decision-making, suited to a high-volume, value-led retail environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Buying & Category Strategy:

- Lead end-to-end buying and merchandising strategy across Mens, Womens, and Kids categories.

- Define category vision, range architecture, and seasonal assortments aligned with value positioning.

- Ensure strong right productright priceright quantity execution.

P&L, Pricing & Margin Ownership:

- Own category-level P&L, driving revenue growth, margin expansion, and inventory efficiency.

- Define pricing architecture, MRP strategy, and value ladders across categories.

- Manage markdowns, promotions, and liquidation strategies to optimize profitability.

Assortment Planning & Inventory Management:

- Drive assortment planning, depth planning, and option counts across formats and channels.

- Ensure optimal inventory turns, sell-through, and stock freshness.

- Work closely with planning teams to balance demand forecasting and supply planning.

Sourcing & Vendor Management:

- Lead domestic and international sourcing strategies.

- Build and manage long-term relationships with vendors, manufacturers, and sourcing partners.

- Drive cost negotiations, quality compliance, ethical sourcing, and lead-time optimization.

Trend, Consumer & Market Insights:

- Track fashion trends, consumer behavior, and competitive benchmarks in value fashion.

- Translate insights into commercially successful, scalable product ranges.

- Balance trend relevance with mass-market appeal and affordability.

Omnichannel Alignment:

- Ensure seamless alignment of buying and merchandising strategy across offline retail and e-commerce.

- Optimize assortments and pricing by channel, format, and geography.

- Partner with digital teams to drive online growth and category performance.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

- Lead, mentor, and build a high-performing buying, merchandising, and planning team.

- Work closely with CEO, Supply Chain, Design, Planning, Marketing, and Retail Operations.

- Present category performance, insights, and growth strategies to leadership and board-level stakeholders.

Key Performance Areas (KRAs):

- Category revenue growth and profitability

- Gross margin and inventory turns

- Sell-through and markdown efficiency

- Vendor performance and cost optimization

- Speed-to-market and trend responsiveness

- Offline and online category performance

Ideal Candidate Profile:

Must-Have:

- 15-20 years of experience in Buying & Merchandising within fashion retail

- Strong exposure to value / mass / discount fashion formats

- Proven track record of owning large category P&Ls

- Deep understanding of Mens, Womens, and Kids fashion categories

- Experience managing domestic and international sourcing

Good-to-Have:

- Experience in high-growth or PE-backed retail environments

- Exposure to private labels and scale-led fashion models

- Experience leading large, multi-layered teams

Skills & Competencies:

- Strong commercial and financial acumen

- Fashion-forward with mass-market sensibility

- Data-driven decision-maker with retail analytics expertise

- Strategic leader with hands-on execution ability

- Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills