Senior Buyer: Textiles

HomeChoice is a leading omni-channel retailer, delighting our customers with an innovative range of curated products on personalized terms. Our aim is to provide multiple, convenient and easy retail shopping channels to guarantee that we meet all our customer expectations.

We are looking for an experienced and driven Central Planning Manager to maximise Company sales and profit through the effective direction and management of all aspects of product development and procurement. To effectively lead, drive and manage a high-performance team to achieve maximum results.

Here’s what you can expect to be doing in the role:

- Research, design, source & procure product in line with our brand DNA that meets customers' quality and value expectations: We constantly innovate
- Understand customer needs and build solutions to help our customers create the home they love.
- Work closely with trend; design & product development teams to deliver on big ideas that align with our brand DNA and which customers will love: Collaboration is key
- Build a focused and effective supplier base, by sourcing new suppliers and maintaining beneficial relationships with suppliers.
- Manage and develop supplier relationships, negotiate good prices, improve trading terms and manage suppliers according to strict SLA’s
- Collaborate with planners to deliver products that are in line with category strategies, which are compliant and cost-effective.
- Ensure that the range is always balanced across key assortment factors
- Chase sales growth opportunities to ensure the success and profitability of the brand.
- Have a real ‘trader’ mentality in order to offer support in managing the forecasting of sales and inventories.
- Partner across categories to ensure delivery of cohesive ranges and execution of category strategies that are in line with range strategy, and financial objectives and which fall within milestone calendar timelines.
- Liaise with the quality and vendor team: monitor department returns, support the customer service team on product queries and resolving any customer complaints in order to improve our customer’s experience
- Cross-collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure product execution online & across all collateral (and within all channels) is world-class; offering our customer an exceptional journey
- Propose products for key promotions based on analyses and being aware of customer needs that align with overall company strategy

**A little about who you are**:

- Tertiary qualification: Degree/Diploma in relevant field i.e. Retail
- 3-5 years of retail experience (e-commerce is preferable but not a requirement)
- Competency in MS Office packages, particularly Excel

**Competencies**:

- Strong analytical ability, uses data to inform decisions and resolve problems
- Comfortable with learning and adapting to new systems
- Entrepreneurial and innovative mindset: Solutions-orientated and self-motivated and challenges the status quo
- Ability to build long-lasting supplier relationships that will benefit the company through effective negotiations
- High digital fluency: Understand key business drivers within online retail and know how to leverage those in order to drive sales
- Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken
- Organized; ability to prioritize & multi-task
- Customer-centric: understand the customer needs and can source and design products to fulfil these

**Our Values**
- Keep Innovating - we have the courage to contribute new ideas and turn those ideas into reality.
- Think like an entrepreneur - we treat the business like it's our own.
- Keep it real - we are mindful of the impact of our words and actions.
- Raise the bar - we strive to deliver excellence in everything that we do.