Category Buyer

Alabbar Enterprises & ANOTHER; Dubai; On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UAE-based retail group seeks an experienced Product Category Manager to oversee product sourcing and inventory management. You will ensure alignment with market trends and budget targets while leading effective supplier negotiations and inventory strategies to maximize profitability and service quality.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of proven experience in a similar role.
• Retail or FMCG background valued.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for sourcing and planning product range for retail outlets.
• Monitor and improve lead time of orders and manage inventory levels.

Skills

Attention to detail

Negotiation

Inventory Management

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

Alabbar Enterprises & ANOTHER is a UAE-based retail group that represents established brands like Candylicious, Ethan Allen, Yogurtland and Garrett Popcorn. It is also the parent company of multiple F&B concepts like Social House, Karak House, Angelina, Gia, Markette, Two Bistro, Caya, Parka, Krema, Carpo, Ganache Chocolatier, The Good Hood Kitchen, Klay by Karak and Kuku under its umbrella.

An entity with lifestyle and retail endeavours and a passion for distinction - moments growth.

Guided by our values and positivity, we bring prevailing international & homegrown brands, delivering the highest levels of retail excellence and experiences to our guests.

The backbone of our vision is to pursue opportunities to grow and expand our presence locally and internationally while adhering to our core values and bringing synonymous moments and experiences to life.

Job Summary:

Responsible for sourcing, planning and selecting range of products for the retail outlets while keeping customer demand (price, quality and availability), market trends and buying budget in consideration when making purchasing decisions. To manage the category with the right product mix, competitiveness and maximum profitability.

Job Responsibilities:

Work on increasing product line up to increase sales revenue and profit margins.

Ensure achievement of category bottom line, meet budgeted top line numbers as well as driving maximum growth in like to like stores.

Review weekly and monthly sales reports to analyze the market trend & preparing the forecast based on analysis, keeping in mind the seasons & promotions to achieve maximum sales.

Benchmarking: Prepare competitor report every month and ensure all our prices are in line with the competition.

Monitor Merchandising in-store for the category assigned thru optimum shelf space -hence achieving sales per sq. feet.

Visiting stores on weekly basis to know more about the customer preference & share the details with management in order to prepare future plans.

Follow industry trend and attend trade fairs to get the latest trend and ensure to follow it.

Responsible for planning and product selection as per the Category assigned.

Sourcing products from various suppliers as per category and country assigned with right product mix/assortment and range rationalization.

Ensure that all products sourced at a very competitive price and retail prices are in line with competitors and market potential.

Quality Assurance: ensure the vendors are following the standard or work with them for necessary corrective measures.

Prepare New Product Brief and arrange Training Session for the stores.

Develop one or more sources of every possible product to avoid non availability of stock situation.

Prepare forecast based on order cycle planner, season, marketing activity & previous sales trend.

Monitoring top seller SKUs availability and maintaining optimum net week cover.

Ensure that the buying is in line with monthly budget set by the management.

Keep track of all the order placed with vendor and ensure to get 100% supply in order to achieve the target.

Responsible for the complete buying process with adherence to internal procedures, i.e. the Buying Tracker guidelines.

Negotiating with vendors on Trading Contract and ensure the best margins, rebate and payment term.

Liaise with Logistic department to ensure shipments are arranged according to the requirements with the most competitive rates.

Monitor and improve lead time of order from the time order is placed until it arrives in the stores.

Monitor closely near expiry items and plan actions to deplete stocks.

Prepare a clearance plan every quarterly for slow moving products/near expiry items & obtain managements approval.

Coordinate with marketing team & make sure to have sufficient stock of promotional items.

Inventory Management: Measure supplier performance and manage the areas of underperformance.

Ensure no instances of stock out or excess stock at store/DC level.

Planning inventory per store to ensure adequate inventory holding.

Monitoring Entry & Exit of items and ensuring 100% implementation at floor level.

Planning assortment for new store opening for the category assigned.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor`s Degree Graduate
• 3-5 years of proven experience in a similar role
• Retail, FMCG background
• Extreme attention to detail required to ensure accuracy of orders and deliveries
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Software

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