Buyer, General Merchandise

London Drugs; Richmond; On-site; CAD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & vision coverage

Employee discount program

RRSP matching

Training & education courses

Counseling program

Community involvement

Job summary

London Drugs is seeking an experienced Buyer – General Merchandise in Richmond, BC. You will develop assortments, identify new products and vendors, and analyze market trends to drive sales and profitability.

You will collaborate with Planning, Pricing, Marketing, and Supply Chain to optimize margins and inventory levels, while maintaining excellent vendor relationships and delivering value to customers across our retail network.

Qualifications

• Experience in retail buying or merchandising
• Strong vendor negotiation skills
• Understanding of margin, inventory turns, GMROI
• Analytical skills with Excel proficiency
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced retail environment

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain product assortments for assigned categories, balancing customer needs with financial objectives
• Research and identify new products, brands, and vendors to enhance assortments
• Conduct market analysis and competitive shopping for pricing and merchandising opportunities
• Partner with Planning on assortment breadth and depth decisions
• Manage product lifecycle from introduction to end-of-life, including seasonal transitions
• Submit favorable terms and funding requests through vendor partnerships
• Collaborate with Planning, Pricing, and Supply Chain on forecasting and allocation

Skills

Retail buying

Vendor negotiation

Merchandising judgment

Excel proficiency

Multi-priority management

Communication

Education

Post-secondary education in Business/Marketing/Procurement

Tools

Excel

Job description

Who We Are

At London Drugs, we’re more than just a retail store— we’re a community‑driven, 100% Canadian‑owned company that believes in going above and beyond for our customers and our team. We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional service while fostering a supportive, growth‑oriented environment.

Buyer – General Merchandise

Location: Richmond, BC

Job Type: Full‑Time

We’re excited to hire an experienced Buyer – General Merchandise to join our Merchandising team and support continued growth across assigned categories. We place a strong focus on developing our team members and rewarding high performance, with meaningful opportunities for advancement for those looking to grow their merchandising careers.

Staying current on market trends and responding to evolving customer demand is essential in this role. Buyers translate customer insights and market trends into profitable, commercially viable assortments that drive sales, margin, and customer satisfaction across the retail network.

What You’ll Do

Product Selection & Assortment Planning

• Develop and maintain product assortments for assigned categories, balancing customer needs, market trends, and financial objectives
• Research and identify new products, brands, and vendors to enhance assortments and drive competitive differentiation
• Conduct market analysis and competitive shopping to identify pricing, assortment, and merchandising opportunities
• Partner with Planning on assortment breadth and depth decisions based on sales potential, inventory constraints, and space allocation
• Manage the product lifecycle from introduction through discontinuation, including seasonal transitions and end‑of‑life planning

Vendor Management & Negotiation

• Build and maintain strong partnerships with vendor partners to secure favorable terms, exclusive products, and promotional support
• Negotiate costs, payment terms, minimum order quantities, and promotional funding to optimize margin and inventory investment
• Evaluate vendor performance including fill rates, quality, lead times, and service levels, addressing performance issues as needed
• Attend trade shows, vendor meetings, and industry events to discover new opportunities and strengthen vendor relationships

Financial Management & Margin Optimization

• Partner with the Pricing team on everyday pricing, promotional pricing, and markdown strategies
• Manage Open‑to‑Buy in collaboration with Planning to balance inventory investment with sales opportunities
• Analyze category performance including sales, margin, inventory turns, and GMROI
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability through assortment optimization, pricing strategies, or cost initiatives

Promotional Planning & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Secure vendor promotional funding and cooperative advertising support
• Partner with Marketing on promotional messaging, imagery, and campaign execution
• Collaborate with Space Planning on category layouts, planograms, endcaps, and seasonal merchandising sets
• Work closely with Planning, Pricing, Supply Chain, and other partners to support forecasting, allocation, and vendor compliance
• Provide accurate product information to support item setup, reporting, and data integrity

What You Bring

• Retail buying or merchandising experience with strong product knowledge and merchandising judgment
• Proven vendor negotiation skills and ability to build productive, long‑term partnerships
• Solid understanding of retail financial metrics including margin, inventory turn, GMROI, and Open‑to‑Buy
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Excel
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced retail environment
• Strong communication, collaboration, and organizational skills
• Post‑secondary education in Business, Marketing, Procurement, or a related field (an asset)

Starting pay

Starting pay will fall within the salary range indicated and may vary based on job‑related experience, knowledge, and education. We offer the potential to earn significant bonuses based on your ability to meet sales, margin, inventory, and contribution goals as well as other performance metrics.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, prescription drug and vision coverage for you and your family (Ensuring you and your family are taken care of)
• Employee Discount Program (Sharing our success)
• Employee Recognition Program (Tangible rewards for great work!)
• Company matched RRSPs (Helping you plan for your future)
• Ongoing In‑House Training & Education Courses (Lifelong learning)
• Employee Family Assistance Program (Free confidential counseling)
• Community Involvement (Giving back to our communities)

Equal Opportunity Employer

London Drugs is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. We are committed to building a company that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

We will provide accommodations during the recruitment process upon request.

The above information outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not intended to cover all responsibilities or requirements.