Buyer

Kurt Geiger; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free 24 hour virtual GP access

Enhanced pension scheme including life

Half Day, Pay Day Friday (monthly)

Job summary

Kurt Geiger is seeking a Junior Buyer to manage and drive trend-led newness into our retail offer. Based in London, you will develop customer and market-focused collections, work closely with designers, and manage supplier relationships to ensure competitive product and healthy margins.

Join a dynamic team at our London HQ, with opportunities to visit fashion fairs, network with vendors, and influence the buying strategy for our iconic footwear brand.

Qualifications

• Experience at a footwear High Street retailer.
• Proven success delivering commercial collections achieving budgeted margins.
• Possess the ability to drive the brand forward.

Responsibilities

• Develop customer and market-focused own brand product collections aligned with brand strategy.
• Review competition to ensure market-aligned product proposition.
• Attend footwear fairs and fashion shows to keep collections competitive.
• Manage supplier relationships and onboard new vendors.
• Collaborate with Designers to brief, spec, fit and develop products for market.
• Deliver gross profit targets and ensure collections meet margin goals.
• Monitor sell-through and adjust delivery schedules to meet business needs.
• Coordinate with Merchandisers on performance, margins, stock levels and delivery status.
• Work with Marketing to promote ranges to target consumers.

Skills

Footwear retail experience

Junior Buyer level

Trend forecasting

Job description

We are an inclusive, creative footwear and accessories brand powered by kindness. We want to empower our talent to be confident and true to themselves, the London way. London is our home, our heartbeat, and we draw inspiration from the energy and spirit of the city; its diversity and creativity. For over fifty years our team of in-house shoe and accessory designers have been creating authentic, distinctive designs from our London headquarters. The rainbow is our signature. It represents the good energy and love we have for our community and the many ways we collectively express our individual style.

Exciting opportunity to join our existing KGL shoe team to manage and drive trend lead newness into the retail offer of the collection.

Responsibilities

Product Development & Range Building:

• To develop customer and market-focused own brand product collections, keeping a keen eye on the market, competition, current and forthcoming fashion trends. The product collections should be in-line with Company strategy for the brand.
• To constantly review competition to ensure our product proposition is in line with the market across all key areas: fashion trend, price, quality and availability.
• To visit the relevant shoe fairs e.g. Micam & Garda and fashion shows to ensure the most competitive and appropriate product collections are developed.
• To actively review and manage supplier relationships and source new vendors that will add value to your specific portfolio and to de-list those vendors that no longer meet the business needs.
• To continually investigate and propose new product opportunities within the relevant branded market to ensure sales are optimised and brand portfolio is continuously reviewed.
• Work closely with the designer to brief, spec, fit and develop the product. With a good understanding of footwear technically to help drive product to market quickly.

Product Performance:

• To deliver the Company target of Gross Profit by ensuring collections are in line with Company margin targets.
• To deliver the intake margin target set seasonally.
• To ensure that Company sales targets are achieved by buying product that is appropriate to the brands’ customer profile and current trading conditions.
• To monitor and manage product sell through rates to meet the Company target.
• To manage a comprehensive and accurate delivery schedule, that meets and supports the needs of the business and where appropriate deal with any late deliveries either by cancellation or achieving suitable discounts.
• To hold meetings with the Merchandiser to review performance of the department and to discuss and agree an action plan regarding sales, margins, stock levels and delivery status.

Communication:

• To sustain and develop a close and open working relationship with the wider business teams that will ensure in-season trading decisions happen promptly and efficiently.
• To work alongside the Company Marketing function to ensure product ranges are effectively promoted to your target consumer. Product ranges and new developments should be communicated to the Marketing function on a regular and timely basis.

Requirements

• Experience at a footwear High Street retailer
• Proven success delivering commercial collections achieving budgeted margins
• Possess the ability to drive the brand forward
• Must have experience at Junior Buyer level as a minimum
• Free 24 hour virtual GP access
• Half Day, Pay Day Friday (once per month)
• Active social committee who arrange a variety of activities such as office drinks, quizzes, free lunches, movie nights etc
• Enhanced pension scheme including life assurance

Our Culture

We’re an energic fast-paced brand that embraces progress and strives for innovation. Hard work is rewarded with new opportunities at every level and kindness is celebrated in everything we do. Our summer working hours accommodate a healthy work life balance. Wellbeing is important to our working culture, which is why we nurture a friendly environment for talent to thrive in, alongside a vibrant social community.

The first Kurt Geiger store opened on London Bond street in 1963. Today, our brand has global appeal and is distributed in hundreds of cities around the world. We operate over 70 stand-alone stores nationwide, including our new flagship store on London Oxford street, and in over 400 stores globally. Beyond stand-alone stores and retail pop ups, our retail partners include some of the world’s most famous department stores.

We Are One: For Love | For Diversity | For Change | For Equality | For Kindness | For Freedom | For Unity Against Racism