Buyer - Home Range

Dobbies; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave (pro-rata)

Employee discount across stores

Hybrid working

Pension plan

Season ticket loans

Financial wellbeing tools (Stream)

Retail Trust access

Dobbies Academy and study assistance

Tea, coffee and milk provided

Job summary

Dobbies is looking for a Junior Buyer to support sourcing and development of commercial ranges. You will work with our Buying and Merchandising team to source unique products, build strong supplier relationships, and manage the critical path for timely launches across store and online channels.

You’ll gain hands-on experience in product sourcing, range development, and supplier management within a fast-paced multichannel retail environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in a retail buying, buying admin, merchandising or product role (Buying Assistant or similar), or a strong commercial background and the drive to move into buying.
• Commercial mindset with ability to analyse sales, margin and KPIs.

Responsibilities

• Assist in building commercial ranges and sourcing unique products.
• Develop supplier relationships and manage supplier terms.
• Own and manage the critical path for product launches with stakeholders.
• Support multichannel product representation in-store and online.
• Attend trade shows and visit suppliers to grow the range.

Skills

Retail buying experience

Buying admin

Merchandising

Product sourcing

Tools

Excel

Job description

Passionate about product and ready to make your mark? At Dobbies, we give customers a reason to visit, again and again. That reason is our product: inspiring, seasonal and often only found with us. We’re looking for a Junior Buyer with a positive, can-do attitude to help us source, develop and launch the commercial ranges and unique products that set us apart.

You’ll work alongside our Buyers and Senior Buyers in a successful, high-performing buying and merchandising team. You’ll get hands-on experience of product sourcing, range development and supplier management, all within a fast-paced multichannel retail business. If you’re excited by the idea of seeing products you helped choose on shelves and online, and you’re not afraid to question how things are done, we’d love to hear from you.

What you’ll be doing as Junior Buyer Sourcing and developing ranges.

• Help build commercial ranges and find exciting, unique products that customers can’t get anywhere else.
• Building supplier relationships.
• Develop strong partnerships with suppliers to secure the best range, price, quality and commercial terms for Dobbies.
• Owning the critical path.
• Build and manage the critical path with key stakeholders so every product launches in line with our seasonal launch dates.
• Driving sales and margin.
• Hit and beat company KPIs on sales and margin in your product area.
• Spotting trends early.
• Review consumer buying patterns and customer insight to understand where future trends are heading.
• Getting out there.
• Attend trade shows and trade fairs and visit suppliers, helping select new collections and grow a supply base that gives us a competitive edge.
• Challenging the numbers.
• Regularly review performance indicators such as sales and discount levels, and propose actions to improve them.
• Reporting and forecasting.
• Write clear reports and forecast sales levels to support confident buying decisions.
• Learning the supply chain.
• Build your understanding of supply chain and work with the team to protect stock availability.
• Thinking multichannel.
• Make sure product is available and well represented across every selling channel, in store and online.

Who we’re looking for

We care as much about attitude as experience. You’ll be:

• Positive and can-do. You see a challenge and get stuck in.
• Driven, with real fire in the belly. You’re hungry to learn, grow and make your mark in retail buying.
• Willing to challenge and improve. You ask “why?” and “what if?”, and you bring ideas that make our ranges and processes better.
• A team player who loves winning. You’re excited to be part of a successful, high-performing team and to play your part in its results.

You’ll also bring

• Experience in a retail buying, buying admin, merchandising or product role (Buying Assistant or similar), or a strong commercial background and the drive to move into buying
• A commercial head for numbers, with confidence using Excel to analyse sales, margin and KPIs
• Great communication and relationship-building skills, with suppliers and with colleagues
• Strong organisation, with the ability to juggle deadlines across a critical path
• A genuine interest in product, trends and what makes customers buy
• Experience in garden centre, homeware, gifting or seasonal retail is a bonus, but not essential

Who you’ll work with

This role sits at the heart of the business. You’ll work closely with suppliers, our stores and online teams, the wider buying and merchandising team, our customer team, IT, and colleagues across Dobbies.

How we’ll measure success

Our ranges and products meet, and exceed, customer expectations

Suppliers are well managed, with excellent relationships on both sides

Exciting future products are sourced and bought

Margin and turnover meet and beat budget

What we offer

• Holiday - enjoy a well deserved break with 33 annual leave days per year (pro-rata for part time)
• Discount - treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls
• Hybrid working - a combination of office and home working to help balance your work life balance
• Pension - save for the future with our company contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan
• Season ticket loans - spread the cost of travel with an interest free loan
• Access to Stream - support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice
• Access to Retail Trust - seek confidential support, access to a Virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform
• Access to Dobbies Academy - continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes
• Study assistance - invest in your professional development with funded courses and qualifications
• The little things to keep you going through the day - free tea, coffee, and milk
• Collaborative office space - with access to our wellbeing room, learning resources and even a book swap

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