Category Associate Manager (Luxury Product)

ZALORA Group; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An online fashion retailer based in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a Category Associate Manager to develop their luxury portfolio. This role includes building relationships with suppliers, optimizing buying strategies, and managing inventory to enhance sales performance. Candidates should have 4+ years of experience in fashion merchandising, excellent English skills, and a strong understanding of the South-East Asia markets. The position offers a vibrant work culture and opportunities for career growth.

Benefits

Career growth opportunities

Flexible lifestyle

Support for mental and physical wellbeing

Friendly team culture

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years of experience in fashion merchandising or buying.
• Fluent in English; exposure to e-commerce preferred.
• Strong knowledge of South-East Asia markets; experience with luxury retail is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate best offers with luxury suppliers.
• Develop buying strategies and inventory plans.
• Monitor inventory and drive sales performance.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Fashion sense

Communications skills

Proactivity

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Fashion, Finance or related field

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Tableau

Job description

Description:

We are looking for a Category Associate Manager based in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to develop ZALORA's Luxury outright portfolio.

Analysing luxury consumer buying patterns and predicting future trends are two really important responsibilities for this role.

The Category Associate Manager will implement the merchandising strategies and ensure that product offer is in line with the customer demands whilst driving the business forward by negotiating contracts with new and existing suppliers. The Category Associate Manager is responsible for maximizing commercial opportunities through effective management of inventory, driving sales through improved availability and forecasting, and price management.

This is a unique, exciting opportunity to influence minds and make an impact at ZALORA in order to deliver our growth ambition in this exciting category.

Responsibilities:

• Build strong relationships with new and existing luxury suppliers by negotiating the best offers, margin structures and marketing investments
• Formulate buying strategies, develop OTB plans and product mix allocation to optimize sales plan and gross margin
• Monitor and drive the growth of the outright segment: create and execute a strategic plan that delivers business opportunities for Zalora Luxury with an accurate forecasting, future trends prediction and internal performance management/analysis
• Monitor inventory, delivery situation to ensure timely product availability and maximize sales opportunities during the season and mega campaigns.
• Handle various sets of daily, weekly and monthly business reports to improve visibility of category performance to senior management
• Manage junior fashion buyers who support the day to day operations and execute monthly orders
• Liaise with internal departments and work with Marketing and Campaign Teams to incorporate luxury promotions into ZALORA’s marketing calendar
• Work with the suppliers/internal teams to continuously improve operational aspects of the business that directly impact the customer experience: reduce the defective rate, improve the packaging, handle customer service inquiries, etc.

Requirements:

• Minimum 4years of work experience in fashion merchandising/buying with international luxury retail companies preferred
• Excellent English skills required
• Bachelor in Business, Fashion, Finance or related field
• Strong fashion sense, with working knowledge of South-East Asia markets
• Exposure in e-commerce industry is preferred
• Great negotiation, interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to forge effective cross-functional team relationships and confidently interact with senior stakeholders internally and externally to deliver business outcomes
• Willingness to work in a multicultural environment
• Robust commercial understanding, P&L literacy with innate numerical and analytical skills and ability to derive insights from data.
• Proactivity and entrepreneurial mindset to flex the needs of the role as the category develops
• Advance working knowledge of Excel & PowerPoint; Tableau or Looker are preferred

Wonderhowit'sliketobuildyourcareerwithZALORA?Inspiredbyemployees,webelieveyou'llbeinfor:

• Anexcitingplatformtomakeyoursuccessstory
• Havetheutmostcareforyourmentalandphysicalwellbeing
• Flexibilityweavedintoyourlifestyle
• Aseamlessworkenvironmentwithafriendly&team-fueledculture
• Careergrowthalignedtoyourprofessionalandpersonalneedsandgoals

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The ZALORA Story

ZALORA Group is Asia Pacific’s leading group of online fashion destinations. Founded in 2012, the company has a presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ZALORA is part of Global Fashion Group, the world's leader in online fashion for emerging markets. ZALORA Group’s localised sites offer an extensive collection of top international and local brands and products across apparel, shoes, accessories, and beauty categories for men and women. Offering up to 30-day free returns, speedy deliveries as fast as 3 hours in some markets, free delivery over a certain spend, and multiple payment methods including cash-on-delivery, ZALORA Group is the online shopping destination with endless fashion possibilities.

ZALORA is not obligated to accept resumes from any third parties on behalf of potential candidates for any position (advertised or otherwise) by any means, unless ZALORA has executed a written agreement with such third party and has expressly requested such third party for candidate referrals. Third parties who provide unsolicited resumes of candidate(s) shall waive and forfeit all rights to claim for any placement fees or referral fees in the event that such candidate is eventually engaged or employed by Zalora or Global Fashion Group.