Head of Merchandising & Buying

Lewis Personnel Management; Makati; On-site; PHP 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Lewis Personnel Management is seeking an experienced Head of Merchandising & Buying for its luxury watches division to lead the merchandising strategy, buying decisions, pricing, and inventory productivity.

This hands-on leadership role demands deep knowledge of the luxury watch market, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to translate market data into smart commercial choices that optimise margins and sell-through.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in watch buying, luxury retail, merchandising, or related commercial function.
• Strong knowledge of the luxury watch market, including brands, models, references, and collector demand.
• Proven experience in buying, supplier management, pricing, and inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall merchandising and buying strategy for the luxury watch portfolio.
• Monitor markets, prices, trends, and secondary-market platforms.
• Identify attractive acquisition opportunities by evaluating price, condition, rarity, provenance, demand, margin, and inventory risk.
• Source and negotiate the acquisition of watches with suppliers and dealers.
• Develop and maintain a competitive watch assortment across brands, models, styles, and price points.
• Recommend selling prices, margins, markdowns, and pricing adjustments.
• Develop and manage the Open-to-Buy framework in coordination with Finance.
• Monitor inventory performance and address slow-moving or at-risk stock.
• Analyze sales, margins, inventory, pricing, and customer buying patterns to improve performance.
• Collaborate with Retail, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Senior Management to maximize sell-through and commercial performance.
• Provide regular insights and recommendations on sales and merchandise risks.

Skills

Strong communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Luxury watch market knowledge

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Retail Management, Merchandising, Marketing

Tools

Excel

Job description

Head of Merchandising & Buying – Luxury Watches

Our client is looking for an experienced and commercially driven Head of Merchandising & Buying to lead its watch merchandising strategy, buying decisions, pricing, assortment, and inventory productivity.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands the luxury watch market and can turn market trends, customer demand, pricing data, and inventory insights into smart commercial decisions.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the overall merchandising and buying strategy for the luxury watch portfolio.

• Monitor local and international watch markets, including prices, trends, dealer offerings, auctions, marketplaces, and secondary-market platforms.

• Identify attractive acquisition opportunities by evaluating market price, condition, rarity, provenance, demand, margin potential, and inventory risk.

• Source and negotiate the acquisition of watches with suppliers, dealers, and other acquisition channels.

• Develop and maintain a competitive and commercially relevant watch assortment across brands, models, references, styles, complications, and price points.

• Recommend and manage selling prices, target margins, markdowns, and pricing adjustments based on market conditions and inventory position.

• Develop and manage the Open-to-Buy (OTB) framework in coordination with Finance and Management.

• Monitor inventory performance and identify slow-moving, aging, excess, and at-risk inventory.

• Analyze sales, margins, inventory, market pricing, and customer buying patterns to improve merchandise performance.

• Partner closely with Retail, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Senior Management to maximize product sell-through and commercial performance.

• Provide management with regular insights and recommendations covering sales, gross margin, inventory, OTB, market trends, buying opportunities, and merchandise risks.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of relevant experience in watch buying, luxury retail, merchandising, category management, commercial management, luxury goods, collectibles, secondary-market businesses, or a related commercial function.

• Strong knowledge of the luxury watch market, including brands, models, references, condition, provenance, rarity, and collector demand.

• Strong commercial and analytical skills, with the ability to evaluate opportunities based on price, demand, margin, sales velocity, and inventory risk.

• Proven experience in buying, supplier management, negotiation, pricing, and inventory management.

• Strong understanding of merchandising economics, margins, working capital, inventory productivity, and OTB.

• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to work independently and make commercially sound recommendations.

• Experience with Excel or other analytical tools for commercial decision-making is preferred.

• A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Retail Management, Merchandising, Marketing, or a related discipline is preferred.

Why This Role?

This is an opportunity to take a key commercial leadership role within a growing luxury watch business, with direct influence over what we acquire, how we price it, how we build our assortment, and how effectively we manage inventory and margins.

If you have a strong background in luxury watches, buying, merchandising, or secondary-market businesses and enjoy making data-driven commercial decisions, we’d love to hear from you.

MGL