Ralph Lauren Buyer Wholesale Menswear in London

Position Overview

The Polo Menswear Buyer is responsible for developing commercially successful, brand‑elevating assortments for the EMEA wholesale channel. The role manages the end‑to‑end buying process across assigned categories, from assortment strategy, product selection, pricing, forecasting, investment planning, sell‑in preparation, and market support through to trading and performance review. Combining strong product knowledge, customer and account understanding, regional awareness, and analytical judgment, the Buyer delivers ranges that support financial targets, strengthen the Polo brand position, and align with the wider EMEA Menswear strategy. The role partners closely with Planning and Inventory Management, Brand Presentation, Product Design and Merchandising, and Regional Sales teams to translate seasonal product strategies from concept to execution.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Build seasonal Polo Menswear wholesale assortments that reflect brand priorities, customer needs, regional opportunities, account feedback, and financial objectives.
• Select and manage commercially balanced, brand‑appropriate ranges across assigned categories, balancing core, seasonal, newness, big bets, label mix, SKU productivity, and delivery flow.
• Partner with Planning to manage category plans, OTB, wholesale value, units, investment levels, pricing, forecasting, availability, and market readiness.
• Use sell‑in, sell‑out, account performance, margin, inventory, customer feedback, competitor insight, and hindsight analysis to identify risks, opportunities, and future assortment actions.
• Prepare and maintain accurate line lists, paginations, SKU requests, assortment tools, NuORDER information, purchase orders, and account planning outputs.
• Present assortment strategy, product rationale, key bets, and commercial recommendations for line opening, market, account planning, sign‑off, and business reviews.
• Collaborate with Planning, Corporate Merchandising, Regional Sales Teams, Marketing, Merchandising Operations, and market teams while contributing to process improvements and stronger ways of working.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

• Previous experience in Buying, Merchandising, or Sales is key to the role, ideally within a wholesale, retail, or premium lifestyle brand environment.
• Strong understanding of the end‑to‑end wholesale buying process, including assortment building, pricing, forecasting, purchase order management, line presentation, market preparation, account planning, and seasonal calendar milestones.
• Commercial awareness and a strong understanding of Polo Menswear customers, wholesale account needs, product trends, competitor activity, customer archetypes, regional differences, and EMEA market dynamics.
• Strong numeric and analytical capability, with confidence interpreting wholesale value, units, sell‑in, sell‑out, margin, inventory, availability, sell‑through, account productivity, and category performance data.
• Ability to build assortments across core, seasonal, concept, label, and category dimensions while balancing brand elevation, commerciality, and productivity.
• Excellent organization and time‑management skills, with the ability to manage multiple seasonal milestones, stakeholder requests, market deadlines, and account planning deliverables.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, present assortments, explain commercial recommendations, and tell a clear product story.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, with strong working knowledge of Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, NuORDER, and relevant buying, planning, reporting, or sell‑in systems.
• Fluent English; additional European languages are an advantage depending on regional and account scope.
• One‑Team mindset, with proven ability to work well with others, build authentic working relationships, and collaborate, support, and nurture without prompt.