At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the buying process for luxury knitwear and ensure commercial success.
- Company: Chinti & Parker, a British luxury knitwear brand known for craftsmanship and playful design.
- Benefits: Hybrid work model, opportunity to shape product direction, and be part of a growing brand.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for professional growth and creativity.
- Why this job: Join a creative team and make a real impact on luxury fashion.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in premium fashion buying, especially in knitwear.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 65000 £ per year.
Chinti & Parker is a British luxury knitwear brand known for craftsmanship, colour and playful design. The business is entering an important phase of commercial reset and growth, with a renewed focus on product clarity, sourcing discipline, margin improvement and tighter seasonal execution.
We are looking for a Senior Buyer to lead the commercial buying process across knitwear, with selective support across adjacent categories where commercially justified. This is a hands-on role for someone who can translate creative direction into a focused, margin-accretive and deliverable range. It requires strong product judgement, supplier management, costing discipline, critical path ownership and the confidence to bring structure into a founder-led environment.
The Senior Buyer will work closely with the Co-Founders, Design, Production, Planning to ensure the range is commercially balanced, properly costed, bought with discipline and reviewed with clear learnings.
Key responsibilities- Own the commercial buying process for knitwear from range build through to delivery.
- Partner with Co-Founders and Design to translate creative direction into a focused, commercial and brand-right range.
- Build seasonal range plans by category, style, colour, price point, margin and risk.
- Ensure the range balances Heritage, Playful Collectibles and Modern Wardrobe Knits.
- Challenge option count, colour count and duplication to keep the range tight and commercially focused.
- Support selective adjacent category development only where it is brand-right, margin-accretive and commercially justified.
- Lead supplier negotiation on cost price, MOQ, lead time, payment terms and repeat flexibility.
- Build clear garment costings and challenge supplier pricing with evidence.
- Support cross-quote testing across appropriate suppliers to benchmark cost, quality, lead time and capability.
- Work with Production to build a supplier matrix by category, capability, cost, margin, lead time and risk.
- Protect and improve intake margin while maintaining the quality and brand handwriting of Chinti & Parker.
- Partner with Planning to ensure margin assumptions, order values and trading implications are clearly understood before buy sign-off.
- Own the buying critical path across responsible categories, from proto and sample review through to order placement and delivery handover.
- Hold suppliers and internal stakeholders to agreed timelines, decisions and deliverables.
- Identify risks early and escalate clearly, with recommended actions.
- Build simple, repeatable processes for range sign-off, costing, sample tracking, order placement and supplier communication.
- Establish a weekly product, sourcing and critical path meeting rhythm with clear actions and owners.
- Review trade performance by style, category, colour, yarn/fabric, price point, margin, discount, returns and sell-through.
- Translate trading performance into clear future-season recommendations.
- Partner on planning inputs, including sell-through assumptions, margin risk, stock exposure and repeat/chase/cancel/defer recommendations.
- Support tighter buy discipline by ensuring decisions are informed by previous performance and current trading evidence.
- Feed product and sizing learnings into DTC, marketplace and wholesale execution.
- Work closely with Design on product direction and range sign-off.
- Work with Planning on commercial planning inputs, margin, stock and trading implications.
- Work with Production on supplier delivery, costing and critical path.
- Work with ecommerce, marketplace and wholesale teams to ensure product information, range selection and product stories are commercially clear.
- Support marketplace range decisions by considering fit, sizing, imagery, copy, returns risk and customer expectations.
- Proven Buyer or Senior Buyer experience in a premium or luxury fashion environment.
- Strong knitwear experience is essential.
- Experience in woven, jersey or adjacent categories is helpful but not essential.
- Strong understanding of garment costing, supplier negotiation, intake margin and critical path management.
- Experience working in a founder-led or entrepreneurial business where process needs to be created and embedded.
- Track record of improving margin, supplier terms, range focus or buying discipline.
- Comfortable working with relatively tight option counts where each SKU needs to earn its place.
- Commercially strong, numerate and margin-focused.
- Strong product judgement, with respect for creative direction and brand handwriting.
- Confident challenging cost prices, supplier assumptions and range duplication.
- Highly organised and process-driven.
- Clear, direct communicator who can hold suppliers and internal teams to account.
- Comfortable working at pace in a small team.
- Strong Excel / Google Sheets capability.
- Able to balance creativity, commerciality, margin and operational reality.
Success will be measured by:
- Clearer, tighter and more commercially balanced seasonal ranges.
- Improved intake margin and supplier terms.
- Better costing discipline and sourcing transparency.
- Fewer late decisions and critical path surprises.
- Stronger post-season learning and future-season recommendations.
- Better alignment between creative direction, commercial planning and buy decisions.
- Improved full-price sell-through and reduced markdown risk over time.
Senior Buyer in Slough employer: Chinti & Parker
Chinti & Parker is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic and creative work environment in the heart of London. With a strong focus on employee growth and collaboration, the company encourages innovative thinking while providing opportunities for professional development within the luxury fashion sector. The hybrid working model promotes a healthy work-life balance, making it an attractive place for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Buyer in Slough
✨Get Your Retail Game On
Start by getting to know the local retail scene. Make a list of stores that align with your vibe and visit them. You'll be surprised at how many job openings come from chatting with staff or managers in-store. Plus, showing that you have a genuine interest in their brand can make you stand out when applying for that full-time role!
✨Join Retail Networks and Forums
Tap into retail-specific communities and forums, whether online or in-person. Platforms like Retail Week or local retail meetups can provide invaluable insights and connections. You never know who might drop a tip about an upcoming job at companies like Chinti & Parker, so don’t miss out on building those relationships!
✨Be Ready for Busy Season Opportunities
Keep your eyes peeled for seasonal hiring windows, especially in the run-up to major shopping periods. Retailers often look for full-time staff to carry through busy times and may even keep you on after the season. Stay proactive by regularly checking in with your favourite retailers about their hiring plans.
✨Show Off Your Customer Service Skills
Retail’s all about customer interactions, so make sure you showcase any relevant experience in your conversations and interviews. Share specific examples of your customer service skills and how they’ve led to positive outcomes. This is your moment to shine when applying to roles at places like Chinti & Parker!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Buyer in Slough
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Customer Service Skills:In retail, customer service is key! Make sure your CV highlights any experience where you've dealt with customers, whether it’s resolving issues or enhancing the shopping experience. Use concrete examples to demonstrate your problem-solving skills and ability to handle difficult situations with ease.
Tailor Your CV for Retail:When applying for a full-time role like this one at Chinti & Parker, customise your CV to reflect retail-specific buzzwords. Include any relevant skills such as inventory management or visual merchandising, and if you have experience with POS systems, shout about it! This will show you’re serious about joining the retail team.
Craft a Genuine Cover Letter:Don’t just repeat your CV in your cover letter! Use it as a chance to explain why you're excited about the opportunity at Chinti & Parker and how your values align with their brand. Mention specific aspects of the company that resonate with you and let your enthusiasm shine through!
Highlight Your Adaptability:In retail, things can get busy and unpredictable, so demonstrate how adaptable and flexible you are. Share examples of times you've had to adjust your approach on the fly or take on new responsibilities. This will show Chinti & Parker that you’re ready to jump in and contribute right away!
How to prepare for a job interview at Chinti & Parker
✨Show Off Your Customer Service Skills
Retail is all about providing an exceptional customer experience, so be ready to discuss your past customer service stories. We should have examples on hand of how we've handled difficult situations or gone above and beyond to meet a customer's needs. These anecdotes will bring your application to life!
✨Familiarity with Point of Sale Systems
Many retail roles require us to work with Point of Sale (POS) systems, so it's a good idea to brush up on any relevant software you’ve used before. If you’re familiar with systems like Shopify or Square, don’t forget to mention this during the interview. Highlighting technical proficiency can set us apart from other candidates!
✨Understand Product Knowledge
Be prepared to discuss the products that the store sells and how we can contribute to their sales. Showing enthusiasm for the products and a willingness to learn can impress interviewers. We should research popular items or trends in the industry before the interview, so we can speak confidently about them.
✨Be Ready for Role-Playing Scenarios
Many retail interviews include role-playing scenarios where we might have to deal with a difficult customer or upsell a product. Practising these scenarios with a friend or family member can help us feel more comfortable. The key here is to showcase our problem-solving skills and ability to remain calm under pressure!
