Buyer | Cult Beauty in City of Westminster

The Senior Buyer is responsible for leading the product strategy for their brands and categories while delivering continued sales and profit growth. They will build strength in relationships with each partner, ensuring that customers are at the heart of every decision made within the buying team.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Buying Director and other key stakeholders to plan, build and execute category strategies for sustainable growth and development of the business.
• Conduct strategy meetings with key accounts to deliver plans, supporting management of the buying department and showcasing leadership to meet all key business objectives.
• Keep up to date with industry/market trends and networking opportunities to further build brand plans and relationships.
• Aquire and develop new brand relationships, focusing on market-specific opportunities in line with internationalisation and growth plans.
• Develop & manage the Cult Beauty new brand strategy while leading the team to deliver it.
• Lead and develop brand relationships in line with company values to build a best-in-market joint business plan and achieve business benefits, including market leading promotions, first-to-market launches, exclusives and investment into promotional & marketing support to maximise performance.
• Lead supplier negotiations to maximise margin and profit.
• Build, manage and deliver buying budgets, providing a clear rationale for how each budget is to be achieved given the agreed-upon JBP and marketing exposure.
• Collaborate with all functions to build an innovative calendar that launches new brands, promotions and events, ensuring the message is clear and concise across all channels.
• Partner with the Merchandising team to accurately forecast business revenue and ensure optimum availability levels to deliver budget, reacting to international trading patterns as required.
• Form and nurture strategic brand relationships, building strength in relationships with all key brand partners to leverage investment opportunities, terms discussions and global networks.
• Continuously monitor and review business performance to analyse sales patterns, advise teams and ensure appropriate action is taken to unforeseen sales reactions.
• Hold overseas bi-annual strategy meetings with brands and team, devising clear agendas, objectives and working cross-functionally beforehand to prepare a presentation that crafts a meaningful story for each brand meeting and enables a best-in-class JBP.
• Monitor satisfaction with all brand partners to ensure best-in-class delivery.
• Take responsibility for demand planning by brand alongside the merchandising team to ensure every brand always has the stock needed to maximise budget performance.
• Develop and manage a newness strategy – support the team and negotiate the right product and brand mix that underlines the Cult Beauty USP, reacting with agility to market trends and staying ahead of competitors.
• Manage brand P&L with a clear understanding/ownership of stock in trade, open-to-buy, aged and overstocks, territory participation, promotional funding, retro agreements and trading margin.
• Provide overseas business performance reporting to the wider business where needed.
• Use commercial insights, trends and customer behaviours to create and adapt plans that capitalise on opportunities and mitigate potential risks, considering macroeconomic influences.
• Develop skills of the team – identify individual training needs, encourage effective teamwork, set KPI targets and communicate clear goals.
• Motivate the team – give recognition and praise, set goals and implement incentives to drive performance.
• Provide support to new team members – ensure a full induction and support during the learning process.
• Lead the department – guide priorities, influence, engage and inspire, acting as a role model to provide a clear strategic direction.
• Achieve brands’ sales growth target(s) – surpass budget where possible.
• Achieve brands’ gross margin target(s) – maintain margin while driving sales.
• Secure commercial terms improvement across margin, payment terms, marketing investment and purchasing retours where applicable.
• Deliver a complete JBP built to deliver continuous sales growth and outperform previous year's performance.
• Prioritise, structure work and manage time effectively.
• Demonstrate financial and analytical ability – budget and review performance.
• Communicate effectively – give clarity and set direction.
• Show commercial awareness of the beauty industry.
• Possess strong knowledge of brand partners.
• Form good working relationships with internal teams and external clients.
• Be proactive and innovative.
• Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Exhibit project management skills.
• Demonstrate leadership and negotiation skills.

Qualifications and Skills

• Excellent communicator with the ability to give clarity and set direction.
• Commercial awareness of the beauty industry.
• Strong knowledge of brand partners.
• Ability to form productive working relationships with internal teams and external clients.
• Proactive and innovative mindset.
• Critical thinker with problem-solving skills.
• Project management skills.
• Leadership and negotiation skills.

About THG

We are THG, a global e-commerce group on a mission to be the global online leader in beauty and sports nutrition. Our portfolio of leading retailers and brands such as LOOKFANTASTIC, Myprotein, ESPA, Perricone MD and Cult Beauty form our two core businesses: THG Beauty and THG Nutrition. From Manchester to New York, we are powered by a team of over 2,500 people who work together, lead by example and think BIG. With us, you’ll go further, faster.

Life at THG Beauty: We know that beauty isn’t one-size-fits-all. Our portfolio of leading retailers and iconic beauty brands caters to everyone, everywhere, empowering customers worldwide to look and feel fantastic.

Benefits and Perks

• Access bespoke development programmes designed and delivered by our in-house L&D team.
• Continued up-skilling through programmes delivered with an industry-leading training provider.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Enjoy your birthday off – we don’t want to work on it either!
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay, depending on length of service.
• Up to 10 days compassionate leave.
• Buy back up to 3 days each year.
• Unlock 2 days volunteer leave after 12 months.
• Face-to-face and virtual appointments with our in-house GP.
• 247 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provided by Bupa.
• Save up to 12% on personal tech through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Up to 50% staff discount on THG brands.
• Refer a candidate and earn up to £1,000 when they pass probation.

THG is proud to be a Disability Confident, Committed employer. If you are invited to interview, please let us know if any reasonable adjustments can be made to the recruitment process to enable you to perform to the best of your ability.