At Living Spaces, we take pride in being an environment that cultivates the best in our Team Members. From our corporate office in La Mirada, to our Distribution Centers, Manufacturing, Guest Services, Transportation, to any of our retail stores in the United States, you'll find Team Members who have started and grown their careers at Living Spaces. We are a company driven by our core values of humility & respect, passion, innovation, speed & simplicity, fanatic discipline, social responsibility, coupled with the desire to provide our guests with the best possible experience they can have while furnishing their space.
We continuously strive to find dedicated, innovative, driven, enterprising Team Members to help drive our corporate vision - to be the best furniture retailer in the country. If you possess these skills, we invite you to join the journey at Living Spaces.
Position Summary
The Associate Buyer works with the Merchandise Buyer in identifying, developing and executing business strategies and assortment plans, product development and selection, vendor negotiation, and marketing of specific categories. Works closely with the merchandise planning, marketing, visual and retail teams to drive sales, gross margin and inventory turn growth. Will be responsible for developing a competitive merchandise assortment plan that is customer focused and adjusts to sales plans based on competition, business needs, and industry trends.
Position Description
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
- Manage all aspects of product development and assortment planning, product placement, marketing, pricing, signing, and markdowns to achieve sales, margin, inventory plan & GMROI targets for assigned departments
- Build strong product assortments with suppliers and negotiate pricing for assigned categories
- Present to senior management the business strategies, marketing plans and merchandise assortments to achieve financial plans
- Evaluate suppliers on new and existing products, including but not limited to quality, pricing, shipping time, customer demand and return on investment
- Partners with the Planning team to complete accurate forecasts, evaluating sales, markdowns and receipts Determine item lifecycles and exit strategies
- Identify items to maximize promotional and marketing strategies
- Analyzes sales trend, key items, vendor profitability, and aged inventory and make recommendations for driving improved performance
- Participate in the development of the annual strategic financial plans
- Provides correct information and inputs for point of sale signage and maintains the integrity of the quality of signage for ease of store execution level
- Recommend and collaborate with Visual to plan floor layouts
- Attend market weeks, store trips, trade shows and conferences
- Leverage feedback from customers, stores and suppliers to improve product and add to collections. Ensure guest is at the center of our decision making
- Energize cross-functional partners through consistent communication on merchandising and pricing plans, inventory flow and exit strategies with Purchasing, Visual, Store Operations, Marketing, E-Commerce and other stake holders impacted by changes in assortment
- Maintains knowledge base of industry and competitor market trends as it relates to their assigned business area
- Investigate and respond to field issues
- Coordinate communication strategies with Store Operations and provide appropriate product information for retail team
- Able to travel up to 30%
Qualifications
Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree (B. A. or B. S.) or equivalent from four-year college. 4 years of experience in merchandising experience. Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual must have experience in Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Equal Opportunity Employer
It is our policy to abide by all federal, state, and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination based solely on a person's race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy, physical disability, mental disability, age, military status, or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran, marital status, registered domestic partner or civil union status, gender (including sex stereotyping and gender identity or expression), medical condition (including but not limited to, cancer related or HIV/AIDS related), sexual orientation, or any other protected status except where a reasonable, bona fide occupational qualification exists.
E-Verify
Living Spaces participates in E-Verify. All newly-hired team members are queried through this electronic system established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to verify their identity and employment eligibility.