ROLE OVERVIEWFashion Nova is seeking a passionate Director of Buying who has hands-on Buying and Product Development experience within the men's category. The Category Director will be responsible for developing and executing strategies which provide the Buying Merchandise direction for his/her assigned division. The Director will focus on the overall direction, market penetration, assortment, and vendor mix to meet the demands of our customer base for their division. They will also oversee a team of buyers.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES- Drive Assortment Strategy: Develop and execute buying strategies to curate trend-driven product assortments that align with customer preferences and seasonal trends, while achieving optimal SKU count and balancing newness vs. replenishment inventory
- Trend Forecasting: Stay ahead of fashion trends by conducting market research, keeping a pulse runway trends, and analyzing social media and competitors to ensure a competitive and forward-thinking product mix. Utilize research to work with in-house production team and suppliers to drive on-trend newness
- Cost Negotiation & Margin Optimization: Lead pricing negotiations with suppliers to secure the best cost structures while maintaining product quality, ensuring profitability, and maximizing margins in a highly competitive market
- Financial Management: Manage weekly sales performance, open-to-buy budgets, pricing, margin targets, and inventory levels, ensuring alignment with sales goals and profit margins, while optimizing the balance of newness and replenihand minimizing markdowns
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with production, replenishment, planning, and creative teams to ensure timely deliveries, fast replenishment of high-demand styles, successful promotions to maximize sales opportunities, and cohesive product launches
- Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize sales performance data, customer reviews, and market insights to continuously optimize product assortments and increase profitability
- Lead weekly open-to-buy meetings with planning and buying teams to ensure the department achieves financial targets for turn and sell-through.
- Train, develop, and mentor the buying team to ensure that financial and product goals are met.
- Develop and maintain a profitable and productive partnership with vendors.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS- BFA or BA in Fashion Merchandising, Business, or related field preferred
- Must have 15+years of Apparel Buying/Merchandising experience, with 5 years min of Buying Management experience, ideally within men's
- Experience with product development preferred
- Must be able to adapt to constant change and multi-task in a fast-paced environment
- Must be results oriented and have excellent organizational skills
- Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Must possess a keen eye for design, trends and color
- English, additional language(s) an advantage
- Schedule of this position: Monday - Friday | Core business hours | Onsite
BENEFITS- NEW state-of-the-art HQ in Beverly Hills!
- Formalized career paths for continued professional growth
- Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO)
- Comprehensive health insurance across Medical, Dental and Vision
- 401k match, with immediate vesting upon eligibility
- Weekly catered lunches & fully-stock kitchen pantry!
- Opportunities to travel for trade shows and vendor meetings
- Summer Fridays Early Departure
- Team bonding events and programs
- Attractive employee discounts!
