Senior Buyer - Destination, Souvenirs, & Hardgoods

Advertised Compensation: $105,100.00 to $127,400.00 Purpose: We are seeking a highly strategic, creative, and results-driven Senior Buyer - Destination Souvenir Hardgoods to lead the product development, assortment strategy, and buying of souvenir hardgoods across our airport retail portfolio. This role will be responsible for developing compelling, destination-specific merchandise strategies that reflect each local market while driving sales, margin, and profitability. The Senior Buyer will partner with existing vendors as well as work directly with factories in China and other international markets to develop exclusive and proprietary merchandise, identify new product opportunities, negotiate costs, and bring differentiated assortments to market. The Senior Buyer will manage the full buying and product development process, including trend and market research, assortment planning, product selection and development, vendor and factory negotiations, pricing, purchase decisions, production timelines, and ongoing performance management. This individual will also be responsible for developing merchandise strategies by destination, ensuring assortments are locally relevant, commercially strong, and differentiated from the competition. The ideal candidate has a strong background in retail buying, product development, and vendor management, with experience working directly with factories and international sourcing partners. This individual should have a strong eye for product and trends, excellent commercial instincts, and a deep understanding of cost negotiation, margin management, inventory productivity, and speed to market. The successful candidate will be highly organized, entrepreneurial, and comfortable managing multiple vendors, factories, destinations, and product categories in a fast-paced retail environment. Essential Functions: - Develop and execute destination specific souvenir hardgoods strategies that drive sales, margin, and customer relevance. - Lead the buying and product development process, including assortment selection, pricing, negotiations, and purchase decisions. - Work directly with vendors and international factories to develop exclusive merchandise, improve costs, and create differentiated product assortments. - Manage product development from concept through production and delivery, ensuring quality, timing, cost, and margin objectives are achieved. - Analyze sales, margin, inventory, and sell-through performance to identify opportunities, manage risk, and adjust assortments as needed. - Partner with Planning, Supply Chain, Operations, and Visual Merchandising to ensure assortments are successfully launched and executed in stores. - Continuously identify new products, trends, vendors, and sourcing opportunities to strengthen the category and improve profitability. - Ensure compliance with all testing, regulatory, and quality requirements - Maintain strong factory relationships and hold partners accountable for execution and performance Major Interdependencies:, Category Management, Supply Chain, Master Data, Planning, Space Planning, Marketing, and Operations Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Work Environment: - Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Product Development, Business, Fashion, or related field - 5+ years of experience in Buying, Product Development, or Sourcing preferably with direct import experience - Experience working directly with overseas factories, particularly in China - Proven ability to develop private label or exclusive product programs - Strong negotiation and costing skills - Experience managing calendars, production timelines, and critical path processes - Understanding of global supply chain, freight, import regulations, and factory operations - Excellent communication and relationship management skills - Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel and retail systems - Ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with multiple priorities Location/Travel: - This position is based at the North America Support Center in East Rutherford, NJ - Requires ability to travel up to 30% of the time for meetings out of the country and to visit branch locations