Assistant Buyer

About Lifestyle:Lifestyle is a leading retail destination, specialising in Beauty, Fashion, and Home products. Established in 1998, Lifestyle has consistently delivered a distinctive shopping experience and an extensive selection of brands and products across colour cosmetics, perfumes, personal care, fashion accessories, home essentials, and home fragrance. With its chain of more than 160 retail stores spread across the GCC, coupled with a rapidly growing E-commerce platform, Lifestyle has established itself as an omnichannel destination of choice for Beauty and Fashion, serving more than 4 million customers every year.About the role:Category: Skincare/BeautyReports to: Associate General Manager - Buying (Bath, Body & Skincare)Key Interactions: Retail Operations, Planning, E-commerce, FinanceWhat you'll be doing:Key Responsibilities:Planning of Buying Calendars & Events Understand the Buying Calendar and the process of planning for a season. Understand the various suppliers and to learn about all buying fairs.To assist in planning the buying calendar in line with Inflow Pattern and the Event Calendar of the Stores.To monitor the order status and inventory levels on regular basis and to take proactive action for any supplier / category / range / product based on actual inflow and sales pattern.To review the distribution of orders on all times and based on the sales rate and the budgets & revise distribution wherever required.To monitor the Budget Order; Order GRN; Inflow pattern Reports on weekly basis and ensure discrepancies are reported promptly to Planning & Finance.Margin Achievement To understand the mechanism of margin / pricing / markup and costing relevant for each supplier and each territory in the department handled.To assist the Buyer in fixing the Retail Selling Price in line with the Concept Overall Margin Target, market and competition and specific target for each territory.To review the pricing as generated from the Pricing Module and do the necessary currency correction based on the local currency of each territory.Sales Achievement Understanding the sales pattern of each store / territory and influencing the increase of sales in each store / territory.Participate in the review of the Sales Projection along with the Buyer Retail, Planning & Finance Team.Review the performance of a product / category / range / supplier / department on periodic basis and to monitor stock levels.Monitor the reorders based on the sales and revise / optimize allocation accordingly.Range development & Product ReviewTo develop range for a season working closely with buyers/senior buyers.Assist buyers/senior buyer in presenting range to other stakeholders and management.Ensure range file is fully updated with all the required UDA’s.To understand the department, group, sub-group, category / range used in the company and the principle behind the classification of the products in these.To understand the design element and the signature of the product in the department and to know the taste of the customer.To review samples in line with the guideline within 3 days of receipt and to maintain list of all catalogues/photographs.Vendor Development To understand the supplier relationship in the organization and the correct manner of addressing the issues with the suppliers.To maintain and develop the relationship with suppliers and to communicate in a very professional and prompt manner.To consider suppliers as partners in growth and ensure their growth and development along with our growth.To assist the suppliers with all necessary assistance in ensuring timely delivery of goods – understanding of orders, understanding of shipment terms / LC terms / marking requirements, etc.Inventory Management Review and analyse stock / sales reports on daily basis and understand the top sellers in each department / category / group.To monitor inventory and ensuring sufficient stock holdings for each product / category / group / department.Review all GRNs after 45 days and taking a decision of reorder / review date.To monitor the stock at Central Warehouse at Jebel Ali if anyEffectively deal with fast / slow moving items/ranges and end of ranges and take corrective action on timely basisMerchandising Standards To constantly monitor the stores and to ensure that the planogram given is implemented strictly.To periodically visit the market and survey competitors for new / better ideas for merchandising and to bring about improvement in the merchandising standards.Conducting competitor analysis and market review on periodic basis to understand the trends and to develop products in tune with the same.Competitor Survey (R&D) To visit our competitors who have same range of products, study and understand their designs, colour, price & compare with Lifestyle products. Constant research on new products and develop the same with our existing suppliers.Key Requirements:Minimum 2 to 4 years in beauty or retail buying.Experience in skincare/beauty/bath/body category will be preferredExposure to multi-brand and Omni-channel retailBuying budgets & vendor managementProduct development & researchFinancial & business acumenNegotiation skillsAttention to detailStakeholder managementPlanning & execution abilitiesLeadership skillsTeam player