Retail Buyer

Join our Support Center and be a pivotal resource to our field and distribution teams —where innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and career growth come together in an exciting environment!

As the Retail Buyer (Fresh Food) you will be responsible for procuring, developing, and managing effective merchandise assortments to achieve the sales, margin, and turnover targets for his/her respective buying areas. In partnership with their DVP and respective Planner, the Buyer will create the appropriate merchandise mix and develop category and supplier strategies based on emerging market trends, seasonality, and customer demographics.

Location: Support Center, 6600 S Bermuda Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Schedule: Monday – Friday, Weekends as needed, 40-50 hours per week

Pay: $85,000 - $95,000 annually

Job Type: Full-time

About Us:

WHSmith is a leading global travel retailer with over 1,700 stores across 30 countries worldwide. WHSmith North America, incorporating Marshall Retail Group (MRG) and InMotion, represents over half of the Company’s international store estate, with a collection of attractive, successful specialty retail stores located in airports and resorts across North America.

Benefits

• Employee Discount
• Employer-Paid Life Insurance
• Flex Time Off
• Disability Insurance
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• 401(k) with company match

Job Responsibilities

• Develop and execute merchandise assortment strategies to meet or exceed the financial goals
• Product development as needed in accordance with the respective brands, departments, and concepts.
• Partner with Planner to manage and adhere to Open-to-Buy (OTB) budget.
• Work with vendors to resolve purchase order discrepancies and compliance issues.
• Analyze business at division, department, class, subclass, attribute, and store level.
• Create and maintain open lines of communication with Planner, Store Managers, Regional Managers and other co-workers.
• Negotiate with vendors to secure the best terms for maximum margin results, including supplier income, and best pricing as well as markdown and/or RTV agreements.
• Prepare for and participate in regular Merchandising meetings such as Weekly Performance Meetings, Month End Review / OTB meetings, Collaboration meetings, New Store Review meetings, etc.
• Develop seasonal trend presentations and participate in seasonal workshops to educate the field organization (applicable by merchandise category).
• Visit our stores (including visits on location as requested) to evaluate assortments, presentations, stock levels, marketing, customers, and obtain feedback from store personnel. Visit competitors to evaluate pricing, assortments, and market trends for possible opportunities.
• Carry out tasks related to new stores, including research into new markets (including visits on location as requested), participating in Planogram meetings, developing new assortments for new concepts or stores, etc.
• Work closely with Planner to manage allocation, reorder flow, and product lifecycle including promos, markdowns, transfers and RTVs.
• Regularly attend industry tradeshows to source new vendors, meet with existing vendor partners, and identify emerging trends.
• Supervisory duties; hiring, terminations, performance management, training and coaching of departmental staff.

Qualifications:

• 3 years of experience in logo, private label, or fashion buying experience with a multi-unit retail organization.
• 1 years of supervisory experience in field or retail home office.
• Product development and assortment planning experience required.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• Strong command of merchandising and retail math, including Open-to-Buy (OTB) management.
• Ability to adapt, multi-task and problem solve in a fast-paced and changing environment.
• Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and experience with a merchandising software platform.

EEO/ADA/DFWP

WHSmith North America is committed to employing a diverse workforce. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin/ancestry, age, gender identity, gender expression, military/veteran status, marital status, disability status or any other basis prohibited by law. At WHSmith North America, it’s about each person bringing passion and skills to a dynamic and inclusive workplace