Responsible for buying Menswear RTW and Accessories in the Newcastle and York branches. My portfolio of brands covers over sixty labels across RTW, Accessories and Underwear including Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith, Burberry, Armani, Gant, Hugo Boss, Superdry, Fred Perry, Diesel and G-Star.Producing clarity of buying and attain maximum profitability through width and depth of offer in addition to having an awareness of budget control, market conditions and product requirement are fundamental skills that I implement on a daily basis.Key Responsibilities:•Select merchandise to meet market demands, customer needs and the company’s selling policy and image.•Plan merchandise and stock holding in conjunction with the Merchandise Manager.•Identify and create promotional opportunities, negotiate deals and manage sales in store.•Achieve a margin agreed with the Merchandise Manager for each season with separate margins agreed as appropriate for sale and event periods.•Negotiate maximum settlement and trade discounts with suppliers•Plan stocks to maintain stock levels, meet demand and achieve correct ‘open to buy’.•Awareness of market trends and how they relate to the business in order to maintain Fenwick’s place as a market leader.•Working with the Assistant to Buyers and Sales Managers to prioritise objectives and to delegate tasks.•Ensuring that the Sales Managers set an effective daily and weekly plan of action and that this is effectively communicated to the rest of the team.•Regularly tracking progress of sales and staff to ensure that the Sales Managers reach their own potential and fulfill financial and personal goals

Responsible for an annual buying budget of approximately £10 million which was split between eleven stores in eight cities throughout the UK with a portfolio of over seventy brands ranging from Gucci, D&G, Prada, Dior, Lanvin and D-Squared through to Stone Island, Moncler, Belstaff and APC.It was my task to buy all aspects of Menswear for the business with a commercial flair while ensuring profitability. This was achieved by focusing on store specific commercial and trend-led product, managing margin and being aware of the market requirements relating to the target Cruise consumer. Operating with a Junior Buyer as my assistant I was given full responsibility to source and procure product that would increase the profitability and market standing of Cruise. Key Responsibilities:•Select product for eleven individual cities in the UK in addition to three BOSS franchise stores.•Lead and develop a Junior Buyer.•Monitor and maximise profitability within product lines with relative stock level investment.•Dissect monetary performance in each store and how this relates to product in each store.•Analyse brands, categories and individual lines and what they contribute to the stores performance.•Be fully aware of trends in consumer buying along with product trends and how they will relate customers buying behavior, a key influence when identifying new product. •Chair weekly meetings with the Merchandising Department in order to plan a course of action in response to the previous week’s figures, recent stock intake and store requirements. •Liaise with suppliers to establish and maintain strong and respectful working relationships. This benefits the company through better payment terms, exclusive products and in-season support•Regular store visits and daily communication. Both of these provide information and support to each store in relation to product knowledge, visual merchandising and brand direction.•Allocation of £10 million budget annually

Covering Contemporary, Mainline and Tailoring brands across RTW, footwear and accessories and covered nearly forty brands with an annual budget of over £4 million. The key brands within my area of responsibility consisted of three BOSS franchise stores along with Cruise’ Superbrands; Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Vivienne Westwood. Ensuring maximum profitability, maintaining margin and driving sales through monitoring stock performance were my key performance indicators. I reported directly to the Head of Menswear and we would communicate daily in order to discuss strategy based on seasonal performance, trends and product direction, figures analysis along with supplier and store liaison responsibilities.