Assistant Buyer

You will will provide integral operational support to the buying team, to ensure we achieve our department financial plans, and our seasonal strategies are realized from inception all the way to implementation in store. 

Be interested in product within the premium apparel market and be keen to understand the end-to-end buying process within Ralph Lauren. 

Working with confidence and independently whilst with support, ensuring high levels of accuracy are maintained throughout.

Key Responsibilities

• Accurate Delivery and Purchase Order Management. Clear communication of orders status, challenges, and opportunities to wider team.
• Meticulous data integrity and management of daily, weekly, and seasonal buying responsibilities; deliveries, pricing, assortment updates, and general admin support.
• Ability to navigate required tools and systems, as well as troubleshoot any issues and identify better ways of working to improve efficiency.
• Demonstrate and communicate awareness of retail landscape; conduct research on competitive set including pricing, style, and key messages and translate findings into actions.
• Support in preparing necessary documents and resources for major calendar meetings, including Hindsight, Buy Review and Sign Off.
• Agile Outlook and email management to maintain department critical path.
• Analyse business reports with support from manager to broaden knowledge. Develop experience to draw top line conclusions and actions from analysis to influence future buys.

Training and development

• To adopt a positive and proactive approach to their own training and development as well as that of their peers.
• Proactively promotes improvements to working practices and systems.
• Participates in company initiatives as appropriate.

Communications & Partnerships

• Creates and maintains strong working relationships within cross-functional teams: Assortment Planning, Trading & Allocations, Retail Store teams, Global Production and Merchandising teams, and Brand Presentation team to ensure the department critical path is maintained.

• Awareness of product trends and current state of market.
• Good understanding of Ralph Lauren as a brand within the market.
• Commercial and Analytical.
• Able to demonstrates logical analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Able to work on own initiative and be pro-active.
• Able to organize, prioritise tasks and manages time well to meet deadlines
• Demonstrates good listening, written and oral communication skills, effectively and clearly communicates.
• Able to build and maintain productive relationships within team environment.
• Strong Microsoft application skills, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Show ability or aptitude in retail mathematics and able to learn technical applications quickly.
• Able to demonstrate resilience and remain positive during challenging period.
• Support with Sample Managing, Photo Shoots and Showroom set up.