Buyer, Kidswear

SSENSE (pronounced [es-uhns]) is a global technology platform operating at the intersection of culture, community, and commerce. Headquartered in Montreal, it features a mix of established and emerging luxury brands across womenswear, menswear, kidswear, and Everything ElseTM. 

SSENSE has garnered critical acclaim as both an e-commerce engine and a producer of cultural content, generating an average of 100 million monthly page views. Approximately 80% of its audience is between the ages of 18 to 40. It is privately held and has achieved high double digit annual growth and profitability since its inception.

Reporting to the Buying Manager; the Kidswear Buyer is responsible for the day-day operations of the Kidswear department; optimising its growth and success through hitting achieved targets and new-brand acquisition. They will own and deliver on all buying functions to maximize the effectiveness of the portfolio and achieve the sales, profits and market share objectives of the Kidswear department. The ideal candidate has an exceptional eye for the latest industry trends in kidswear, strong analytical abilities and retail math acumen, established vendor relationships, the ability to develop and source new products and vendors through the precise execution of the department product strategy and thrive in a data driven fast paced environment. 

Responsibilities

Operations -  50% 

• Achieve pre-set target budgets, margins and sell-through goals 
• Negotiate and lead contract terms and conditions with suppliers in order to onboard desirable new brands and secure preferential trade terms; working with legal to ensure new-vendor contracts are approved and confirmed
• Lead the day to day operations, in-season business (RTVs/swaps, etc), and negotiations of the portfolio resulting in effective execution of the business deliverables, meeting growth targets, and optimizing end of season performance
• Achieve brand-acquisition targets through continued new-brand research; attending in-person appointments and trade fairs when necessary
• Perform competitive research and price benchmarking to ensure that the assortment is optimized and competitive
• Work closely with the fashion and Everything Else buying teams to secure exclusive products from partners within the fashion and EE matrix; delivering ad hoc brand-collaboration pitches and decks
• Support the onboarding of new members providing training on internal tools and processes 
• Act as a dotted line manager to an assigned coordinator and assistant buyer, overseeing their day to day activities, task prioritization, providing training and support.
• Work closely with logistics to optimise the speed-to-list of product; closely monitoring the timelines for high-investment and important launches
• Liaise with the Studio and Marketing teams to ensure product is accurately represented from a vendor and SSENSE point of view across all channels.
• Recommend key product and brand knowledge to the Personal Shopping and Marketing teams that result in driving overall sales for the Kidswear category
• Align with the planning team and work with the Buying Manager to execute on the seasonal budget targets and identify opportune areas for growth.
• Work cross-departmentally with logistics and accounts to ensure a smooth flow of merchandise into the business; ensuring competitive e-comm uploads and optimising full price selling.

Vendor Relationships -  50% 

• Drive the execution of the seasonal purchasing budget and own the selection and strategy for the brand portfolio 
• Select products to create a consistent buying message that aligns to the SSENSE brand and department strategy
• Act as collaborative partner to all vendors, providing regular business updates to ensure mutual success 
• Actively provide the marketing and creative teams with product content in order to create marketing campaigns that garner strong results based on the campaign key performance indicators
• Act as a brand ambassador building strong long-term relationships with suppliers to  attain early delivery times,exclusive launches or product offering, and preferential end of season terms (swaps, RTVs, margin agreements)  in order to achieve portfolio sales and profitability goals 
• Stay abreast of industry trends and continually source, suggest and onboard emerging brands to deliver to the budget targets and drive the SSENSE point of view

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
• A minimum of 3-5 years experience in a buying role, preferably in a kidswear role
• Must be able to leverage an existing network within the industry
• Highly analytical with a strong understanding of retail math
• Excellent skills using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets; Tableau is a bonus.
• Strong training skills and knowledge sharing capabilities 
• Good written and verbal communication skills in English and French 

Skills

• Strong understanding of SSENSE perspective 
• Confidence and credibility with solid track record in networking and negotiating
• Entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable with hyper growth in a fast paced environment 
• Resourceful and solution-oriented 
• Demonstrated ability as a high internal collaborator