KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Partner Management &

- Business Development

- Serve as the primary buying and merchandising interface for external brand partners, managing relationships, seasonal alignment, and commercial negotiations

- Drive partner performance through structured review cadences, OTB planning, and sell-through accountability

- Lead business negotiations with partners on range selection, pricing architecture, and intake phasing to ensure brand and margin objectives are met

- Identify and onboard new external partners in alignment with the brand's growth strategy

Seasonal Buying &

- Range Planning

- Develop and own the seasonal buying strategy, balancing the global range with India-specific requirements across all partner channels

- Build end-to-end range plans covering width, depth, and price architecture aligned with market positioning and consumer insights

- Define seasonal big bets and key merchandising stories based on trend analysis, competitive benchmarking, and historical performance

- Manage Open-to-Buy (OTB) budgets across partners, making timely adjustments in response to trading performance and market dynamics

- Conduct seasonal store visits across partner locations to gather on-ground market intelligence and feed insights back into the buying process

Merchandising &

- Sales Performance

- Analyse performance KPIs including AVU, sell-through, inventory turns, and stock-to-sales ratios to identify risks and opportunities, and take corrective action

- Drive sell-out performance by synchronising merchandise inflow with partner marketing calendars and promotional initiatives

- Lead sales forecasting, demand planning, and budget setting in close collaboration with partner finance and sales teams

- Prepare and present seasonal assortment reviews, trading updates,



and performance insights to the Business Head and key stakeholders

Sourcing &

- Vendor Management

- Define and execute vendor strategy for India-developed product, including liaison with global sourcing offices

- Manage vendor and sourcing office relationships to ensure product quality, cost efficiency, and on-time delivery

- Negotiate costs and commercial terms with manufacturers in line with target margins and seasonal requirements

Cross-functional Collaboration

- Work closely with Marketing and Visual Merchandising teams to ensure effective product launches and in-store execution across partner stores

- Collaborate with partners on team capability building, sharing buying and merchandising best practices to raise commercial performance

- Track and report on weekly, monthly, and annual business objectives, ensuring alignment across all partner accounts

SKILLS &

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

- Experience in Buying and/or Merchandising within fashion retail or a branded environment, with exposure to partner/franchise business models preferred

- Solid commercial acumen with a demonstrated ability to manage business negotiations and external relationships at a senior level

- Deep understanding of women's western wear trends, product, fabric, and construction

- Analytical mindset with proficiency in translating data into actionable buying decisions; advanced MS Excel skills essential

- Experience managing OTB, range planning, and sales forecasting in a multi-channel or multi-partner context

- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; comfortable presenting to senior leadership and external business partners

- High ownership orientation with the ability to operate independently while managing multiple partner relationships simultaneously

📌 B&M Lead II Retail Fashion Brand II Mumbai
🏢 Bridging Talents
📍 Mumbai