Key Responsibilities

A. Core Buying &

- Category Management

- Lead end-to-end buying for the Bags category, from market research and trend identification to product selection and assortment finalisation.

- Develop a strong understanding of fashion trends, consumer preferences, competitive offerings, and emerging category opportunities.

- Identify the right product mix across styles, occasions, price points, materials, colours, and silhouettes.

- Ensure the product range is aligned with the brand's positioning, target customer, and overall business strategy.

- Drive seasonal buying plans and ensure timely product availability in line with the retail calendar.

B.

Range

Architecture &

- Assortment Planning

- Develop seasonal range architecture based on category objectives, customer insights, historical sales, and market trends.

- Define the assortment mix across subcategories, including handbags, shoulder bags, sling bags, totes, clutches, backpacks, and other relevant segments.

- Establish the right balance between core, fashion, seasonal, and trend-led products.

- Build a balanced assortment across price bands, product types, colours, materials, and design aesthetics.

- Analyse sales performance and customer preferences to refine range depth, width, and product productivity.

- Identify assortment gaps and opportunities to improve category growth and differentiation.

C. OTB Planning &

- Inventory Management

- Own Open-to-Buy (OTB) planning for the category, ensuring alignment with sales budgets, stock levels, inventory norms, and margin targets.

- Develop seasonal and monthly buying plans based on sales forecasts, stock cover, sell-through, and planned markdowns.

- Monitor actual buying against OTB and ensure disciplined budget utilisation.





- Drive effective inventory management by maintaining optimum stock levels and minimising excess and slow-moving inventory.

- Review stock ageing, sell-through, weeks of cover, and replenishment requirements to support timely buying decisions.

- Work closely with Planning, Merchandising, and Retail Operations to align inventory with business requirements.

D.

Business

Performance &

- Profitability

- Drive category performance against revenue, gross margin, sell-through, stock turn, and inventory productivity targets.

- Analyse sales trends, product performance, and margin realisation to identify growth opportunities.

- Take data-driven decisions on product repeats, assortment rationalisation, markdowns, and seasonal transitions.

- Monitor category performance across retail channels and store clusters, where applicable.

- Prepare regular business reviews covering buying performance, category trends, risks, and corrective actions.

E. Vendor &

- Supplier Management

- Identify, evaluate, and develop vendor partnerships aligned with the brand's quality, cost, and delivery requirements.

- Negotiate product costs, margins, minimum order quantities, lead times, payment terms, and commercial agreements.

- Build a reliable vendor base to support product innovation, quality consistency, and timely deliveries.

- Work closely with vendors on product development, sampling, material selection, and cost optimisation.

- Monitor vendor performance on quality, pricing, delivery timelines, and service levels.

F. Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Work closely with Design,



Merchandising, Planning, Sourcing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Retail Operations teams.

- Partner with Design to translate market trends and customer insights into commercially viable products.

- Coordinate with Planning and Merchandising teams to align buying decisions with demand forecasts and inventory plans.

- Ensure timely product launches and availability in line with seasonal calendars and retail requirements.

- Support business reviews with actionable insights on category performance and future buying opportunities.

1. Candidate Profile

- Minimum 12 years of relevant experience in core buying within fashion retail, bags, handbags, accessories, or a closely related category.

- Strong hands-on experience in range architecture, assortment planning, and end-to-end category buying.

- Proven expertise in OTB planning, inventory management, sales forecasting, and margin optimisation.

- Strong understanding of the bags category, including product construction, materials, finishes, pricing, and consumer preferences.

- Experience in vendor negotiations, product costing, sourcing coordination, and supplier development.

- Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate sales and inventory data into buying decisions.

- Proficiency in MS Excel and retail merchandising or planning systems.

- Solid commercial acumen, negotiation skills, and cross-functional stakeholder management capabilities.

4.

Critical

Requirement

- The candidate must have strong, hands-on expertise in core buying, range architecture, and OTB management for the Bags category

. Candidates whose experience is primarily limited to sourcing, vendor coordination, or merchandising support without direct buying and commercial ownership will not be suitable for this role.

📌 Buying Manager (Noida)
🏢 KAZO Brands
📍 Noida