Buying Manager

Department: Merchandising – Buying

Location: Vancouver, HQ

Salary: 100-120k

The Company:

JD Sports is a sports-fashion retail company with the incentive to inspire the emerging generation of globally minded consumers through a connection to the universal culture of sport, music, and fashion. Established in 1981, the JD Group is a leading global omnichannel retailer of Sports, Fashion, and Outdoor brands. With our retail stores expanding and evolving throughout Canada, The Group is continuously finding and developing talent that adds to the inclusive and diverse work culture. JD continuously and successfully sets the global standard for the retail experience best through the unique delivery of the world’s most authentic brands to the market. Our commitment to showcasing brands in a premium environment and stores remains a key part of the JD strategy.

The Opportunity:

The Buying Manager will oversee the end-to-end buying process for JD Sports, ensuring product ranges, store product options and inventory levels align with sales forecasts, store space, and customer expectations. This role will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Planning, Allocations, Retail, Ecom and marketing to maximize profitability.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development (30%)

1. Lead and mentor the buying team, setting clear objectives and fostering a collaborative, creative, and data-driven culture.
2. Drive continuous improvement initiatives, streamlining buying processes, and adopting new techniques or methodologies as needed.
3. Develop comprehensive training and development programs for the buying team.
4. Foster collaborative relationships across teams to drive business success.
5. Manage Got-to-Market (GTM) strategies between buying, marketing, Ecom and retail.

Strategy & Future (50%)

1. Partner with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to develop annual, seasonal, and monthly merchandise strategies through a strong understanding of consumer, brand, and JD Sports Fashion.
2. Collaborate with Planning leadership to create category-level product & brand mixes based on historical data, SWOT analysis, and SLT guidance.
3. Oversee and guide assortment decisions, providing strategic regional and local direction through the process.
4. Actively search for new brands, products, and categories to drive growth within the marketplace.
5. Collaborate with planning leaders on the continued development of space and ranging plans for store distribution in line with the buying strategy.

Sales & Inventory Management (20%)

1. Review weekly trading performance, identifying issues and preparing action plans for SLT trading meetings.
2. Inventory optimisation within KPIs approved by the SLT.
3. Collaborate with planning to manage markdown.
4. Regularly visit stores to understand performance and create action plans that optimize results, communicating findings to the Retail team.

Behavioural:

1. Delivering Excellence - Working at a consistently high standard with enthusiasm. You work to deliver a high quality of work to meet personal and team expectations.
2. Responsibility (Delivers results) - Take ownership of your work and use your initiative to deliver. Take responsibility for your own actions & decisions.
3. Teamwork - You work with others to reach a common goal; sharing information, supporting colleagues and searching out expertise and solutions from relevant stakeholders.
4. Leadership - You lead by example through your behaviors and professional approach to work, inspiring your colleagues and driving for results.
5. Communication - You communicate clearly and concisely, ensuring that the message is understood by all.

The Requirements:

1. 10+ years of multi-brand buying experience
2. Possess an innate understanding of product, trends and merchandise in a retail environment.
3. Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
4. Experience within Multichannel Sports retail merchandising and planning.

THE PERKS

1. Benefits – Includes medical, optical, and dental
2. Store discount – Includes staff discount, family & friends discount
3. Travel perks – Includes exclusive hotel deals in major cities (Vancouver, Toronto, NYC, Los Angeles)