Buyer - New Categories

Currys London Campus at Waterloo (LHO002)
Permanent
Full Time
Grade 4

At Currys we’re united by one passion: to help everyone enjoy amazing technology. As the UK’s best-known retailer of tech, we’re proud of the service our customers receive – and it’s all down to our team of 25,000 caring and committed colleagues. Working as one team, we learn and grow together, celebrating the big and small moments that make every day amazing.

We are looking for an innovative, ambitious Buyer with a history of delivering results and a flare of entrepreneurial spirit to join the dynamic ‘New & Growth Categories’ super squad. You’ll be at the centre of all things new in Currys, bringing emerging markets to life for customers across our market-leading omnichannel platform.

This is a new team with huge expectations – it’s about creating new value and growth for Currys through inspiring and educating customers about the latest and greatest on-trend new tech, embedding these new categories into our business and finding the next big thing!

You will work hand in hand with the New Category Senior Buyer to identify new opportunities which you will drive through each touchpoint of the business to bring to market across our stores and website. You will need to be creative and innovative to find new ways of working outside of BAU processes and find solutions to the many barriers to launch that you will be confronted with.

We are looking for a highly ambitious Buyer that wants the platform and opportunity to showcase their true capability. Join us in shaping the future of tech retail! Apply now and be part of the next big thing at Currys.

Key Responsibilities:

• Managing all category supplier relationships in line with our overall commercial supplier strategy and the category strategy
• Harness credible relationships with our suppliers and develop a sourcing strategy to both bring customers the best ranges, supported with availability but also to minimise our NET cost of goods
• Work with suppliers to develop a strong understanding of the future technology roadmap, enabling the category to adequately plan ahead for likely changes in customer trends and demand
• Negotiating product ranges – cost pricing, additional terms, exclusivity, distribution, stock availability
• Negotiating additional fixed and variable financial terms related to ranging, activity and performance – maximising EBIT across the category
• Negotiating promotional funding support to drive sales while maintaining margin in line with financial objectives
• Securing adequate product and promotional differentiation from competitors to support market share growth objectives
• Working with the returns team to ensure adequate supplier returns agreements are in place contractually to both meet customer service requirements and minimise cost exposure after sale
• Work closely with the category planner to secure supplier support to drive additional sales and margin where opportunity for upside exists, and particularly to mitigate risks against committed financial objectives
• Working with merchandising to ensure that we are forecasting at the right level to maximise sales and stock turn
• Working with the Head of Merchandising and central finance teams and ensure the claiming and tracking of income against trading account targets, ensuring all due supplier funding is claimed on time in line with contractual obligations
• Remedy all supplier issues relating to cost price, product, stock, financial claims, contractual issues and other
• Ensure supplier contracts are completed in line with the company DOA and pre-determined annual timetable

Required Skills & Experience:

• Buying experience working within a FMCG/Fashion or Hard Goods fast-paced retailer
• Negotiation skills and ability to manage all supplier partnerships
• Good judgment and strong decision-making skills to enable the right actions for the category
• Excellent numerical and analytical skills to review data and provide recommendations/actions plans to drive sales, profit and cash
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills, capable of presenting to senior stakeholders as well as working cross functionally to achieve the desired results
• Customer champion with excellent commercial awareness and understanding of customer needs
• Good working knowledge of SharePoint, Teams, Excel, Word and PowerPoint as well as MS Office workflow tools
• Monitor internal controls and make recommendations as needed
• Marketing/Merchandising/Retail/Business Degree
• Experience of both the Electricals market and products

We know our people are the secret to our success. That's why we're always looking for ways to reward great work. You'll find a host of benefits designed to work for you, including:

• 25 days of annual leave (plus bank holiday entitlement) and a competitive pension scheme
• Private Medical Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Fantastic colleague discounts on Tech with Currys and iD Mobile
• Access to Champion Health (Wellbeing App)
• Hybrid working (with an expectation to meet in person 2-4 times per month)

Join our team and we'll be with you every step of the way, helping you develop the career you want with new opportunities, on-going training and skills for life.

Not only can you shape your own future, but you can help take charge of ours too. As the biggest recycler and repairer of tech in the UK, we’re in a position to make a real impact on people and the planet.

Every voice has a space at our table and we're committed to making inclusion and diversity part of everything we do, including how we strengthen our workforce. We want to make sure you have a fair opportunity to show us your talents during our application process, so if you need any additional assistance with your application please email careers@currys.co.uk and we'll do our best to help.