Merchandise Buyer

Role description

Merchandise Buyer

The Buyer / Sr. Buyer —owns the commercial performance of Jacent's clip-and-rack-dominant vendor category portfolio. This role is ~80% vendor-sourced and ~20% own brand — requiring strong vendor negotiation, licensed brand management, and buying fundamentals. The portfolio is primarily rack/floor programs in hard planogram environments. Title level (Buyer vs. Sr. Buyer) will be based on candidate experience. The Buyer/Sr Buyer is an experienced consumer goods specialist within a retail or wholesale business environment. Working hands-on with cross-functional teams in sales, store operations, distribution and inventory management. This position is responsible for optimizing the overall product mix, increasing sales and gross profit margin, creating assortment plans, providing sales analytics insights to support Jacent’s retail partners. This position is responsible for developing strategies and solutions to exceed company targets for sales and gross profit margin. Reports to the VP/GMM of Merchandise Buying.

Duties & Responsibilities

Vendor Identification & Management

Own and develop vendor partnerships across the portfolio; negotiate terms, pricing, minimums, exclusivities, and co-op programs

Continuously evaluate the vendor landscape — assess existing partners and identify new sources that fill white space or improve margin

Negotiate pricing, make packaging/product recommendations and finalize production samples with existing and new suppliers

Planogram Assortment Management

Analyze and maintain program assortments including making recommendations for new item introductions, item replacements, item discontinuations, and pricing through partnership with domestic vendors.

Own the rack/in-line assortment and program management for a wide variety of categories partnering with space and assortment on productivity and profitability analyses on items and across customers

Build and maintain vendor partnerships for rack programs; ensure fixture quality and reset cadence meet retailer requirements

Assess needs for builds due to seasonal peaks

Monitor sell-through and inventory position by item; identify replenishment needs early and flag risks to VP Merchandising

Maintain clean OTB discipline and manage markdown exposure proactively

Make assortment decisions across the vendor portfolio — what to carry, in what depth, for which accounts

Recommend exits with clear performance rationale and replacement plan; present to VP Merchandising in business reviews

Own Brand Contribution (~20%)

For categories with an own-brand component, partner with VP Product Development and Taiwan on product briefs, sample review, and packaging feedback

Bring the commercial point of view into development — what the market needs, what price point works, what the competitive set looks like

Go-to-Market & Financial Management

Partner with VP Merchandising on go-to-market for new items; work with Sales on retail sell-in and exit coordination

Own category P&L — sales, gross margin, OTB, inventory turns, and sell-through

Collaborate and communicate with internal departments and teams such as the Retail Sales Management teams and Customer Development department regarding opportunities to ensure the customer’s needs are getting met

Partner with the Project Management team on end-to-end execution of new initiatives

Attend relevant industry trade shows and conferences to evaluate industry trends, identify new items

Utilize Social Media, Goggle Trends, Jungle Scout and other tools to identify current and future trends

Visit Jacent’s retail partner stores as well as their competitors to evaluate the competitive landscape

Perform KPI program reviews based on a set review schedule

Understand and demonstrate safe work practices at all times to ensure a safe work environment.

Comply with all company policies and procedures.

Complete special projects and other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities-

Strong product instincts, merchant intuition and a genuine curiosity about category trends and a track record of turning that curiosity into product decisions that performed commercially.

Analytically sharp — the ability to understand and analyze sales numbers, as well as use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches ; advanced Excel, retail math fluency, and comfort building category performance models (sell-through analysis, margin bridges). Financial acumen is essential

Packaging and presentation sensibility — this role partners directly on packaging strategy and design direction. Candidates should be able to look at packaging and quickly assess brand clarity, item communication, and shelf impact.

Excellent verbal, written, and organizational communication skills

Excellent mathematical reasoning skills; the ability to understand and analyze sales numbers, as well as use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches

Ability to develop and maintain productive working partnerships, both within the company and with outside suppliers

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Ability to multi-task and prioritize projects.

Possesses a professional demeanor and positive attitude

Proven analytical and problem-solving skills.

Self-motivated with critical attention to detail and deadline

Strong sense of urgency and commitment to results

Willingness to adapt to changing environment

Commitment to excellence

Works well and thrives in a team environment as well as independently

Project management and proven leadership skills

Assortment planning

Merchant Intuition

Experience and Credentials

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience

2-5+ years’ experience in consumer products related industries like retail, wholesale buying and/or food market

Strong computer skills including proficient competence with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook

Demonstrated experience managing vendor and licensed brand relationships including negotiation

Strong retail math, OTB management, and margin analysis skills

Advanced Excel required; hardlines or general merchandise experience strongly preferred