Head of Buying and Merchandising

This role is for one of the Weekday's clients

Min Experience: 6 years

Location: Delhi

JobType: full-time

We are seeking a dynamic and creative Head of Buying and Merchandising to lead our buying, planning, and visual merchandising functions. This leadership role is responsible for driving the overall merchandise strategy—ensuring that our product assortment, pricing, and visual presentation align with the brand’s vision and business objectives. The ideal candidate will have a keen eye for design, deep market understanding, and strong commercial acumen to create a compelling product range that excites customers and delivers consistent growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Buying & Range Planning:
  Lead the buying function to conceptualize and execute seasonal merchandise plans. Identify emerging trends, analyze market data, and collaborate with designers and buyers to curate product assortments that reflect brand identity while maximizing sales and profitability.
• Merchandise Planning:
  Develop merchandise plans and Open-to-Buy (OTB) strategies to ensure the right product mix, price points, and inventory levels across categories. Work closely with the planning team to monitor sell-through, stock turns, and replenishment to optimize inventory performance.
• Design Collaboration:
  Partner with in-house designers and external brands to create exclusive collections and ensure alignment with market trends, customer insights, and seasonal themes. Drive innovation by blending creative design sensibilities with data-backed decision-making.
• Vendor & Supplier Management:
  Build and maintain strong relationships with designers, suppliers, and manufacturers. Negotiate pricing, delivery timelines, and quality standards to ensure seamless supply chain efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Visual Merchandising:
  Oversee visual merchandising strategy and execution to ensure that product presentation across stores and digital platforms is cohesive, aspirational, and on-brand. Guide the visual merchandising team to enhance the customer journey and storytelling through creative displays.
• Sales & Performance Analysis:
  Review sales reports, consumer insights, and performance metrics to identify opportunities and challenges. Use data to refine product strategy, enhance pricing decisions, and improve margin performance across categories.
• Team Leadership:
  Lead, mentor, and inspire a multidisciplinary team of designers, buyers, planners, and merchandisers. Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and accountability that supports both strategic vision and operational excellence.
• Market & Competitor Analysis:
  Continuously monitor global and local fashion trends, competitors, and consumer preferences. Translate insights into actionable merchandise strategies that maintain brand competitiveness and relevance.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Proven expertise in buying, merchandising, and merchandise planning within the fashion, lifestyle, or retail industry.
• Strong design sensibility with the ability to interpret trends and translate them into commercial assortments.
• Excellent understanding of visual merchandising principles and brand storytelling through product presentation.
• Analytical mindset with strong skills in sales forecasting, pricing, and inventory management.
• Exceptional negotiation, vendor management, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong leadership capabilities with experience managing cross-functional creative and commercial teams.
• Ability to balance creative vision with financial objectives and business KPIs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fashion Management, Merchandising, Retail Management, or a related field.
• 6–12 years of progressive experience in buying and merchandising, ideally with exposure to both offline and online retail environments.