“I am a creative, fashion forward individual with a strong commercial mind and with 10 years of expertise in branded buying and product development in fashion & lifestyle fast-paced retailers & marketplaces”. I am very good at detecting new business opportunities and building successful product assortments, maximising sales & reducing stock risk in order to comply with the overall performance KPIS. I have also managed to build new product categories and contributed to improve growth within categories that previously were underperforming. I have developed my career as a fashion buyer for both branded product and own brand, having worked not only on product selection for third brands but also in the development of product categories and collections with design teams and suppliers. I have pre previously worked for big brands such as Urban Outfitters, Matchesfashion.com and Bimba y Lola. Grown from the bottom level acquiring year by year seniority until my current role and have developed really strong interpersonal skills that have helped me to not only become a key team player internally within my teams but also cross departmentally. During my years in Urban Outfitters & Matchesfashion it has been a key input the strong net of branded contacts & relationships that I bonded within retail, premium and luxury brands and high end designers. Have also developed a strong understanding on how a pioneer e-commerce platform succeeds within such a competitive landscape as it is luxury fashion. On my daily basis I am used to work within buying teams and to partner and negotiate with vendors in order to build successful product assortments. Quick thinking and reactive and efficient decision making based on a solid analysis basis are key cornerstones of my work ethic with the aim of always maximising departmental performance but always with an eye on consumer behavioural patterns, key products and trends and as well as hot new labels and driver bestselling established brands.
Responsible of the seasonal product assortment, managing the design team within the development phase. Responsible for following & managing the budget & open to buy for the department. Managing the buying calendar & taking responsibility of the buying process, overviewing sourcing of materials as well as costing & resulting mark ups of the collection. Collection planning: organizing entries of product in store by week & leading the visual merchandising & window dressing changes as well as overwiewing the ranging of product to stores. Demonstrating a detailed understanding of the client and historic and current overall department & company sales but also to a product and reference level. Coordinating with the marketing, ecom and communication teams through launches in store and online.
Planning & management of the buying schedule for all markets (London, Milan, Paris & NY) & attending all buying appointments, making the selection of the product for contemporary & luxury designers stocked at MF.com (Gucci, Balenciaga, Prada, Vetements, Fendi & Jacquemus among others). Responsible for all internal and external reporting, gathering information for opportunity and risks and sharing findings with Senior Management as well as with brands to discuss performance looking for any opportunities or negotiating strategies to reduce stock risk. Creative input with trend packs, new brands and emerging designers, styling notes and competitor shops.
Full responsibility in managing the OTB for the department and the product selection for own buy as well as branded product, reporting directly to the line accessories manager in absence of the buyer (April to December 2016). Collating all reporting and presenting to key senior management, showing a clear understanding of the overall department situation as well as key best & worst sellers and stock risk product. Product development input for own buy by bringing new ideas & putting samples into work. Negotiating terms and cost prices with suppliers in Vietnam, China, India, Italy, Spain & UK and raising orders and reorders on the system plus sending out to vendors. Attending all buying appointments and contributing to decisions on the branded mix (including brands like Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Vans, Fila, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, New Balance and Converse).
Engaging customers through conversation and till service. Assisting in the training and development of peers. Timely & accurate completion of tasks (visual merchandising, replenishment, markdowns...).
Responsible of administration including all internal reporting, competitor analysis & raising orders on the system. Follow up on deliveries with the inhouse factory & production department to maintain the critical path. Upkeep of samples and coordinating sample requests for photo shoots. Preparing buying presentations for daily, weekly and monthly meetings and seasonal sign offs including key items, current in store assortment by tier, buys for the season and key sales drivers. Assisting in the training and development of peers. Timely & accurate completion of tasks (visual merchandising, replenishment, markdowns...).
Responsible of administration including all internal reporting, competitor analysis & raising orders on the system. Developing audit programs and testing procedures relevant to risk Proactively interacting with key managerial positions of the clients to gather information & solve problems. Communicating critical areas or significant findings involving accounting principles, auditing standards, tax regulations and firm policies.