Introduction

A leading Fashion retailer based in Cape Town is seeking a highly commercial and customer-focused Buyer - Lingerie & Sleepwear to develop and deliver commercially successful, trend-relevant product ranges aligned with the organisation’s brand strategy and customer needs.

The successful candidate will be responsible for driving sales, profitability, and market share through effective seasonal range planning, product development, sourcing, and in-season trading. This role requires strong commercial and analytical ability, a sound understanding of fashion retail, and the confidence to make data-driven product and trading decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Description

• Develop and execute the departmental seasonal buying and range plan in line with overall business objectives.
• Collaborate with Planning, Design, and Sourcing teams to develop product, fabric, and trading strategies that deliver agreed commercial KPIs.
• Utilise trend research, customer insights, current and historical trade data, competitor intelligence, benchmarking, and relevant industry platforms to inform seasonal product direction.
• Present seasonal product plans, including key strategic areas, must-win categories and items, and channel-specific considerations.
• Build balanced, commercially viable, and profitable ranges that meet customer expectations.
• Conduct range development workshops to ensure products are on-brand, trend-relevant, and aligned with strategic growth objectives.
• Work closely with Design to develop balanced ranges across styling, fabric, colour, and price architecture.
• Ensure product development remains aligned to critical path and merchandise cycle milestones.
• Collaborate with Sourcing on product development, including new concepts, supplier selection, costings, technical packs, packaging, and quotation approvals.
• Work closely with Technical Product Development teams on sample approvals, final sign-offs, product reviews, presentations, and innovation opportunities.
• Conduct product reviews and present final concepts, pre-production and production samples, packaging, and display considerations.
• Collaborate with Planning to align financials and assortment plans across relevant grades and sales channels.
• Develop a strong understanding of the target customer and incorporate customer insights into seasonal range development.
• Conduct market and trend research to understand competitor activity, product offerings, pricing, merchandising strategies, and opportunities for differentiation.
• Analyse customer ratings and reviews to understand online customer preferences and improve the overall customer experience.
• Utilise supplier knowledge and international market exposure to identify new product and commercial opportunities.
• Develop product marketing proposals to optimise the customer experience across physical and digital channels.
• Conduct weekly sales and trade analysis to understand product and sales performance across channels.
• Analyse relevant sales, item, product, and market intelligence reports to identify opportunities and risks.
• Make informed trading decisions and implement actions to optimise sales, stock, margin, and profitability.
• Communicate trading changes and key actions to relevant departments, including Marketing and Visual Merchandising.
• Participate in regular cross-functional trading meetings to align on production, shipments, supplier communication, and trading actions.
• Proactively identify underperforming and high-performing products and implement appropriate actions to maximise commercial performance.

Education Profile

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Fashion, Retail Buying, Commerce, or a related field.
• 2-3 years’ proven buying experience within a retail environment.
• Previous experience in lingerie buying within a fashion retail business would be advantageous.
• Sound understanding of retail buying principles and critical path management.
• Strong knowledge of the retail market, customer trends, competitor activity, and the broader fashion industry.
• Proven experience managing the full product lifecycle, from concept and range development through sourcing, buying, and in-season trading.
• Strong understanding of margin management, pricing architecture, and profitability drivers.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience working with PLM systems and fashion retail market intelligence platforms would be advantageous.

Key Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen with a passion for fashion retail.
• Excellent numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of the fashion retail customer, market, and competitive landscape.
• Ability to interpret sales, market, and customer data to make informed commercial decisions.
• Strong product and trend awareness, with a passion for lingerie and sleepwear.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building capabilities.
• Ability to work collaboratively across Buying, Planning, Design, Sourcing, Technical, Marketing, and Supplier teams.
• Strong communication, presentation, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Confident in presenting recommendations and constructively challenging decisions where required.
• Proactive approach with strong initiative, judgement, and decision-making ability.
• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to respond effectively to changing business priorities and market dynamics.
• Customer-centric mindset with a genuine curiosity about consumer behaviour and market trends.
• Strong commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
• Passion for creating compelling, commercially successful, and customer-focused product assortments.

Application Instructions

Please forward your CV to cv@myfuturecareer.co.za. Should you not be contacted within 2 weeks, kindly consider your application unsuccessful.

Contact Details