Buyer - Fashion and Clothing | Retail | UAE

Buyer - Fashion and Clothing | Retail | UAE Apply for the role at Al-Futtaim Automotive. Job Requisition ID: 175023 Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands.Al-Futtaim Group's entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day. Overview of the Role The purpose of a Buyer is to secure the right products or services at the best value by selecting suppliers, negotiating terms, and ensuring availability to support the organization's operational and strategic needs. What You Will Do Understand fashion trends, consumer preferences, and seasonal patterns. Regular visits to markets to understand the competition and trends. Analyze past sales, market trends, and customer feedback to guide future range selection. Identify bestsellers and underperforming lines to optimize range performance. Benchmark competition prices to ensure ranges remain competitive. Plan and select fashion ranges that reflect the brand identity and appeal to the target market. Build range by store clustering, range, price point. Collaborate with UK Team to develop ranges relevant to the market considering cultural differences. Work closely with Merchandiser to select the range and quantity in line with historical performance. Manage product visual plans, updating in line with cancellations & product changes made by UK teams. Create product training for store teams behind new product initiatives. Weekly trade analysis and product summaries created. Proactively review future ranges to ensure product is inline with current trading patterns. Identify trading opportunities to drive growth & actively de-risking categories that are down trending. Monthly Wissi management with Merchandiser, breaking down OTB opportunities & risks at product range level. Coordinate with Planning team & Logistics for delivery management. Ensure visual merchandisers reflect the product strategy in in-store displays. Collaborate with marketing to highlight key range opportunities to advertise and drive sales. Responsible for online exclusive product selection and work with Digital team to drive sales. Influence UK team on product requirements to drive commercial success. Required Skills to Be Successful Strong analytical and product expertise with a strategic commercial mindset, experienced in multi-market retail and knowledgeable of Middle East or Asia markets. Confident managing key trading metrics (sales, margin, OTB, stock, markdowns) and proactive in identifying growth opportunities. Ability to handle complexity. Excellent planning and organizing skills. Attention to detail. Highly numerate. Product confidence. Good communicator. Collaborative style. Optimistic attitude. What Equips You for the Role Bachelor's degree in business, fashion merchandising, retail management, or a related field. Professional buying/merchandising qualifications (e.g., fashion buying, retail buying). Minimum 5 years' experience in fashion or apparel buying/merchandising, including at least 2 years operating as a Buyer with full category ownership. Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. Proficiency in MS Office Suite. About Al-Futtaim Retail Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in Retail across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past 30 years. We have developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected brands in the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of the largest global partners of Marks & Spencer's in both regions with over 75 stores offering both fashion & food options.Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse workforce which includes over 100 nationalities across 12 countries. Join us today and make a difference... Other Details Seniority level: Mid-Senior level Employment type: Full-time Job function: Purchasing and Supply Chain Industries: Motor Vehicle Manufacturing #J-18808-Ljbffr