Job Description

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JOB DESCRIPTION :: GENERAL MANAGER BUYING
The job holder will be responsible for the defined Buying ( Decor/ Fragrance/ Outdoor/ Festive) categories within the Brand and will ensure the development, implementation and management of category business plans to maximize sales and profits.
Business Planning & Budgeting

• Participate in the annual business planning and provide inputs to the Senior Management team
• Create the overall Range, Product Design and Merchandizing strategy for the allocated categories
• Analyze Brand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats vis a vis competition and assess market opportunity
• Oversee the category/brand management with the objective of maximizing sales and profits
• Plan and approve the merchandising budget for the category/brand

Category & Brand Management

• Understand the trend, customer requirements and design product development strategy
• Develop comprehensive category/brand business plans that are consistent with the company's overall goals and strategies
• Ensure growth in the sales and gross margins by driving focus on categories
• Oversee overall category plans in the areas of pricing, promotion, assortment and allocations.
• Monitor and review the performance of category business plans by using appropriate scorecard
• Ensure collaboration between Buyers & other Departments to leverage efficiencies in procurement, transportation, warehousing and store operations
• Maintain relationships with key vendors who are critical for the long term success of the business

Product Design

• Ensure all design and development activities are carried out within budget and are related to market Trends/demands, company image and business strategy
• Supervise design and development plan with specifications on product features, functions, packaging and resource requirement across categories
• Overseeing all design projects from conceptualization to delivery

Merchandise Planning

• Work closely with merchandise planners and all other stake holders to define parameters used for merchandising analytics
• Collaborate planning of merchandising requirements by setting sourcing triggers based on actual sales, sales forecasts, company order parameters, inventory checks, forth coming events, replenishment needs etc
• Discuss, decide and freeze the merchandise plans (pricing, promotion and assortment) and ensure effective in season management

Quality Control

• Supervise formulation of the quality control process steps and manual
• Ensure the merchandise procured and received meets the quality standards in partnership with Quality team

People Management

• Develop talent within the team by providing consistent direction and support to achieve targets and take leadership positions
• Retain and engage the talent employed and build a collaborative and high performance team
• Enhance team productivity through skills development through coaching and training
• Ensure periodic administration of the performance appraisal process followed by monitoring of feedback implementation

Ensure all employee disciplinary issues and grievances are dealt with correctly
Qualifications:
Basic Qualification / Education / Vocational Training
NIFT, PG - MBA in Business Management (Premier B School Preferred)
Experience
15 years of Buying /sourcing / Product Development experience
Skills and Capabilities

• Knowledge of home products, retail market dynamics and consumer preferences.
• A passion for home and a strong awareness of global retail trends.
• Stakeholders Management
• Excellent commercial acumen and eye for detail
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a team, fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively present and articulate concepts and ideas.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and meet tight deadlines.
• Willingness to travel.

About Us:
Our journey started in 1973 with a single store in Bahrain. Since then, we have grown into a global retail and hospitality group. The proud creator of 25 plus value led, own-built brands across retail, hospitality, food, and leisure.
Over the years, our UAE - based group has evolved into a comprehensive retail and hospitality entity, with over 2200 retail stores, leisure, and hospitality outlets, panning the GCC, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Today, Landmark Group is one of GCC's largest omnichannel retailers and India's top home and fashion retailer.
We take immense pride in the organic growth of our retail brands, which have blossomed into household names. From Max, Splash, Babyshop, Centrepoint, Shoemart, Homecentre, Emax, Fitness First, to Funcity, to name a few, our brands span across a multitude of categories, enriching the lives of countless families over the past decade.
About the Team:
Home Centre is the largest omnichannel retailer for home furnishings in the Middle East, North Africa & the Indian sub-continent.
Home Centre offers outstanding value, quality products, and exceptional customer experience which is revealed in their new brand identity that is underpinned by their customer-first approach of enabling every home to tell its own unique story.
Established in 1995 with its first store in the UAE, today Home Centre has a wide network of over 80 stores, across the UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and India. Easy to navigate and serving as a one-stop solution for all home furnishing, the Home Centre e-commerce platform provides customers an extensive range of over 14,000 products at the tip of the fingers.

Skills Required