Associate Buyer - Footwear

Associate Buyer

As an Associate Buyer you will be collaborating with the Buyer to drive all facets of product assortment, financial planning, and vendor partnerships of the category with strong collaboration with their integrated cross-functional team.

Responsibilities include :

• Working alongside a team of talented professionals who are passionate about their work and strive for excellence every day.
• Leading and driving impactful projects that directly contribute to the success and growth of Rural King.
• Collaborating with Buyers, Inventory Planners, and Sourcing to support driving sales, managing inventory, and achieving the financial goals of the department.
• Maintaining vendor and product information (style, SKU, pricing UPC, etc.) in internal measurement unit (IMU).
• Setting up new vendors, items, and initial orders for seasonal and / or basic programs.
• Monitoring purchase orders (POs) for on-time shipping and fulfillment percentage and following up with vendors as needed.
• Maintaining order files and executing PO cleanup.
• Developing strong vendor partnerships.
• Partnering with suppliers on product development, as well as the global sourcing department on private product label development, as needed.
• Responsible for program management of co-op, vendor allowances, and promotional strategies.
• Negotiating all pricing, vendor terms, and opportunity buys.
• Overseeing and managing communication with stores and distribution centers.
• Partnering with logistics and DC for most efficient flow of product to stores.
• Visiting RK stores to establish open communication and understanding store challenges.
• Staying abreast of market dynamics and competition.
• Managing pricing, sales, and profit margin of products to plan.
• Identifying new opportunities to deliver products the customer wants and needs.
• Conducting category reviews as needed (2-3 per year).
• Developing seasonal merchandise assortments along with pricing and merchandising plans.
• Placing, tracking, and insuring complete and on-time delivery of all new store orders.
• Maintaining detailed current knowledge of sales, inventory, and profit trends for your area.
• Generating and leveraging reports for effective decision making.
• Completing assortment planning and product lifecycles.
• Collaborating to create financial plans (open to buy) that will align with organizational goals.
• Optimizing in stock on basic items.
• Identifying poor performing items and categories and reducing inventory and liabilities.
• Partnering with an Inventory Analyst to determine sales, inventory, and turn goals including preseason flow plans and projections.
• Developing and submitting advertising and promotional plans that deliver increases in sales and store traffic.
• Ensuring accuracy of print advertising and product in stock to 98.5%.
• Collaborating with the E-Commerce Buyer to identify assortment, placement, promotions, and marketing strategies.
• Providing timely direction on new SKUs and new programs to Store Planning to develop and maintain accurate planograms.
• Ensuring planograms are appropriate to volume and space of stores and grouped for volume levels.
• Learning to lead the team to drive sales, manage inventory, and achieve the financial goals of the department.
• Learning to create and communicate a strategic vision for the department, including visual merchandising strategies.
• Using discretion and independent judgment in daily decisions while maintaining a high level of confidentiality and professionalism.
• Actively participating in learning initiatives offered such as training programs, workshops, and webinars. Leveraging these opportunities to acquire new knowledge, refine existing skills, and stay current on the latest developments.
• Providing friendly, proactive, and professional internal and external support to others, assisting with inquiries, concerns, and issues promptly and effectively.
• Demonstrating behaviors that exemplify Rural Kings values : people first, integrity, attitude, initiative, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Essential qualities for success include :

Physical requirements include :

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

The pay range for this position is $55,000 - $72,740 annualized and is bonus eligible. Exact compensation is determined by factors such as relevant geographic location, education, certifications, experience, job level, shift, and organizational needs.