Urban Outfitters - Buyer, Womenswear Brands

Job Overview

As a Buyer for the Womenswear Branded department at Urban Outfitters, you'll play a key role in shaping the brand's collection and keeping it fresh, on-trend, and aligned with what our customers love. You'll be responsible for choosing the right products, managing inventory, and ensuring a mix of products that sell well and reflect the Urban Outfitters aesthetic. Using market knowledge, data insights, and vendor relationships, you will stay ahead of the curve and keep the collection exciting.

• Create a market leading branded edit, delivered from concept to customer both online and across retail doors.
• Create balanced initiatives encompassing trend, relevance to the urban customer, quality, value, and key volume as well as exclusive projects, emerging initiatives, and global partnerships.
• Collaborate across functions to ensure complete delivery of concept to customer. Liaise with PR, Marketing, Web, Visual Merchandising and Retail Operations teams to ensure brand launches are timely, sales maximized, and the department reaches its full potential.
• Build and maintain excellent brand relationships, identify demand in brands and trends and develop new relationships to support.
• In depth knowledge of the women's branded and own buy market and strong point of view on current and upcoming trends.
• Strong product development skills, ability to balance multiple short and long lead projects within the critical path.
• Strong ability to trade and deliver in-season, managing inventory as well as longer lead strategic initiatives.
• Negotiate the best possible terms with suppliers (margin, minimum guarantees, contracts, marketing budgets and exclusivity) whilst reducing markdown.
• Present and drive strategy, ideas and concepts to senior management, in line with business goals.
• Provide leadership to employees and peers, fostering an open environment of continual training and development.
• Manage KPI's and Open to Buy (OTB) plan, knowing when to change the OTB based on business needs.
• Lead and deliver departmental sustainability goals.
• Represent the brand with integrity and authority, being a true brand ambassador for the business.

• Proven experience working in branded buying and product development at Buyer level.
• Strong understanding of volume partnerships as well as market‑leading ideas and emerging initiatives.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, with a strong understanding of the Urban Outfitters brand and customer.
• Excellent brand knowledge and grasp of trend, with strong ability to identify fresh talent within new brands from around the world.
• Multi‑product buying and product development experience, and a strong market awareness exhibited through knowledge of relevant brands and reference points.
• Ability to identify emerging trends early on and interpret them in a commercial yet exciting way.
• Clear communicator with ability to present and support a point of view.
• Team player, able to provide leadership, training and motivation to employees and peers.

• Work‑life balance:
  Flexible start and finish times.
• Bring your dog to work.
• Wellbeing:
  Employee Assistance program to support mental, physical and financial health.
• Fully equipped free gym and on‑site wellness room in Brick Lane and 50% discount of external gym memberships.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Employee discount:
  Up to 40% off at all URBN Brands.
• Community:
  One paid day to volunteer or fundraise for a charity of your choice.
• Travel:
  Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan.
• Continued Development:
  Structured support within the business alongside continued learning and development.