Retail Junior Buyer

Introduction

Welcome to the Toys R Us world of awwwesome, where we want your little ones imaginations to run free!

Toys R Us and Babies R Us are well established international brands.

Commonly referred to as the “World’s Greatest Toy Stores”, Toys R Us SA currently boasts 50+ physical stores, two of which are located in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, as well as an ALL NEW AWWWESOME online store.

The key focus of the group is to ensure that customers, young and old, from children to grandparents, are offered an amazing range and experience, complimented by great value! Are you a dynamic and passionate individual who will ensure exceptional customer satisfaction and excellent store performance?

Then we are looking for a

who would like you to join our team!!

The Junior Buyer supports the Category Manager/Buyer in achieving sales, GP, margin and inventory targets, with particular focus on the Baby Hards Local portfolio.

The role supports range selection, buying, supplier management, stock analysis, system administration and promotional execution, ensuring products are safe, high quality, competitively priced and relevant to the needs of parents and babies.

The role requires strong commercial awareness, analytical ability, attention to detail, urgency and organisational skills, while providing an opportunity to develop broader merchandise capability as part of the department's succession plan.

• Basic to intermediate negotiation and supplier management skills.
• Strong analytical ability with an understanding of sales, GP, margin, stock turn, sell-through, weeks cover, rate of sale and markdowns.
• Ability to identify sales, stock and range opportunities/issues.
• Strong attention to detail and administrative accuracy.
• Good understanding of baby products, development stages and parent needs, ideally with relevant category experience.
• Customer-focused approach, understanding the importance of safety, trust, value and advice in baby retail.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP and Pivot Tables, and proficiency in retail systems and Outlook.
• Excellent organisation, time management and sense of urgency.
• Strong communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
• Awareness of baby trends, new products, brands and competitor activity.

• Track and analyse sales, GP, margin, stock turn, aged stock, weeks cover and rate of sale
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• Support OTB monitoring and identify stock and sales opportunities.
• Analyse promotional performance and competitor pricing.
• Highlight top sellers, slow sellers, out-of-stocks and potential risks.

• Support range planning, product selection, samples and range reviews.
• Research baby trends, competitors and new product opportunities
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• Monitor product life cycles and assist with markdown and exit recommendations.
• Ensure ranges meet the needs of parents across different baby development stages.

• Accurately load and maintain product, supplier, cost, retail and SKU information
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• Process listings, delistings, price changes and promotional updates.
• Ensure new products are listed accurately and within required deadlines
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• Monitor SKU counts and core product availability to minimise lost sales.

• Manage day-to-day supplier communication and follow up on orders, deliveries, samples and outstanding actions
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• Assist with supplier meetings, performance reviews and negotiations.
• Follow up on claims, rebates, co-op advertising and other supplier-related matters.

• Support compliance checks, particularly for safety-critical baby products such as car seats, strollers and cots.
• Track customer complaints, store feedback and…