Senior Buyer

About the Team

Pet Smart’s Canada Home Office (CHO) is home to approximately 50+ associates who work in departments such as Merchandising, Marketing, Demand Planning, Pricing, Space Planning, Digital/e-Commerce, Human Resources, Legal, IT and more. The small but mighty team at the CHO supports the operations of 160+ Pet Smart stores in Canada and works closely with counterparts at Pet Smart’s global corporate headquarters located in Phoenix, Arizona.

We also share the Canada Home Office with our colleagues at Pet Smart Charities of Canada—an independent, registered charity. Pet Smart Charities of Canada is committed to making the world a better place for pets and all who love them by connecting pets with loving homes through adoption, improving access to veterinary care and supporting families in times of crisis with access to pet food, shelter, and emergency relief.

Collaborative Work Environment:
At Pet Smart, teamwork and connection are core to how we thrive. This role is based at our Phoenix Home Office, with an expectation of working a minimum of three days in the office each week. In a standard work week, associates may work up to two remote "flex day" (with leader approval). Our hybrid approach is designed to foster strong collaboration while also supporting flexibility and individual success.

The Sr. Buyer is responsible for setting and leading the merchandise strategy for their assigned category and leads a team that delivers assortment selection, pricing, promotions and development of line structures for assigned categories that impact financial performance. This role proactively leads their buying team to continually identify business opportunities and trends, understand competitive landscape, maximize assortment, and generate business analysis to achieve continued growth, forward looking plans, and profitability.

This role is responsible for vendor procurement and selection and negotiation of product purchase, terms, and ongoing relationships, as well as staying abreast of market and competitor trends. Additionally, the role is responsible for Joint Business Planning (JBP) negotiations with vendors to optimize promotional & assortment plans as well as optimizing vendor relationships to drive the best possible results. This role will leverage relationships with Phoenix Home Office, Canada Home Office and Field partners to maximize business performance.

• Leads the performance and strategies of Buyers and/or Associate Buyers and indirectly leads and partners with Planning, Space and Allocation teams.
• Creates and rolls out strategy with full accountability for assigned categories ensuring that the sales and margin results achieve financial and strategic goals.
• Moves the business forward with a sense of urgency by leveraging and integrating business analysis to track sales, identify key trends and maximize sales & margin opportunities in the assortment.
• Drives partnership and collaboration with Merchandise Planning and Allocation, Product Development, Store Operations, Marketing, and vendors.
• Champions the launch of new processes and tools such as Pricing & Promo Advisor and ensures adoption within their team.
• Continuously looks for ways to elevate their business with a mindset of Excellence in All We Do and Customer First.
• Leads, empowers and develops a team of Buyers and Merchandising Coordinators with a focus on the customer and empowering them to make decisions, learn and grow.
• Develops and communicates business plans that maximize sales, margin dollars, and margin percentage, based upon current business trends and additional internal business and external market factors.
• Negotiates product costs, terms and shipping/returns issues. Act as liaison between merchandising, distribution center and stores to track shipments and floor purchase orders.
• Develops and manages vendor relationships to ensure the best prices, products and shipments.
• In partnership with Marketing team, identifies items to maximize promotional and marketing strategies to meet sales and margin goals.
• Provides input to the other merchandising functions…