Lead Buyer, Direct-to-Consumer; Footwear & Apparel

Who We Are

At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.

Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.

Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:

• Runner First
  We act in the best interest of the runner
• Word is Bond
  We do what we say we’ll do
• Champion Heart
  We give our all in everything we do
• There is no “I” in Run
  We stay generous with our humanity
• Keep Moving
  We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!

We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.

As the Lead Buyer, Direct-to-Consumer (Footwear & Apparel) at Brooks, you are strategic and consumer obsessed with the ability to shape the product assortment strategy for our footwear and apparel categories across our owned digital and physical retail channels. This role will establish new processes, define cross functional operating rhythms, and build the foundational infrastructure for a scalable DTC buying discipline.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who is excited to build cross-functional partnerships and processes and define how buying contributes to our direct-to-consumer success.

• Assortment Strategy & Buying
• Create repeatable seasonal assortment frameworks and decision-making processes to support a growing, multi-channel DTC business.
• Lead seasonal assortment planning for footwear and apparel across  and retail stores, balancing brand vision with consumer demand.
• Manage assortment plans across multiple seasons and the product lifecycle.
• Use historical data, competitive insights, and market trends to inform future buys, identify whitespace opportunities, and optimize current assortments; includes exploring and defining channel‑right segmentation, exclusives, launch sequencing, and seasonal product hierarchy.
• Partner with eCommerce and Retail Merchandising to bring assortments to life across digital and physical marketing and merchandising touchpoints.
• Tailor store assortments to local needs and seasonal transitions.
• Performance & Inventory Optimization
• Analyze sales performance, margin, sell-through, and consumer feedback to guide in‑season adjustments and future planning.
• Collaborate with the eCommerce Merchandising and Marketing teams to communicate priority products and lines.
• Collaborate with Planning and Demand teams to ensure demand plans are in order and can be passed to Market Supply Planning to ensure inventory supports business goals and minimizes excess.
• Lead in‑season business management (sell‑through analysis, markdowns, accelerations) using real‑time DTC insights.
• Represent DTC business in UMAP and markdown planning sessions with Wholesale and Planning teams.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Process Building
• Build strong relationships with Retail Planning & Analytics, Demand Planning, Product Merchandising, eCommerce Merchandising, and Marketing.
• Define cross‑functional operating model for DTC merchandising, aligning Product, Planning, Creative, Marketing, and eCommerce Merchandising around seasonal DTC priorities.
• Represent DTC through GTM milestones (e.g., seasonal assortment reviews, pre‑line reviews, pricing/UMAP inputs, etc.) and lead DTC seasonal product briefs and align Marketing and eCommerce Merchandising.
• Advocate for the consumer across all touchpoints, ensuring assortments reflect both brand vision and customer needs; serve as Brooks’ subject‑matter expert on DTC product needs, representing consumer expectations and channel‑specific opportunities.
• Apparel Growth Strategy
• Identify and lead opportunity planning to grow the apparel category through testing, consumer insights, and performance analysis.
• Champion new styles and refine assortments based on learnings to improve sales performance and category profitability.
• Develop test‑and‑learn frameworks for apparel in DTC, shaping…