Buyer - Undergarments & Shapewear (Cape Town)

The successful candidate will be responsible for driving sales, profitability, and market share through effective seasonal range planning, product development, sourcing, and in-season trading. This role requires strong commercial and analytical capability, a sound understanding of fashion retail and lingerie product, and the ability to use customer, market, and sales insights to make informed buying decisions.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the departmental seasonal buying and range plan in line with overall business objectives.
• Collaborate with Planning, Design, and Sourcing teams to develop product, fabric, and trading strategies that deliver agreed commercial KPIs.
• Utilise design direction, local and international trend research, current and historical trade data, customer analytics, competitor intelligence, benchmarking, and relevant industry platforms to inform seasonal product direction.
• Present seasonal product plans, including key strategic areas, must-win categories and items, and channel-specific considerations.
• Build balanced, commercially viable, and profitable Undergarments and Shapewear ranges.
• Conduct range development workshops to ensure products are on-brand, trend-relevant, customer-focused, and aligned with strategic growth objectives.
• Work closely with Design to deliver the appropriate balance of styling, fabric, colour, and price architecture.
• Ensure product development remains aligned with critical path and merchandise cycle milestones.
• Collaborate with Sourcing on product development, including new concepts, supplier selection, costings, technical packs, packaging, and quotation approvals.
• Work closely with Technical Product Development teams on sample approvals, final sign-offs, product reviews, presentations, and innovation opportunities.
• Conduct product reviews and present final concepts, pre-production and production samples, packaging, and display considerations.
• Collaborate with Planning to align financial targets and assortment plans across relevant grades and sales channels.
• Develop a strong understanding of the target customer and incorporate customer insights into seasonal range development.
• Partner with Marketing and relevant customer teams to understand changing customer needs, preferences, and behaviour.
• Conduct market and trend research to understand competitor activity, range offerings, product differentiation, pricing, and merchandising strategies.
• Analyse customer ratings and reviews to identify product preferences and opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
• Utilise supplier knowledge and international market exposure to identify emerging trends, new product opportunities, and market insights.
• Develop product marketing proposals to optimise the customer experience across physical and digital channels.
• Conduct weekly sales and trade analysis to assess product and sales performance across channels.
• Analyse relevant sales, item, product, and market intelligence reports to identify opportunities, risks, and required actions.
• Make informed trading decisions to optimise sales, stock, margin, and profitability.
• Communicate changes arising from current trade to relevant departments, including Marketing and Visual Merchandising.
• Participate in regular cross-functional trading meetings to align on production, shipments, supplier communication, and trade actions.
• Proactively identify high- and under-performing products and implement appropriate actions to maximise commercial performance.

Desired Experience & Qualification

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Fashion, Retail Buying, Commerce, or a related field.
• 23 years proven buying experience within a retail environment.
• Previous experience in lingerie buying within a fashion retail business would be advantageous.
• Sound understanding of retail buying principles and critical path management.
• Strong knowledge of the retail market, customer trends, competitor activity, and the broader fashion industry.
• Proven experience managing the full product lifecycle, from concept and range development through sourcing, buying, and in-season trading.
• Strong understanding of margin management, pricing architecture, and profitability drivers.
• Advanced computer literacy, including proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, PLM systems, and relevant market intelligence platforms.

Key Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen with a passion for fashion and lingerie retail.
• Excellent numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of the lingerie customer, market, and competitive landscape.
• Ability to interpret sales, customer, market, and trend data to inform buying and trading decisions.
• Strong product and trend awareness, particularly within undergarments and shapewear.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across Buying, Planning, Design, Sourcing, Technical, Marketing, and Supplier teams.
• Strong communication, presentation, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Confident in presenting recommendations and constructively challenging decisions where required.
• Proactive approach with strong initiative, sound judgement, and effective decision-making ability.
• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to respond effectively to changing business priorities and market dynamics.
• Curious and customer-centric, with a strong interest in consumer behaviour and emerging market trends.
• Committed to continuous learning and professional development.
• Passionate about fashion, lingerie product, and delivering compelling, commercially successful, customer-focused product assortments.

Interested?

Please forward your CV to