In-Season Trader

Role Purpose:

To drive and optimise in-season trading performance across banners and countries by aligning sales stock and assortment decisions with real-time data insights. The role acts as the central trading link between Buying Planning VM Logistics and Retail Operations to maximise sell-through ensure optimal product availability and improve profitability through effective inventory management allocation and cross-functional collaboration.

Tasks

What you will do:

Building an In-Season Trading community

• Act as the key point of contact for trading across multiple departments including buying planning marketing logistics and retail operations.
• Drive collaboration and ensure that trading strategies are integrated into broader business objectives.
• Assist the Planning Manager to test and scale new tools/WoW across different banners.
• Stay updated with industry best practices new technologies and trading methodologies.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve trading processes tools and systems for more efficient and effective trading operations.
• Drive cross-functional projects aimed at improving processes and delivering improved business outcomes.
• Develop and lead the in-season trading strategy for the assigned banners ensuring that the strategy aligns with the companys business goals.

Sales and Inventory Strategy

• Oversee sales performance and inventory management across multiple banners/countries ensuring optimal stock levels and maximising profitability

Inventory Management:

• Work closely with the buying and planning teams to ensure optimal inventory levels across stores
• Make recommendations for markdowns to optimize stock levels and minimize stockouts or excess inventory
• Work on new replenishment tools to ensure accurate stock allocation and replenishment across countries

Assortment Optimization

• Collaborate with the buying and planning teams to analyse the performance of individual products and categories
• Recommend assortment adjustments product substitutions or exit strategies to optimize sales and meet customer demand

Manage Inventory Intake

• Work closely with Supply chain administration to monitor & manage inventory intake from Suppliers
• Collaborate with logistics to ensure timely product delivery and stock availability

Advanced Reporting and Insights

• Lead the preparation of detailed reports for senior managers providing actionable insights and long-term recommendations based on sales stock and profitability analysis.
• Analyse sales data customer insights and product performance metrics to provide actionable recommendations for assortment adjustments and promotional activities.
• Implements inter-store transfers and Never Out of Stock (NOS) coverage tracking.

Requirements

How you will be measured:

Business Targets

• Allocation accuracy (based on store grading/profiles)
• Inter-store transfer effectiveness (volume moved vs sell-through impact)
• Weeks of stock by store/channel/category
• Sell-through uplift from reallocations
• Product availability (minimize out-of-stocks / overstocks)
• Coverage of NOS lines

Stakeholder Engagement

• Effective collaboration with Visual Merchandisers to ensure VM strategies are effectively rolled out in each store in a timely manner.
• Effective collaboration with Buyers and Planners to ensure accuracy of OTB.

Competencies required:

• Strategic planning
• Analytical mindset
• Problem solving skills
• Self-motivated
• Strong collaboration skills / Team player
• Effective communication skills
• Business acumen

What you will bring to the role:

• Degree/Diploma in business administrator or engineering is a plus.
• Previous experience (1-2 years) in a trading merchandising or inventory management role.
• Ability to interpret data and trends.
• Proficiency in planning and inventory management systems. Knowledge of pricing tools and analytics software is a plus.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced dynamic environment.
• Familiarity with retail planning product lifecycle and fashion retail processes is a plus.