Buyer, Retail

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It’s no surprise people are passionate about the health and happiness of their pets and our Merchandising (buying) team is no different. When it comes to the products and solutions in our stores, our incredible teams of merchandising associates have everything covered — from head to tail! From keeping up with the top trends to developing new, innovative solutions, our buyers help ensure every pet parent can find exactly what their pet needs n our team and show your love for pets by creating products as special as pets themselves!

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 four days in the office each week. In a standard work week, associates may work up to one remote “flex day” (with leader approval). Our hybrid approach is designed to foster strong collaboration while also supporting flexibility and individual success.

As the Buyer, you are responsible for omni merchandising strategy including assortment selection, pricing strategies, promotional strategies, instore planogram and site placement strategies, and ultimately total customer experience across your book of business. This will include building collaborative relationships with key national brand vendors, as well as working closely with internal private brand teams on market leading product development and innovation.

You will need to stay abreast of current and future customer, market, and competitor trends to create the best assortment and maintain Pet Smart’s market leadership position and to sustain year over year profit growth. This position covers the entire portfolio of pet and wild bird assortment, leading five departments across bird consumables, care & accessories, environments, and live. This position also has one direct report, so leadership and development of team are important.

• Managing product assortment and product specifications in assigned areas to identify and address opportunities within the business and the market to maximize sales and margin opportunities.
• Developing and communicating business plans that maximize sales and margin based on current business trends to maintain Pet Smart’s market leadership position.
• Negotiating product costs, terms and shipping/returns issues, and vendor funding throughout the year to drive sales/profit.
• Create effective partnerships with marketing, proprietary brands, supply chain, distribution centers, and stores operations partners.
• Developing and influencing vendor relationships to ensure the best prices, products, and shipments.
• Identifying products that will maximize promotional and marketing strategies to meet sales and margin goals based on internal business and external market factors.
• Collaborating with other merchandising functions to determine product lifecycle, exit strategy and inventory aging standards.
• Participating in recommending, setting and approving product pricing strategies to achieve specific margin objectives and recommending appropriate markdowns.
• Plan and develop a merchandising team through training, coaching, and mentoring to create the bench strength needed to support a growing organization.

• Ideal candidates will be strategic, customer focused, analytical, and have a proven track record of identifying opportunities to driving sales, margin, and market share.
• Ability to communicate and influence effectively with senior leaders in all cross functional areas.
• Effective communication, analytical, negotiation, and organizational skills. Ability to train, coach, and grow an associate early in their career.
• Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising management, Economics, Business or related degree from a 4-year college or university.
• 3+ years of retail buying experience, including experience in both high volume and high value categories.

• This role requires collaboration, teamwork, and face-to-face interaction with colleagues, leaders, and/or clients.
• Being…