Buyer - Spa/Beauty, Hybrid

Join our dynamic team at The Paper Store as a Buyer! Do you have experience and a passion for Spa/Beauty products?

Are you passionate about staying ahead of Spa/Beauty industry trends? Do you thrive on curating exceptional product selections that captivate our customers? If so, we want to hear from you!

As our Buyer, you'll play a crucial role in driving our retail success. Your expertise in catalog and retail business functions, including buying, vendor relations, negotiations, sales analysis, and product development, will be invaluable. But what truly sets you apart is your keen eye for trends and your adept use of social media to discover them.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Be a brand ambassador for The Paper Store 
• Continually seek out new opportunities for the company
• Develop a competitive merchandise assortment plan that is customer focused and monitor and adjust sales plan by staying abreast of fashion/industry trends and competition
• Secure and analyze quotations; negotiate prices and terms with vendors. Select vendors with respect to cost, quality, and delivery competitiveness for assigned responsibilities
• Ensure that product quality standards are met. Meet and exceed customer expectations through selection and pricing
• Analyze sales history for trends and item performance
• Run and analyze reports to create actionable recommendations
• Shop competition to compare products, pricing, merchandising, etc.
• Monitor and track quarterly goals and objectives 
• Maintain budgeted profit margins and OTB for designated areas
• Monitor vendor performance for quality, price, and delivery to determine vendor base
• Integrate brand, sourcing, marketing and retail supply chain functions into the merchandising process to make advantageous business decisions
• Troubleshoot irregularities with vendors and manage negotiations on key issues that include availability of new product, distribution of merchandise, timely deliveries, RTVs, and vendor allowances
• Attend trade shows and conferences to research new industry trends and products
• Coordinate and manage promotional activities and events.
• Developing and building positive, long-term supplier relations.
• Responsible for procurement and purchasing activities on assigned projects/vendors.
• Define, develop, negotiate and contract solutions that meet business requirements and enhance profitability by controlling/reducing costs, improving payment terms, reducing inventory and optimizing supply chain efficiencies.
• Assist product developers in creating projects for new sourcing, sending and accepting cost quotes, and sample request process.
• Assist developers by researching retail price comps and retail line logic.
• Work closely with store merchandising teams and marketing teams to implement new and creative ways to feature product assortments at store and website levels.
• Manage & develop direct reports.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: 

• Bachelor’s degree 
• 3-5 years’ experience as a retail buyer
• Sound analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong ability in Microsoft Excel and database applications; including building spreadsheets ad hoc
• MicroStrategy reporting ability a plus
• Extremely detail oriented and willing to analyze down to the lowest level
• Ability to work closely with a diverse group of people 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Flexible with all assignments and retail trends
• Ability to work 3+ days/week at the Corporate Office in Acton, MA
• Professional presentation in attire, demeanor, and appearance