Buyer, Women's

About the Role

Are you an experienced Merchandising Buyer who is looking for an opportunity to leverage your strategic and product acumen in new and innovative ways? Do you have a desire to learn new ways of working and crave data-driven insights to help drive your business?

Stitch Fix is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Buyer to join our dynamic merchandising team. As a Buyer, you will be responsible for curating and developing a compelling assortment of products that align with our client preferences. Your keen fashion sense, market knowledge, and analytical skills will be instrumental in driving our business forward and delivering an exceptional shopping experience to our clients. 

As part of the Merchandising organization, you will have full ownership of department-level strategies and support other organizational strategic projects as part of our long-range plan. The Buyer will constantly analyze the business and execute actions based on learnings, involving calculated risks and bold decision-making. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to develop and nurture mutually productive relationships with both internal and external partners and is excited about using client feedback to create and execute merchandise strategies and assortment plans that deliver strong financial targets and delight our clients. 

You're excited about this opportunity because you will…

• Drive the overall strategic business vision for a department category through competitive market analysis, a deep understanding of client and financial opportunities, and navigation of organizational roadblocks
• Develop long, mid & short term strategies to maximize departmental opportunities and support overall Stitch Fix strategic priorities
• Collaborate closely with the Planning team to develop and manage seasonal assortment strategies that align with sales forecasts and financial targets
• Utilize market research, trend analysis, and customer insights to curate a relevant, on-trend, client first product assortment
• Identify and source emerging brands and styles that align with our Stitch Fix vision and target client
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, such as Planning, Styling, Marketing, Data Science, to build go-to-market strategies.
• Leverage the expertise of cross-functional Data Scientists and the vast amount of client & style-specific feedback in building a robust vision for your product categories
• Relish the challenge of managing a multi-branded and multi-channel (Fix and Freestyle) business, each with different objectives, success metrics and expected key results
• Partner with internal Private Brands teams to define the strategies, processes and vision that will deliver Private Label growth in a changing consumer market while developing into data-led, client and brand right product
• Build and maintain strong relationships with vendors and suppliers, continuously evaluating vendor performance and negotiating favorable terms, pricing, and contracts.
• Identify and lead onboarding of new strategic partners/brands and exit vendors who are no longer aligned to departmental strategies or productivity measures
• Analyze sales data, client feedback, and market research to inform buying decisions and present strategic next steps to the leadership team.
• Identify opportunities and potential risks in the market and adjust strategies accordingly
• Manage the open-to-buy process, ensuring appropriate inventory levels and timely product replenishment
• Support the Women’s team through hands-on mentorship, coaching and development of Associates, Assistants and Coordinators through clear and actionable feedback
• Provide guidance and hold team accountable to delivering product excellence, with a clear and consistent price/value relationship and client-first mindset
• Participate in cross-functional task forces in support of key strategic priorities as needed/available
• Support Merchandising Leadership Team with other projects and deliverables as needed
• Attend market meetings, trade shows or other vendor engagements as required

We’re excited about you because…

• You have 5+ years of Buying experience, diversified across multiple product categories in the digital space.
• You have experience in Women’s private label and multi-branded buying.
• You have demonstrated success in scaling a category or business
• You have a clear understanding of how to leverage client segmentation data to inform strategic product decisions
• You have a deep desire to know and best serve your client through analytics, focus groups, market intel and competitive analysis
• You have a proven track record of driving meaningful improvements to profitability, with a focus on curating balanced assortments that serve your clients and broader business objectives
• You have owned and managed an Open-to-buy and are well versed in using a variety of levers to drive financial success (e.g. promos, markdowns, marketing pushes, etc.)
• You have been a mentor or people leader and are excited to support coaching and development of others in their career journey
• You prioritize team development and have a track record of identifying and growing talent from within the organization
• You have a range of experience buying across different aesthetics, price points, and age groups, and can adapt product strategies accordingly
• You have a keen eye for fashion trends and experience in effectively commercializing these trends to serve your target consumer
• You are skilled at driving the product development process from start to finish
• You have experience in creating data-driven line-plans, shopping-lists, and trend direction in order to inform vendors and/or design partners on product needs. You are versed in providing fit direction to maximize commerciality of styles.
• You have a history of being an excellent vendor negotiator with a proven track record of delivering financial results against GM, Inventory Health and Sell Thru targets
• You have successfully influenced and are apt at building external relationships that are rooted in trust and partnership
• You have strong story-telling skills, great at communicating product vision and financial impact to gain buy-in and alignment from internal leaders and x-functional partners
• You think outside of the “retail box” and thrive in an environment where testing, reacting and taking calculated risks help drive financial performance
• You have a proven ability to leverage data, both structured and unstructured, as well as client feedback to drive assortment decisions and properly weigh risk versus opportunity
• You quickly learn new ways of working and embraced innovation, both transformational and incremental
• You possess advanced skills in Microsoft Office (Excel/Word/PowerPoint) and love learning new tools and systems
• You have the keen ability to effectively balance Art and Science (data) to inform strategic assortment decisions
• You are detail oriented, organized and possess effective time management skills and have proven you can thrive in a fast paced environment where bold and proactive decision making is essential
• You are able to travel up to 30% of the time (i.e. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York)
• You are Bright, Kind and Motivated by Challenge

Why you'll love working at Stitch Fix...

• We are a group of bright, kind people who are motivated by challenge. We value integrity, innovation and trust. You’ll bring these characteristics to life in everything you do at Stitch Fix.
• We cultivate a community of diverse perspectives— all voices are heard and valued.
• We are an innovative company and leverage our strengths in fashion and tech to disrupt the future of retail. 
• We win as a team, commit to our work, and celebrate grit together because we value strong relationships.
• We boldly create the future while keeping equity and sustainability at the center of all that we do. 
• We are the owners of our work and are energized by solving problems through a growth mindset lens. We think broadly and creatively through every situation to create meaningful impact.
• We offer comprehensive compensation packages and inclusive health and wellness benefits.