Job Title: Buying & Merchandising Manager

Industry: Retail | Fashion & Lifestyle

Reports To: Head of Business

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Work Structure: Fully Onsite

Remuneration: Competitive

Client Overview
Our client is a leading Africa-focused retail organization committed to delivering premium shopping experiences through globally recognized fashion and lifestyle brands. 

With operations spanning physical retail, franchise, and e-commerce channels, the company combines international retail best practices with deep local market expertise to provide customers with high-quality products while driving commercial growth, operational excellence, and exceptional consumer experiences.



Role Overview
Our client is seeking an experienced Buying & Merchandising Manager to lead merchandise planning, buying, inventory optimization, and commercial trading across multiple sales channels. 

The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the right product assortment, inventory availability, pricing strategies, and merchandising plans are in place to maximize sales, profitability, and customer satisfaction. 

This role requires a commercially driven leader with strong analytical capabilities and extensive experience managing retail inventory, supplier relationships, and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

Merchandise Planning & Buying

• Develop seasonal buying and merchandise plans aligned with business objectives, customer demand, and market trends.
• Define product assortments, category plans, and inventory strategies to maximize sales and profitability.
• Lead demand forecasting, open-to-buy planning, and product lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with commercial teams to ensure product offerings meet customer expectations and market opportunities.

• Monitor sales trends, inventory movement, and product performance to identify commercial opportunities and risks.
• Optimize product performance through effective in-season trading and commercial decision-making.
• Evaluate product launches, promotional activities, and seasonal performance to improve future buying decisions.
• Drive initiatives that improve full-price sales while maintaining healthy inventory levels.

• Develop allocation and replenishment strategies to ensure optimal product availability across all sales channels.
• Monitor inventory levels, stock movement, and replenishment cycles to reduce stock-outs and excess inventory.
• Coordinate stock transfers and inventory balancing to improve operational efficiency.
• Partner with Supply Chain teams to ensure timely product distribution and availability.

• Support inventory optimization across retail stores, franchise locations, and e-commerce platforms.
• Ensure merchandising strategies support seamless customer experiences across online and offline channels.
• Contribute to new store openings, expansion projects, and omnichannel retail initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve merchandising processes and operational efficiency.

• Develop pricing, promotional, and markdown strategies that balance sales growth with profitability.
• Support seasonal campaigns, inventory clearance initiatives, and commercial events.
• Evaluate promotional performance and recommend improvements based on business results and inventory positions.
• Ensure effective stock management while protecting brand value and commercial objectives.

• Analyze sales performance, inventory productivity, customer demand, and forecasting accuracy.
• Generate actionable business insights to support strategic planning and commercial decisions.
• Drive process improvements and leverage merchandising technologies to enhance efficiency.
• Prepare regular performance reports and recommendations for senior management.

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Buying and Merchandising team to achieve business objectives.
• Build strong partnerships with Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Retail Operations, E
• Commerce, and other internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with regional and international business partners to support merchandise planning and commercial execution.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Fashion Management,
• Supply Chain Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 8–12 years' experience in Buying, Merchandising, Category Management,
• Inventory Planning, or Retail Commercial Management.
• Experience within fashion, footwear, lifestyle, sportswear, FMCG, or large-format retail is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of omnichannel retail, merchandise planning, inventory optimization, and commercial trading.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, ERP systems, inventory planning, and merchandising platforms.
• Experience using retail planning systems such as SAP or similar enterprise solutions is an added advantage.
  
  

• Merchandise Planning & Buying
• Category & Assortment Management
• Commercial Trading
• Inventory Planning & Optimization
• Demand Forecasting
• Omnichannel Retail Management
• Financial & Commercial Acumen
• Data Analysis & Business Intelligence
• Negotiation & Stakeholder Management
• Leadership & Team Development
• Strategic Planning
• Problem Solving & Decision Making