Juniors Buyer Job Description for the Fashion Industry

Juniors Fashion Buyer

Find a job in the fashion industry as a Juniors Buyer

Are you looking for an apparel purchasing position that is fast-paced and ever-changing?  Then Apparel Search has the job for you.  Well, the job description, anyway for juniors buyer.  (Not to be confused with the term junior buyer, which can be found defined by ApparelSearch.com under assistant buyer.)

The juniors buyer has the job of purchasing items for the most trend-conscious sector of the buying market, teen wear. Teenagers have more buying power now than in any generation past, and they wield that power at the cash registers.

Apparel Search recommends that you have at least two or three year's experience in purchasing for the teen market.  It will give you the experience necessary to succeed in the rapidly changing juniors fashion arena. Your passion for the changes in the juniors apparel market must be more than a passing interest.  Genuine interest and excellent taste will make you a hot commodity as a juniors buyer.

The teen market is heavily reliant on fashion trends. A juniors buyer should comparison shop the market in order to target age groups and their trends with more accuracy, and he or she should be capable of analyzing numerical and statistical data regarding this market. 

Analyzing numerical data is a necessary evil in a purchasing position, and teen wear is no exception.  In order to make sales projections, deliver presentations, and follow the direction sales and profits are headed, you must understanding the nature of the beast.

Understanding the data will facilitate effective interactions with the sales, administrative, accounting, design, manufacturing, and marketing teams.  Effective communication skills are a must, as you will be working with many different departments and personalities in this position.  An informed and organized approach to your work and your function within the organization creates a positive environment for collaboration.  Your informed communication, as well as your own enthusiasm can make or break your ability to manage your own buying team.

Which brings Apparel Search to another must-have accessory for success in the juniors apparel market. You must be as comfortable with a team environment as you are with autonomy.  As the senior buyer, you will find yourself managing a team of at least two assistant buyers (junior juniors buyers!), plus a buyers administrator.  Their training and skill levels will vary, and your patience and flexibility will be tested.  (Kind of like raising teenagers?)

Your communication and negotiation skills are going to come in handy when you get down to the nitty-gritty of negotiating with suppliers on price and delivery.  Negotiations will also be the order of the day when it comes time to set prices on products. 

You also may be called upon to travel.  That's what we here at ApparelSearch.com like to call a perk.  It does, however, require that you have the freedom to travel on short notice, which is not a luxury available to everyone.  If you have traveled before in a senior buying position, and still have the flexibility to travel, that will put you at an advantage for snatching up a fashion purchasing position.

In fact, as a senior buyer of juniors apparel, you will follow the buying process from start to finish.  You will decide which categories of products to carry, how much of them to carry, and when to introduce them.  You will develop both short-term and long-term strategies for developing the range of products in order to meet sales objectives for your team.  You determine pre-season and in-season repeat orders of juniors fashion items, and then make sure that it gets where it needs to be
in the hands of your stores and consumers quick, before the trends change!  You put the latest trends into the hands of teenagers, who are as interested in the latest styles as you are, by working with a marketing/merchandising team to determine promotional strategies. 

Your ability to balance many responsibilities at once is indispensable in this position.  So if you enjoy multi-tasking and prefer a fast-paced team environment, juniors buyer could be the career path for you.

Find a job in the fashion industry as a Juniors Buyer.

Learn more about Fashion Industry Buyers.