Assistant Buyer - Skincare and Beauty

About Lifestyle

Lifestyle is a prominent retail chain specializing in Beauty, Fashion, and Home products. Since its inception in 1998, it has offered a unique shopping experience encompassing a broad range of offerings including colour cosmetics, perfumes, personal care items, fashion accessories, home essentials, and fragrances. The brand operates over 160 outlets across the GCC and boasts a rapidly expanding e-commerce platform, serving over 4 million customers annually as a preferred omnichannel destination.

Role Overview

As an Assistant Buyer focused on Skincare and Beauty, you will work under the Associate General Manager for Bath, Body & Skincare and collaborate closely with Retail Operations, Planning, E-commerce, and Finance teams.

Key Duties

• Plan buying calendars and events by aligning with seasonal inflow patterns, store events, and major buying fairs.
• Track order statuses and inventory regularly, proactively addressing supplier or category issues based on actual sales and arrival trends.
• Adjust distribution of orders considering sales velocity, budgets, and timing to optimize stock availability.
• Monitor purchase budgets, goods receipts, and inflow reports weekly and promptly report discrepancies to Planning and Finance.
• Comprehend margin, pricing, markup, and costing mechanisms per supplier and territory.
• Support the Buyer in setting retail prices aligning with overall margin targets, market conditions, and territory objectives, including currency adjustments.
• Analyze sales trends per store and territory to boost sales performance.
• Participate in sales forecast reviews alongside buyer, retail, planning, and finance teams.
• Evaluate product/category/supplier performance regularly and monitor stock to ensure appropriate reorder levels and allocation optimization.
• Contribute to seasonal range development by collaborating with senior buyers and presenting to stakeholders. Keep detailed and updated range files.
• Understand product classifications (department, group, sub-group, category) and customer preferences in the segment.
• Review product samples quickly and maintain comprehensive catalogues and photograph records.
• Build and nurture supplier relationships professionally, positioning suppliers as growth partners and ensuring timely deliveries and compliance with shipment and marking requirements.
• Analyze daily stock and sales reports to identify bestsellers, maintain stock sufficiency, and manage both fast-moving and slow-moving items effectively.
• Oversee stock reviews at central warehouses and decide on reorder or review timelines after 45 days of goods receipt.
• Ensure planogram compliance through regular store inspections and conduct competitor market analysis to bring fresh merchandising ideas and improvements.
• Regularly research competitors’ product designs, pricing, and color trends for continuous product development and alignment with market trends.

Requirements

• 2 to 4 years of professional experience in beauty or retail buying, particularly within skincare, beauty, bath, or body categories preferred.
• Previous exposure to multi-brand and omnichannel retail environments.
• Proven track record in managing buying budgets and vendor relations.
• Skills in product development, market research, financial insight, negotiation, and stakeholder management.
• Strong attention to detail, effective planning and execution skills, leadership capability, and a collaborative team-oriented mindset.