Buying Manager

About us

Love, Bonito is a digital-first company on a mission to empower the everyday Asian woman and inspire self-confidence. We are Southeast Asia’s leading womenswear brand, headquartered in Singapore, with an omnichannel presence across Hong Kong SAR China, Indonesia, Malaysia and a retail franchise in Cambodia. In addition, we have also expanded into international markets namely the Philippines and the United States of America.

Founded in 2010, we are proudly female-founded with more than 65% female representation in leadership roles (#girlpower!). We raised a US$50M Series C round in 2021 and know that we’re on the cusp of something great, where we’re working towards becoming the most thoughtful brand globally, for the Asian female consumer, especially when it comes to our products, community and experiences.

There’s a lot more work to be done with all of our exciting plans. So we’re looking to team up with people who are wildly passionate about making an impact and be part of a dynamic team, in a workplace with no corporate BS (yes, you read that right!).

The role

You will be responsible for continuously delighting and exciting the LB community, through thoughtful assortment selection. Reporting directly to the Senior Buying & Merchandising Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping Love, Bonito through this exhilarating scale-up phase.

Main Responsibilities

• Partner up with design development and assortment teams to create core and capsule products that are in line with LB DNA, customer preferences and opportunities in the market
• Research current fashion trends, consumer preferences, competitor activities and market demand to anticipate market shifts and consumer preferences
• Analyse sales data, customer feedback and product performance metrics to identify opportunities for product innovation, assortment enhancements and category expansion
• Prepare and present buying reports, trend analyses, sales forecasts to management and cross functional teams to inform strategic decision making and planning
• Partner up with sourcing & production and product development team to negotiate pricing, terms and contracts to maximise margins; source for new suppliers to expand product offering and enhance LB’s competitive advantage
• Develop inventory replenishment plans, reorder quantities, and stock allocation strategies to optimise inventory levels and minimise stock outs or overstocks
• Collaborate with design and merchandising teams to curate a product assortment that meets customer expectations - manage product life cycle, including markdowns and inventory clearance strategies; monitor inventory turnover, sell-through rates, and ageing stock to identify opportunities for markdowns, promotions, or inventory reallocation
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including merchandising, planning, and store operations, to ensure that inventory levels meet customer demand and sales targets
• Steer new range development i.e. new categories, collaborations
• Manage OTB for the portfolio assigned ensuring spend is within assigned budget
• Execute monthly replenishments to ensure healthy inventory cover
• Develop pricing framework and partner up with merchandising for final pricing recommendations

KPIs

• Net revenues, inventory cover, core contribution, customer acquisition and retention

Requirements

You Should Have / Be:

• Passionate about fashion and apparel and a good understanding of LB
• Extreme ownership and a self-starter who is hands-on with a ‘get things done’ attitude
• Desire to work in a dynamic and fast paced environment
• Gritty and able to work under pressure; comfortable to navigate through uncertainty
• Performance-centric mindset with a strong desire to achieve targets
• Commercial savviness and customer centric mindset; able to make timely decisions
• Numerically inclined, data-savvy and able to leverage on data to make decisions
• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Excellent collaboration and stakeholder management skills
• Growth mindset and sense of continuous improvement
• Mature leader who is able to manage, influence and inspire direct and indirect teams
• An embodiment and role model of LB’s values
• Minimally 5 years in buying with experience in the fashion retail industry, 2 years as manager
• In-depth knowledge of trends, textiles and production processes and a keen eye and passion for fashion

Benefits

1. Flexible Work Arrangement

• Work from anywhere*!
• Hybrid work and adjustable hours - as long as present during our core working hours

2. Staff Wellness

• Comprehensive corporate insurance (Fully covered visits at our panel clinics, Dental coverage, Maternity reimbursement, Mental wellness support)

3. Learning and Career Development

• Learning and development (i.e. subscription plans to best-in-class resources, personal development fund etc)
• Dedicated leadership training for those of managerial responsibilities
• Friday pm off for learning

4. #TeamLB perks

• Generous staff discount off LB products
• Corporate partnerships with a variety of companies
• Welcome to #TeamLB swag and store gift cards (get your LB work outfit on us!)
• Employee driven peer-to-peer recognition platform to honour and celebrate everyday achievements
• Internal Referral programme