House Of Fashion Associates
BUYER - CHARACTER LICENSE - FASHION & ACCESSORIES
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Buyer - Character Licensing (Fashion & Accessories) - Print on Demand (Full-Time, Head Office Based)
About the Role
Our client is a fast-growing licensed pop culture merchandise and clothing wholesale business, supplying major retail partners including Next, Matalan, Amazon, and M&S. Due to their rapid growth, they are seeking an experienced Buyer/Product Developer to oversee offshore buying for new ranges, collaborating closely with design, suppliers, and licensors to deliver product to market.
This commercially-driven role focuses on apparel and accessories across multiple licenses, covering the entire product journey—from research and development to range sign-off. The role also includes managing their Print on Demand (POD) project while supporting the wider team.
Key Responsibilities
Buying
- Manage offshore buys for newness, ensuring alignment with production deadlines and seasonal demands.
- Research licences, categories, competitors, marketplaces, and pricing to inform strategic product decisions.
- Follow the master critical path to meet production lead times and seasonal targets.
- Plan ranges, selecting appropriate licences and suppliers, while preparing and delivering briefs to design and supplier teams.
- Work collaboratively with design and suppliers to select designs, develop samples, and provide detailed feedback (fit, construction, quality).
- Build full range plans, including:
- CADs, ratios, quantities
- Estimated costs
- Retail recommended prices (RRPs)
- Stock values and retail sales values (RSVs)
- Operating within a buying budget, ensuring commercial viability across quantities set using sales data, competitor benchmarks, and commercial judgement.
- Present ranges for internal approval and finalise signed-off plans for costing and purchasing.
- Review samples across apparel and accessories, providing clear feedback.
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Print on Demand (POD)
- Oversee the entire POD project, planning annual calendars and forecasting:
- Licences and key ranges
- Style options, guided by sales data and seasonality
- Blank selection, replenishment, and inventory management
- Manage UK blank purchases to extend product availability.
- Forecast blank requirements to align with warehouse and printing operations.
- Oversee print outsourcing via multiple channels.
Team Support
- Organise and allocate buyer-specific workloads for Buying Admins.
- Distribute tasks to design teams and support the Wholesale team with merchandising insights.
- Liaise with Production on all purchasing decisions.
- Assist Sales Merch with replenishment allocations.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for queries from suppliers and licensors.
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Requirements
- Proven buying experience, ideally within:
- Character licensed products
- Apparel or fashion wholesale (preferably in Print on Demand).
- Strong commercial acumen and ability to work within tight budgets.
- Expertise in interpreting sales data to drive decisions on ranges and quantities.
- Exceptional supplier and stakeholder communication skills.
- Highly organisational, with the ability to manage multiple ranges and deadlines simultaneously.
- Experience briefing design teams and evaluating sample feedback as a plus.
Benefits
- The opportunity to work across a diverse portfolio of excitement-driven licences ( entertainment, pop culture).
- A fast-growing business, offering substantial scope for shaping the buying function.
- A collaborative and supportive team environment.
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