Buying

Retail is a product-led business and it is essential that products match the needs, desires and aspirations of consumers. This is where buyers come in. They are the people who are responsible for sourcing, developing and introducing new and existing product ranges that suit their stores and customer base. As a buyer, your decisions are vitally important to the business: you might be a great company but if you get the products wrong it could have serious implications for the business.

The nature of the buying role will very much depend on the business you work for – you could buy for a department, a whole store or even the whole chain. Larger retailers such as supermarkets offer the opportunity to specialise in a particular product area, from children’s clothes to wines and foodstuffs.

Starting out in a buying role

Getting into buying is very competitive. Historically this has been an apprenticeship role: you would work your way up from assistant to the level of buyer. These days professional training, such as a degree in strategic purchasing or securing a place on a retailer’s graduate scheme (which may be buying-specific or encompass a rotation as a buyer), can give you a head start. However, the key skill you need to demonstrate at interview is that you know the products, industry, competitors and customers. Everything else revolves around that.

'As a buyer, your decisions are vitally important to the business: you might be a great company but if you get the products wrong it could have serious implications.'

New starters are usually based in a central head office rather than in stores, so travel is often essential. While this can be tiring at times, the upside is that there is more variety than in a normal desk job and with global manufacturing there may be the chance to see the world.

Your career path as a buyer

On the whole the work revolves around analysis, so the day always starts with checking sales data from the day before, reviewing what is working and what is not. Remaining time is normally spent on product development. You may start out by focusing on discrete tactical issues – decisions about sizing or colour options – but, as you progress up the ranks to head buyer, you will also be thinking about where you want to be in a year’s time and how to get there. So on that level the work becomes quite strategic.

It’s important to form close ties with suppliers and know what they are developing from the outset. When you reach a senior level, visiting factories and carrying out ethical checks to ensure they are not using enforced or unlawful labour is a routine part of the job. Knowing what your competition is doing is also crucial: your products need to be on-trend but different enough to set your company apart. This means you must also understand the origin of every component of the product and how it is assembled, which takes research, time and training. Good employers should provide this.

Skills for graduate buyer jobs

Buying is a very entrepreneurial role: essentially you are always working in the future, which involves an element of business risk. You’ll thrive if you can communicate at all levels and be analytical, logical and decisive. Though the work is quite intense and can spill over into your personal life (I always look at what glasses people are wearing!), a career in buying is extremely rewarding – particularly when you see the products you've selected proving a hit with consumers.

Karl Wilkins is purchasing manager with Specsavers. He has been working in purchasing for ten years and has undertaken professional training through the British Shops & Stores Association (BSSA).