Trainee Buyer - Summer 2025

Trainee Buyers

• Develop an understanding of the product development process
  • Sourcing the right materials
  • Negotiating the best cost
  • Approving colour, fabric and fit for production.
• Liaise with suppliers from Europe to the Far East to Track samples for selection meetings and production.
• Prepare garments/accessories for selection meetings, trade meetings and online photoshoots.
• Have an awareness of key fashion and market trends by gaining inspiration from a variety of sources
• Use your knowledge of relevant trends to find new product initiatives that you believe are missing from the departments current product offering
• Conduct competitor shop analysis and present findings back to your team to gain an understanding of where Next sits in the market .
• Maintain accurate buying systems
• Work closely with the trainee merchandiser to analyse daily best/ worst sellers and make recommendations
• Maintain an organised department - sample storage and approval library

The scheme

You will start your 12 - 18 month training programme on one of our ‘Product’ teams - Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear, Home or on our Brands team (who work with a portfolio of over 750 brands).

With support from your team, you will learn the skills required to progress within our Merchandising function. Responsibility comes early and you will be looking after millions of pounds worth of stock from day one!

You will receive regular feedback from your Merchandise team who will coach and develop you throughout the scheme, supporting you in reaching your goals.

Once you are ready to take the next step you will be promoted to Assistant Buyer!

About you

Are you the kind of person who thrives in an exciting, fast-paced environment? Do you excel at juggling a wide range of tasks while maintaining impeccable organisation? If so, you might be the perfect fit for our team. We’re looking for someone who is not just a great communicator but a relationship builder, someone who can effortlessly connect with both colleagues and clients.

Your analytical skills are sharp; you can interpret data with ease and spot opportunities that others might miss. Numbers don’t intimidate you—in fact, you have a solid understanding of percentages and how they impact our goals. In our bustling workplace, your approachable nature and team spirit make you a go-to person, fostering collaboration and positivity. You’re driven and decisive, always aiming to make a meaningful impact. If this sounds like you, then you’re exactly who we need to help take our team to the next level.

Your team

It's all about collaboration and great teamwork! You will be working alongside our Merchandisers and Designers on tasks from sourcing materials and even conducting competitor analysis to influence what our NEXT product ranges look like. You will learn to trade those ranges, reacting to what our customers are telling us they love. If placed within an own-brand team you will be involved in product development activities, or if you go into a branded team you will work with an exciting selection of external brands.

It's fast paced, exciting, challenging and very rewarding!

Your benefits

We’ll discuss more of what you’ll get when you work for Next at interview, but here’s an overview of what you can expect:

• Profit–related bonus
• 25 days holiday and the opportunity to buy more
• Contributions into a pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Sharesave scheme, which allows you to invest in Next and claim your share of our success
• A fantastic restaurant, coffees shops and juice bar
• Staff shop
• Free parking on-site, including car sharing
• Free company bus service to and from Leicester city centre and other areas
• 25% staff discount on most Next products – either in our stores or delivered directly to your desk
• On-site nursery (salary sacrifice scheme) in Leicester
• National and local discounts on goods and services
• A digital GP healthcare service

As part of your application, please include a cover letter detailing the below:

• Why should Next offer you a role as a Trainee Merchandiser?
• What skills and interests do you have that relate to the Trainee Merchandiser role?
• Why are you interested in joining Next?

At Next we embrace technology and innovation, but we want to see the real you! A generic AI response won't help you stand out from the crowd and may hinder your application.

We appreciate you might want to use Gen AI to help structure your responses, and check for grammar and spelling but the content needs to reflect your unique self, your passion and your understanding of the role.

Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements.

About Us

You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 35,000 people across the UK and Ireland. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 500 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 70 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!

About some of our Benefits

• 25% off most NEXT, MADE*, Lipsy*, Gap* and Victoria's Secret* products (*when purchased through NEXT)
• Company performance based bonus
• Sharesave scheme
• On-site Nursery available; OFSTED outstanding in all areas
• 10% off most partner brands & up to 15% off Branded Beauty
• Early VIP access to sale stock
• Access to fantastic discounts at our Staff Shops
• Restaurants with great food at amazing prices
• Access a digital GP and other free health and wellbeing services
• Free on-site parking
• Financial Wellbeing - Save, track and enhance your financial wellbeing
• Apprenticeship - Grow and develop on the job whilst gaining a qualification
• Direct to Work - Discount online and instore, collect your items the next day for free from your place of work or local store
• Support Networks - Access to Network Groups to empower and celebrate each other
• Wellhub - Discounted flexible monthly gym memberships, with apps, PT sessions and more

Conditions apply to all benefits. These benefits are discretionary and subject to change.

We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary. Should you need support with your application due to a disability or long-term condition, feel free to get in touch with us.