Senior Buyer - Lingerie Panties

Job Advert Summary

Join Woolworths FBH as a Senior Buyer – Lingerie Panties based in Cape Town. As a leading South African retailer committed to quality, innovation, and transformation, Woolworths offers an exciting opportunity to shape customer-focused and commercially viable seasonal product strategies.

As the Senior Buyer for Lingerie Panties, you will be responsible for developing and delivering a customer-focused, trend-relevant, and commercially successful Lingerie Panties strategy that aligns with the company strategy and brand positioning. You will lead the end-to-end product journey, from range planning and product development through to in-store execution, ensuring balanced assortments that meet customer needs, drive sales, and deliver sustainable profitability.

Working closely with Planning, Design, Sourcing & Production, Marketing, and Sales Management teams, you will create compelling, on-brand product ranges that deliver exceptional quality, fit, comfort, and value. You will leverage customer insights, market trends, and trading performance to achieve key business objectives and drive category growth. The role also includes leading, coaching, and developing a Buyer I and Buyers Assistant, fostering a high-performing and collaborative team culture.

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum 5-8 years' buying experience within a fashion retail environment.
• Experience in lingerie buying within a fashion retail business is advantageous.
• Strong understanding of local and international retail markets, customer trends, and the competitive landscape.
• Proven commercial acumen with the ability to identify market opportunities and translate trends into profitable product strategies and ranges.
• Advanced analytical skills, with the ability to interpret sales performance, customer insights, and market data to drive strategic decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to lead the end-to-end product lifecycle, from concept and range development through sourcing, buying, and in-season trading.
• Expertise in range construction, category management, pricing, and margin optimisation.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to collaborate and influence across Design, Planning, Sourcing, Quality Assurance, Marketing, and Operations teams.
• Confident and commercially astute decision-maker, able to perform effectively in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Proven experience leading, coaching, and developing Buyers and Buying Assistants.
• Customer-centric mindset with a passion for delivering compelling product assortments, quality, and value.
• High attention to detail, with a strong focus on product quality, execution excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Strategic thinker with a proactive, solution-oriented approach and the ability to anticipate and respond to changing market conditions.
• Results-driven with a strong sense of ownership, accountability, and delivery against business objectives.
• Excellent planning, prioritisation, and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and competing priorities.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, PLM systems, and EDITED.
• Willingness and ability to travel locally and internationally as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and Execute a Departmental Seasonal Plan
• • Collaborate with Planning and Sourcing to develop product, fabric and trading strategy to ensure the delivery of relevant KPI’s.
    • Utilise multiple data sources from design direction, global and local trend research, current trade and post-seasonal data, customer analytics, product and sourcing strategy, competitor intelligence and benchmarking, First Insights and EDITED to provide product direction for seasonal plan workshops in line with the overall Group Strategy.
    • Present seasonal plan inclusive of key strategic areas, must-win categories / items and channel-specific considerations.
• Build a Profitable Balanced Range
• • Conduct workshops to develop an on-brand product range that is trend appropriate and meets customer expectations, incorporating local and international comparative analysis, intelligence and benchmarking, with a clear intent of growth/exit product categories aligned with strategic goals.
    • Collaborate with the Design team to deliver a balanced range (styling, fabric, colour) within agreed price architecture and ensuring alignment to critical path and merchandise cycle milestones.
    • Collaborate with the Sourcing team on product development, including new concepts, supplier selection, costings, tech packs, packaging and quote approvals in line with the critical path milestones and merchandise cycle.
    • Collaborate with the Technical Product Development (TPD) on all sample approvals and sign-off samples, product reviews, final product presentation and innovation opportunities in line with the critical path milestones and merchandise cycle.
    • Introduce new product concepts and collaborate with suppliers and sourcing on new product innovation.
    • Conduct product reviews and present the final product (concept, pre-production/production samples, packaging), taking into account display strategy (e.g. tables, ticketing).
    • Collaborate with planning (financials, assortment plan) and reconcile with strategy by grade, channel (online, Edit, Africa).
• Lead Customer Understanding and Competitive Intelligence
• • Work closely with Marketing to understand the Woolworths customer, including incorporating quarterly updates from the customer team and utilising First Insights.
    • Conduct market and trend research (EDITED, WGSN, competitor store visits) to understand the competitive landscape, range offering, product differentiation and merchandising strategies.
    • Analyse customer ratings and reviews to understand online customer preferences and customer experience.
    • Utilise supplier information and overseas travel to gain market insights and trial new products.
    • Develop a product marketing proposal to optimize the customer experience instore and online.
• Actively Trade Product Range
• • Weekly sales trade analysis - analyse relevant reports (Monday trade, item report, style cards, Edited) to understand product and sales performance across channels to influence trade decisions, opportunities and actions to optimise sales.
    • Develop action plans collaboratively with Planners to address product performance and relay feedback to management. Feedback to include competitor landscape analysis.
    • Drive collaboration with Sourcing stakeholders in turning on or turning off product based on product performance.
    • Suggest promotional and markdown strategy and propose volume adjustments.
    • Communicate any changes from current trade that impact other departments e.g. marketing and visual merchandising.
    • Weekly team standstill with Quad team to align on weekly tasks including production & shipment standstill, supplier communication and trade actions.
• People Management
• • Ensure skills transfer through leading, coaching and mentorship to buyers 1 and buyers assistants
    • Develop direct reports with regards to their career plans
    • Manage performance through IPM process
    • Support training and adoption of new ways of working including buying systems and processes.
    • Build strong networks and strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders