Beauty Buyer

Harvey Nichols, a prestigious luxury retailer, is seeking an experienced and passionate individual to join our Beauty Department as a Permanent Beauty Buyer. This key role involves spearheading the buying function, driving sales, and achieving margin targets.

Key Functions

Relationship Management with Suppliers & Internal Teams:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers.
• Contribute to new launch strategies and joint business objectives in supplier meetings.
• Collaborate with Head Office departments, ensuring Beauty’s success across merchandising, marketing, media, online trade, and logistics.
• Act as a point of contact for store teams, addressing buying queries, new launches, and promotions.

Maximizing Department Sales & Margin Opportunities:

• Record, review, and analyze weekly sales information, providing strategic recommendations.
• Lead negotiations for optimal margins, staffing, and support plans for brands.
• Collaborate with the merchandising team on launch buys and trade promotions.
• Project manage seasonal GWP activations in coordination with marketing, logistics, and online teams.
• Support the Online team in new launches and trade initiatives to accelerate online business.

Support Harvey Nichols as a Leading Luxury Beauty Destination:

• Research and suggest new brands for the Beauty department.
• Drive key strategic projects and contribute to the development of buying strategies.
• Contribute presentations, reports, and ideas for the improvement of buying strategies.
• Maintain the unique Harvey Nichols identity for beauty across marketing, trade, and content channels.

Stores, Space Planning & Densities :

• Liaise with in-store Department Manager to review local trends and adapt ranges.
• Manage store promotional sites, windows, and pop-ups to drive trade and activate key launches.
• Lead space planning for new brands and run-down plans for exiting brands.

Operational & Analytical Support :

• Manage purchase orders, vendor contracts, and creation.
• Monitor payments and deliveries, alerting the Buying Manager of any concerns/issues.
• Submit supplier invoices for payment and handle discrepancies on physical stock receipt.
• Confirm markups with brands and Buyers to maintain regional pricing, mark up, and margin.

Financial & Inventory Performance:

• Generate sell-through reports for Suppliers Sales & Stock Analysis.
• Prepare seasonal reports for the Head of Buying, analyzing brand performance.
• Process orders, confirm order details with suppliers, and manage vendor creation and contracts.
• Arrange documents for vendor creation and assist in processing new vendor creation requests.
• Collect data for PO creation, maintain seasonal trackers, and support in-season re-orders and stock transfers.

Behavioral

Attributes

• Proactive and passionate about beauty, with an eye for niche and emerging brands.
• Commercial acumen and analytical mindset.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Relationship building and negotiation skills.
• Intermediate Microsoft skills including advanced Excel level.
• Excellent knowledge of Harvey Nichols brand portfolio, customer base, market positioning, and beauty trends.

Onboarding Profile

• Proven success as a Beauty Buyer or similar role.
• Beauty experience required, preferably within the luxury sector.
• E-commerce experience preferred.
• Experience in press, marketing, especially social media, highly desirable.