Avara was founded in 2018 by Emily Wickard, who after spending 20 years in Finance, had grown tired of the corporate world. As a mother of 2 young kids, she decided to take a leap of faith and start her own clothing brand. Since its humble beginnings in Emily's home, Avara has grown exponentially. In 2022 and 2023, Avara was named to the Inc. 5000 fastest growing privately held companies in the country. The brand was recently featured on the Today Show in Hoda and Jenna’s “Best Dressed Guest” segment. Avara is the go-to brand for compliment-worthy clothing and accessories that allows women to celebrate all of life’s moments with confidence and joy.

Industry: Retail
Company Size: 51-200 employees

AVARA

Savvy Admin PROD

**Position Title: **Senior Women’s Buyer

**Department: ** Merchandising

**Reports To: ** Director of Buying

**Schedule: ** Monday – Friday | Core Business Hours | Onsite | ~10% Travel Required

**About Us **

Avara is a dynamic and innovative company dedicated to creating a sense of community through the shared love of fun, accessible, curated fashion that will inspire women to feel authentically confident. Avara creates and curates a line of women's clothing and accessories that come with compliments guaranteed!

Avara was founded in 2018 by a mother, Emily Wickard, who after spending 20 years in Corporate Finance, decided to take a leap of faith and start her own clothing brand. Since its humble beginnings in Emily's home, Avara has grown exponentially, with "Avaraistas" in every state and over 130,000 satisfied customers. In 2023, Avara was recognized as the #1 fastest growing privately held eCommerce company in the country by Inc Magazine.

Our goal is to be the go-to brand for fun, accessible fashion that allows women to celebrate all of life’s moments with confidence and joy.

**Role Overview **

As the **Senior Buyer – Women’s **, you will drive strategic assortment planning and product selection, curating fashion-forward collections that align with our brand aesthetic and customer preferences. You will manage the end-to-end product lifecycle—from concept to in-season execution—using data-driven insights, trend analysis, and customer feedback. This role requires strong commercial acumen, leadership capabilities, and deep knowledge of the women’s fashion retail space.

**Key Responsibilities **

**Assortment Strategy & Product Selection **

- Lead the development of seasonal category strategies to achieve sales and margin goals

- Build well-balanced assortments using data, market trends, and customer behavior

- Conduct in-depth attribute analysis to ensure optimal assortment breadth and depth

- Oversee high-volume SKU assortments and drive a consistent cadence of weekly product releases to sustain newness, customer engagement, and sales momentum

- Maintain accurate assortment plans, updating regularly based on performance and receipts

- Support marketing strategies by balancing hero and acquisition-driving products

**Avara Exclusive Product Development **

- Drive brand-aligned product development by translating trend insights and customer feedback into commercially viable styles

- Collaborate with Design, Product, and Sourcing teams to ensure cohesive development, margin optimization, and timely execution

- Utilize weekly selling data and seasonal hindsight to guide vendor requests and inform future assortments

**Vendor Relations & Negotiation **

- Build and maintain long-term, mutually beneficial vendor partnerships

- Negotiate pricing, terms, and exclusivity to improve profitability and delivery timelines

- Attend industry tradeshows and market events to evaluate, select, and source from wholesale lines while identifying new vendor and product opportunities

- Continuously evaluate vendor performance and onboard new partners as needed

- Conduct regular vendor meetings and ensure clear follow-ups

**Sales Performance & Inventory Management **

- Monitor category and product-level sales performance daily

- Conduct weekly sales recaps and identify key opportunities or risks

- Recommend actions such as restocks, markdowns, or marketing support

- Partner with Planning to manage stock levels and ensure receipt accuracy

- Use insights from product life cycles to refine future assortment strategies

**Trend Forecasting & Market Awareness **

- Stay informed on global fashion trends, consumer behavior shifts, and industry developments

- Conduct thorough trend analysis to support seasonal planning

- Monitor competitor assortments and share key findings with the team

**Leadership & Team Development **

- Manage and mentor Assistant Buyers through regular check-ins and developmental coaching

- Review workload, KPIs, and career goals, providing clear and constructive feedback

- Delegate new tasks and projects to support team growth and skill-building

- Ensure timelines and deliverables are met with a high degree of accuracy

**Cross-Functional Collaboration **

- Lead internal product reviews with Creative, Marketing, and other departments

- Communicate product decisions with strategic rationale

- Flag at-risk styles or delays proactively to ensure timely resolutions

- Represent the merchandising point of view in company-wide meetings and projects

**Financial Management & Analysis **

- Develop and manage the buying budget to align with company goals

- Analyze margin performance, sales data, and inventory productivity

- Adjust buying strategies based on data-driven insights and market trends

- Partner with Finance and Planning to ensure targets are met

**Core Competencies **

- Strategic Thinking

- Leadership & Mentorship

- Trend Awareness & Aesthetic Judgment

- Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Results Orientation

- Negotiation & Communication

- Adaptability in a Fast-Paced Environment

**Qualifications **

- Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising, Business, Marketing, or a related field

- 6+ years of buying or merchandising in the women’s fashion retail sector, preferably with eCommerce experience.

- Strong analytical and forecasting skills with a data-first mindset

- Effective communicator and cross-functional collaborator

- Skilled in inventory management software and Excel

- Experience mentoring and leading a team preferred

Senior Women’s Buyer

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