Assistant, Buyer

Centric Brands•New York, NY

1d•$60,000 - $65,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Buying Assistant will work closely with the Associate Buyer to build the Seasonal & Core assortment buys and optimize the sell-in and sell-thrus to achieve/exceed the overall financial & margin budgets of the division. This position will also interact with Sales, Design & Production across major Boys Sportswear brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Calvin Klein, Lucky Brands, GAP, Faherty, Guess & Timberland.

Requirements

Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret sales data, margins, and SKU performance to support assortment and buying decisions
Highly organized with excellent attention to detail; able to manage calendars, buy plans, and multiple deadlines across cross-functional teams
Proficient in Microsoft Excel (e.g., pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data analysis, and reporting) to manage buy files, SKU plans, and inventory tracking
Effective communicator with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Design, and Production teams
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced retail environment while maintaining accuracy and meeting key milestones

Responsibilities

Create seasonal development calendars outlining key milestones across Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday, and Transitional seasons, covering all stages of the product lifecycle from SKU planning through DC delivery. Distribute calendars cross-functionally and manage key deadlines via Outlook invites.
Partner with Sales to develop classification-level SKU plans aligned with financial sales and margin targets. Ensure assortments reflect business strategy, historical data, and seasonal trends, and recap alignment with Design to prevent over-development.
Participate in CAD reviews and feasibility meetings; provide sell price and MSRP guidance to support costing. Maintain a centralized pricing reference file for Sales.
Collaborate with the VP of Sales and Design leads to align customer-specific assortment strategies, including pricing and channel distribution (full-price, off-price, specialty) to meet budget objectives.
Build seasonal Buy Plan files capturing all style, material, pricing, tier ranking, prepack, shipping, and quantity details. Create corresponding order forms for Sales use during market.
Collect and input upfront orders prior to buy meetings; during meetings, partner with Sales leadership to input ATS and speculative buys. Reconcile final buy metrics including sales dollars, units, gross margin, and net margin. Transfer finalized data into QuickBase for Production approval.
Manage core non-replenishment inventory across brands (Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Calvin Klein, Lucky Brand, Guess, Timberland) to support year-round inventory needs.
Ensure all buy data is accurately uploaded into SAP, including materials, units, categories, and silhouettes. Coordinate with Sales on bulk order placement and monitor order pool completion.
Partner with freelance copywriter to deliver CADs and updated buy templates following buy finalization.
Own the Sample & Licensing Tracker to manage sample needs and imaging requirements by account. Share updates with Production and track sample status through completion.
Coordinate with Sales to prepare samples for market appointments and showroom presentations. Maintain organized sample storage for easy access and accurate tracking.