Retail Buyer

Shamiron Enterprises at Parkinson, QLD, is looking for an experienced Retail Buyer to join the team. Established in 2018, the business has built its name as one of Australia’s premier importers and distributors of premium quality products from India, bringing authentic flavours to Australian kitchens at prices that keep customers coming back. The range runs from everyday staples such as rice, flours, lentils, spices, ghee and cooking oils through to pickles, masala powders, instant mixes, snacks, confectionery, beverages and home utensils, and carries more than thirty of India’s best known household brands. Quality of product, honest value and dependable service are the foundations of the business, and its online store and delivery service place a broad, competitively priced range within easy reach of customers who want the tastes of home without compromise.

In this role you will:

• Anticipate where demand is heading across the Indian grocery category and determine which goods to bring in, in what volume, in which pack sizes and to what quality standard, from everyday staples such as rice, atta, dals and cooking oils through to snacks, sweets, pickles and ready mixes.

• Negotiate purchase pricing, volume commitments, promotional support, payment terms and delivery schedules with Indian manufacturers, exporters and local suppliers, and put supply arrangements in place that protect margin without any compromise on quality.

• Watch sell-through and stock cover line by line, drawing on sales data, stock on hand and supplier lead times so that fast moving staples are reordered ahead of demand and slower lines do not tie up stock holding.

• Keep abreast of changing market conditions by following trade publications, manufacturer and brand announcements, competitor ranging and pricing, and the freight, exchange rate and commodity movements out of India that shift landed cost.

• Set retail and wholesale pricing across the range and design the promotional, marketing and display strategies that put featured lines in front of customers, both on the online store and through the retail and wholesale channels the business supplies.

• Build the buying calendar around the Indian festival season, Diwali, Navratri, Holi and Raksha Bandhan among them, and around Australian trading peaks, so that stock lands in time and in the right depth for each occasion.

• Work to agreed purchase budgets and stock investment limits, planning orders container by container and season by season so that working capital is not left sitting in slow lines.

• Liaise with management on longer term category and range planning, supplier strategy and the sales promotion programme, and report on category performance, margin and stock investment.

• Coordinate the import pipeline with freight forwarders and customs brokers, track shipments from order through to arrival, and calculate landed cost so that every buying decision reflects the true cost of getting the product to the door.

• Make certain that imported lines meet Australian food standards, including ingredient, allergen, nutrition and country of origin labelling, and work with suppliers where a specification or a label has to change before a product can be listed.

• Source, assess and onboard new suppliers, and sample and evaluate new products for taste, quality, packaging integrity and remaining shelf life before they are added to the range.

• Review supplier performance on quality, order fill, lead time and consistency, take up shortfalls directly with the supplier, and keep an alternative source available for critical lines.

• Manage shelf life and ageing stock, setting clearance and markdown plans that recover value and minimise write-offs.

• Maintain accurate product, cost and pricing records so that the online store, price lists and trade quotations stay current.

• Carry out regular range reviews, delisting products that no longer earn their place and rebalancing the range towards what customers are actually buying.

• Analyse the results of each promotion and seasonal campaign and feed what they show into the next buying cycle.

• Support the sales and warehouse teams with product knowledge, and act on feedback from customers and trade accounts about gaps in the range.

About you:

• At least 1 year of relevant experience in buying, purchasing, category management, wholesale or retail merchandising, ideally gained with grocery, FMCG or imported food products.

• An AQF Certificate III including at least two years of on-the-job training, or an AQF Certificate IV, in a relevant field.

Personal attributes:

• Commercially minded, and genuinely curious about what is selling and why.

• Organised enough to plan months ahead, and adaptable enough to respond when a shipment or a season does not go to plan.

• A clear communicator who builds durable working relationships with suppliers and colleagues alike.

• Collaborative, dependable and interested in the products and the people who buy them.

Salary & Employment Conditions:

• Permanent position, full time, 38 hours per week.

• $75,000 to $85,000 plus superannuation per annum.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you! Please be sure to combine a covering letter addressing the key criteria set out above as the first page of your resume.