Swimwear Buyer Jobs - Fashion & Clothing Industry Swimwear Buyers Job Description

Fashion Industry Buyers

Swimwear Buyer

Find employment in the fashion industry as a Swimwear Buyer

Are you looking for a buying position with an intense seasonal focus? Then a job as a swimwear buyer could be your place in the sun.

As with any buying position, a background in purchasing swimwear is strongly recommended. Sometimes this position also involves purchasing small lingerie items, so your experience as either a buyer or junior buyer in the lingerie field can be translated into success as a swimwear specialist. 

It will be your responsibility to keep up with the latest in swimwear trends – colors, designs, embellishments – as well as ordering the right sizes in the right styles.  You will be responsible for not only maintaining current levels of sales, but also expanding the range.  In addition to sourcing brands and the latest in fashion swimwear, you may assist in the development of range of fashion swimwear and related merchandise under your own company’s label.  That depends on the goals of your organization as a whole.

As a swimwear buyer, you will have full responsibility for managing your team.  This includes but is not limited to helping them with their assigned accounts, and with aiding them in their own development in the fashion buying field.

The successful swimwear buyer also keeps an eye to the diverse markets within swimwear.  It goes beyond men’s, women’s and children’s. There are target markets within each of those categories.  In women’s swimwear alone, there are divisions for sports, fashion, women’s, plus size – even pageant wear.  Which market is targeted by your clients? It’s up to you to know and to place your pre-season orders accordingly.  (For information on purchasing positions specific to each category, float on over to the ApparelSearch listings for Swimwear Buyer – Children’s, Swimwear Buyer – Men’s, and Swimwear Buyer – Women’s.)

You will work closely with merchandisers to plan promotional, pricing, and financial strategies.  If you are working with a designer or designers, you must be capable of sharing creative ideas with the design team about new swimwear lines, or ideas for product development and improvements.

To be successful as a senior swimwear buyer, you must warm to interpreting numerical data.  As head of your team, you will take the lead, and therefore the heat, on many financial decisions.  The ability to analyze sales and market data can make the difference between a sizzling swimwear buyer and being metaphorically stuck in the rain.  A strong understanding of both the profit margins and sales objectives of your organization makes it possible to reach them, stroke by stroke.

You will be responsible for short-term and long-term financial planning and pre-season ordering for your clients’ swimwear needs.  A clear understanding of your clients’ goals and the  demographic of their customers is vital. (Maternity swimwear may not be sold in the same departments, or even stores, as teeny-weeny bikinis.)  Your organizational skills definitely come into play.

Come prepared to negotiate prices with vendors. You will also negotiate with suppliers to secure the most timely and accurate and affordable shipping for your clients. When dealing with external customers, you may sometimes feel like you are fighting against the current. 

But if a career as a senior swimwear buyer is for you, then you can handle it!

Find a career in the fashion industry as a Swimwear Buyer
 

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