Home

Retail Buyer

Do you want to become a Retail Buyer? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

Bookmark or recommend this article:

A retail buyer buys goods such as clothes, food, wine, furniture and electrical goods. The goods have to be bought at the right price, quality and quantity to meet the needs of the customer.

The work may involve:

• planning and selecting the range, type and quantity of goods to buy
• searching out new products
• meeting and negotiating with suppliers
• keeping up to date with market trends and reacting to changes in demand
• monitoring how goods and merchandise are selling
• attending trade fairs or fashion shows.

Retail buyers usually work around 38 hours a week, but at times may be required to work additional hours. Working hours may vary according to the season. It is an office-based job, which involves travel to meet wholesalers, manufacturers and suppliers.

Salaries range from around £15,000 a year for trainees, to about £40,000 or more for buyers at senior levels.

A retail buyer should:

• have strong business skills and be commercially aware
• have a fine sense of the price and value of goods
• have good ideas and be creative
• be a skilled negotiator
• be well organised and able to work well under pressure
• be able to work in a team
• have an interest in the retail sector they wish to join.

Retail buyers are employed by department stores, supermarkets, High Street retailers and mail order companies. There are around 12,000 retail buyers in the UK, and competition for jobs is fierce.

The entry requirement for a retail buyer is usually a degree or equivalent qualification. Retail companies tend to take on graduates as trainees. School leavers are unlikely to be considered for the post of retail buyer, but it is possible to join a company at a junior level and to move up through the company. There is no upper age limit.

Training is mainly on the job working with more experienced buyers or as part of a general retail management training scheme.

Promotion to senior buyer, trading manager or buying controller may be possible. There may also be opportunities to go into management.

More Useful Resources - Retail Buyer:

Do you know of a useful and relevant website that would be helpful to our users? Tell us about it by emailing