Music is Universal It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does. Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation. We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com. The A Side: A Day in The Life Abbey Road Studios is a market leading, globally renowned music destination and the most famous recording facility in the world. The Studios are a mecca for music fans globally and a major tourist attraction in the capital. The Abbey Road Studios gift shop gives visitors idea chance to experience a flavour of the magic inside the actual Studios and sells a range of high quality merchandise from Vinyl LPs and Beatles memorabilia to Abbey Road Studios’ own product range. The Buyer role is a tremendous opportunity to join this world-renowned organisation and play a key role in promoting this iconic brand. Reporting to and working with the Head of Retail, the Buyer will strategically plan and develop ranges and source products to sell in the shop and online, ensuring commercial objectives are achieved. The role offers the music lover the opportunity to curate the whole customer experience and provide international fans and pilgrims with a unique connection to the Studios, past, present and future. The B Side: Skills & Experience Range Development & Buying • Sourcing, developing, and buying strategically for the Abbey Road Shop and eCommerce platform, delivering a commercial range that maximizes sales and profit opportunities • Providing creative ideas on product design and development by utilising the Abbey Road portfolio of assets, and developing/managing the process from concept to production • Working closely with suppliers to develop best in class products and new sourcing methods • Sourcing and securing new supplier relationships as required, while also conducting periodic audits of existing supplier terms and conditions to ensure a competitive offering • Using negotiation skills to secure the best possible terms and conditions from suppliers for each order placed • Devising and delivering a robust annual product strategy, engaging and inspiring key stakeholders to create products that innovate and excite the customer base, and that maximise brand engagement and meet financial objectives • Managing the product development process, from briefing suppliers for samples, overseeing iterative improvements and finalising product designs • Monitoring the quality of all products delivered against agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and taking appropriate action in response to any failure to adhere to agreed levels • Researching and understanding the target market, predicting future customer trends in order to make informed buying decisions on product and design • Range planning and managing development and design budgets in line with agreed cost price threshold • Using finance data for creation of analytical reports to support sales reviews and forecasting, product development strategy and trend spotting • Conducting detailed analysis of reports produced, highlighting potential issues, and making recommendations for commercially viable solutions • Developing and managing Open to Buy (OTB) and relating this to trading e.g., repeat buys and cancellations • Calculating cost prices, margins, recommending selling prices, determining the correct pricing strategy for all ranges, and exploiting Open to Buy opportunities • Managing relationships across internal business functions and engaging with the digital, brand & marketing teams regularly • Work closely with inventory supervisor to closely monitor all stock and sales levels on a weekly basis, making decisions on reordering and deletions as appropriate Merchandising • Conducting regular range reviews, creating a range plan to optimise option count, allocated space and maximise sales and profit density • Managing product trialling activity with the Head of Retail • Monitoring market activity, through regular competitor shop visits, gathering market intelligence from a wide variety of sources in order to take appropriate commercial action, focusing on reviewing the stores price position and generating new product/range ideas • Establishing critical path for development and delivery of all product ranges, on time and on budget • Assisting in the preparation of budgets, sales, and profit targets • Monitoring performance against plan, taking appropriate action to maximise sales and profit and reduce stockholding whilst increasing stock turn • Delivering cost effective supply solutions and achieving maximum full price sales and planned margin • Driving increase in margin through new sourcing strategies and methods to build profit • Communicating trading issues and forecasts with proposed actions to Head of Retail. Planning availability schedule for new and continuity product • Encouraging an environment of open communication within the team and the building of effective cross functional relationships • Utilise RMIS and Cubes to produce analytical reports in support of key department decision making activities • Work closely with inventory supervisor to ensure all necessary documentation is issued to the supplier in support of orders placed, within agreed timeframes Person specification • Passionate about music and Abbey Road’s history and heritage • A strong track record in Buying & Merchandising within retail environment • Experience of translating vision/broad strategies into specific product ranges • Commercially driven, with oversight of the financial rationale at all times, including the ability to retain and disseminate commercial data and of working with P&L accounts, budgeting and forecasting • Excellent creative skills in the development of product ranges and in the procurement of goods and services • Good understanding of market trends, marketing planning and promotional campaign management Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits • Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%) • Private Medical Insurance • 25 paid days of annual leave • Interest Free Season Ticket Loan available • Holiday Purchase scheme • Dental and Travel Insurance options • Cycle to Work Scheme • Salary Sacrifice Cars • Subsidised Gym Membership • Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway) Just So You Know… The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement. Job Category Merchandising