• Minimum 5+ years of experience in buying, merchandising, or product management within the Lifestyle Footwear or Sneaker industry—digital-first mindset preferred
• Deep knowledge of sneaker culture, consumer behavior, and the European FTW market landscape
• Proven ability to merge trend intuition with commercial insight to build compelling, high-performing product assortments
• Confident communicator with strong presentation skills; fluent in English (German or another European language is a bonus)
• Highly analytical with strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel; knowledge of Power BI or similar tools is a plus
• Detail-oriented and organized, with excellent time management and multitasking skills
• Proactive, solution-oriented, and eager to take ownership. Thrives in collaborative environments and brings energy to cross-functional teams.

PUMA is on the hunt for a Buyer – Lifestyle Footwear eCom Europe to lead one of the most high-energy, trend-driven categories in our business. Based at our global headquarters, this role is tailored for a strategic, commercially driven sneaker enthusiast with a deep understanding of the European sneaker and lifestyle footwear landscape. You will own the end-to-end product strategy for our Lifestyle FTW segment across PUMA’s European eCommerce platforms—merging cultural relevance with commercial excellence. If you're passionate about sneakers, fluent in trend forecasting, and thrive in a fast-paced digital retail environment, this is your opportunity to leave a mark.

• Lead seasonal product strategy in partnership with Merchandise Planning—developing compelling range and buy plans based on consumer insights, market dynamics, and business targets
• Curate the eCom assortment from the divisional line, balancing trend-driven innovation with commercial viability to exceed sales expectations and elevate the consumer experience on PUMA.COM and Marketplaces
• Act as the dedicated voice of eCom Europe during key global and regional milestone meetings, ensuring eCommerce needs are embedded early in the go-to-market process
• Leverage key assortment building blocks—commerciality, revenue vs. equity mix, price architecture, color balance, and seasonality—to build product stories that resonate with sneaker culture and deliver on KPIs
• Stay ahead of the curve: monitor competitors, consumer behavior, and local trends to keep the Lifestyle FTW offer culturally relevant and commercially sharp.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, preferably with business degree

Professional Minimum 5 years retail / merchandising experience in a fashion / branded / ecommerce environment)

IT Skills: Strong computer skills including MS Excel, Word, Power Point.

Language Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Good English written/verbal skills required (PUMA Group language is English)

Together with the Director of Buying and Merchandising and SEA Channel Manager, this role will be responsible for delivering a buy strategy per season and building the most profitable, balanced, customer focused range for the country which reflects the PUMA Brand Strategy and supports any key country strategies.
Accountable for managing the in-season trading of the business in a way where inventory is managed efficiently and required trading decisions are made and communicated to stakeholders.

Execution of seasonal buy for FPS, FOC and ECOM

• Execute seasonal buy in accordance with OTB & Budget

• Define assortment based on Country/ Channel/market/ platform/ customer profile, participate in seasonal preline/ kickoff/ tradeshow meetings to ensure product relevance.

• Ensure timely submission of seasonal orders.

• Manage the right product mix with targeted division/product category in mind.

• Ensure the buy based on analysis of the historical data/sell through.

• Define product strategy by sales channel to achieve optimal sell through results

• Deliver seasonal line to ensure gross margin, sell through performance and healthy stocks inventory.

• Present seasonal collection performance vs expectations and in analyzing consumer buying patterns, predicting future trends

• Propose Country requirement and pricing against competition.

Effective and efficient in-season rollout

• Ensure Country/ channel/ platform seasonal rollout is aligned with Global/ SEA direction.

• Be close to market to monitor direct competitors against Brand's position in terms of pricing, product, technology, Hero items.

• Ensure timely rollout of monthly launches and product assortment plan prior launch of a season.

• Touch base weekly/monthly with both Offline and ECOM OPs to reaffirm on RESEC/ OSEC & Banner and promotion roll out

Align best practices across territory

• Adhere to existing best practices and ensure it is consistently rolled out in different participating platform/s

• Ensure that functional work processes are clearly defined.

Pre-season Planning

• Together with Channel Manager and Planning Manager, review Sales, Inventory, Profit and OTB Budgets vs actual performance by channel and division and evaluate the achievability of budget targets for future seasons using the OTB tool. Present risks and opportunities to and sign off any changes with Head of Buying and Merchandising.

• Together with Planning Team to determine OTB’s for future seasons making sure it allows efficient cover of Inventory while delivering profit and minimizing End Inventory. Present to and sign off with the Head of Buying and Merchandising.

• Review store base grading by analyzing historical sales, SKU efficiency, and specific store needs as well as strategy. Work with Visual Merchandising on capacity planning to make sure the stores have the right amount of SKUs per space/concept at any point in time. Hand over the SKU targets to Merchandising to make sure the needed capacity is fulfilled and to prevent over-capacity.

• Provide appropriate top line and style level reporting and analysis for Buying team to be able to make educated buy decisions.

• Create achievable seasonal top-line plans for individual platforms and category sales and options in the Range Plan tool based on brand strategy, country strategy, history and range strategy.

• Create bottom-up plans by style including grading, start and end weeks, ROS, MD and end Inventory in the Range Plan tool based on historical analysis. Ensure plans reflect the types of items planned i.e. best seller's vs interest pieces to make sure inventory is managed effectively. Ensure these plans reflect the created top line plans.

• Present the buy plans including current trading trends, OTB for future seasons, Range Plan analysis and VLP together with Country Buying and Merchandising Team and Channel and Planning Team in Monthly and half yearly Global meetings.

• Ensure size level analysis performance on Gender/ BU/ class level and create sized buy plans for ordering on style level.

In-season Planning

• Drive weekly, monthly, quarterly and seasonal reporting and analysis and present these during weekly trading meetings. Drive the discussion together with Channel and planning Team on actions needed based on trading.

• Review weekly sales at style level and make trading decisions for promotions, MD, price changes, re-buy needs, stock transfers etc.

• Review the plans for upcoming seasons against actual situation and create final store plans and stock flow for allocation. Review allocation plans prepared by allocation team and discussed changes needed or pending issues.

• Manage markdown/ promotion/ discount budget together with Channel and Planning Team, making sure the correct flow and level of MD is applied. Make sure the exit strategy is followed thereafter MD and seasonal change-over takes place as planned.

• Together with Planning Team, manage the re-forecasting of sales, inventory, profit and OTB weekly at top line and concept level for each channel and division based on current trading using rolling up to Quarterly level for the OTB tool. Present changes, opportunities, concerns, or solutions to Head of Buying and Merchandising.

• Oversee the placement of orders and track deliveries and stock flow to Warehouse.

• Ensure an efficient inventory flow between channels and locations; transfers in and out, store vs warehouse, and that any opportunities are fulfilled. Inform channels of changes in inventory forecasts that will directly affect KPI’s.

• Manage promotion execution together with Central Buying, Planning and operation team.

Process improvement

• In conjunction with Retail Buying and Merchandising Team, work on improving the processes and tools used.

• Ensure existing tools are compatible with country needs and systems. In the absence of set templates, drive the introduction and implementation of such tools.

Strategy

• Create extensive Lessons-learnt analyses for previous seasons to be used as a basis of strategy for future seasons.

• Provide feedback and input into the Country Retail Strategy process to ensure that the strategy is market relevant and addresses the right areas of the brand and business.

• In conjunction with Channel Team, create buy Strategies that are in line with the Brand and Country Strategies and specific to store- and market needs, highlighting risks and opportunities.

Building the Team

• Train and lead Buying and Merchandising Team on full spectrum if buying across different regions and platform. Ensuring allocation plan and inventory situation are at optimal level in accordance to sales plan.

• Train and lead analysis Team, providing deep dive analysis on pricing and promotion. Reflect studies into the buy for future seasons and events planning

• Education: Bachelor degree
• Professional: Minimum 3~5 years of experience in product merchandising for retail business (Footwear/Apparel) / Product Line building and planning / Preferred experience in Sport brands
• IT Skills: Excel, PowerPoint: Highly advanced
• Language Skills: Fluent in Business English
• Verbal presentation & communication: Outstanding level is required / Proactive, Positive, Open and “hands-on”

• TASK 1 (30%): Build seasonal ranges for all retail channels (Consignment, Full Price, E-Com, Outlet) within respective division maximizing net sales and gross margin through planned volumes according to future trends and historic performance whilst delivering a clear vision of the brand
• TASK 2 (20%): Proactive identification and influence on inventory levels, strong and continuous exchange with related stakeholders (Merchandising, Retail Allocation & Sales Team)
• TASK 3 (20%): Close communication with Category Merchandising Team for next season product range
• TASK 4 (15%): Collaborate with sales teams in in-season planning. Review sales plan at store level, define the right seasonal sales mix and support sales team by setting markdown rate into assortment plan
• TASK 5 (15%): Weekly business reviews/ trends in order to drive sales and profit in the short term & Analyze sales data for yearly & seasonal budget plan

• 3-5 years of experience in Retail Merchandising, ideally covering both outlet and eCommerce channels.  
• Preferably a university degree in business related areas.
• Experience with Buying, inventory planning and financial performance tracking is essential.
• Strong MS Office/Excel skills.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Excellent knowledge of all relevant Merchandising KPIs.
• Strong communication skills (English) is a must.
• Understanding of Merchandise Planning & Buying cycles.
• Strong commercial mindset.
• Highly organized and detail oriented.
• Knowledge of market trends, sporting goods & fashion industry.
• Adaptability to work in a fast-paced retail environment and manage multiple priorities.
• Team Player.

Responsible for optimizing product assortment and sales performance across both our marketplace channel and physical outlet stores.

Range Planning & Buying:

• Define seasonal product ranges and buy plans tailored for outlet and marketplace channels.
• Develop range building blocks, grading logic, and sell-through targets using both qualitative and quantitative insights.
• Determine weeks in store (WIS), forecast final buy quantities, and manage option count to maximize product performance and customer relevance.
• Build product assortments for new store openings or marketplace expansions based on store environment, historical performance, and customer behavior.
• Maintain the range plan in-season and throughout the order process.

Inventory & Order Management:

• Accountable for timely order placement and order tracking to ensure alignment with launch timelines.
• Own divisional buy spend, inventory control, and in-season stock movement for both outlet and marketplace business.
• Monitor and manage option flow, density, and support in-season replenishment to support commercial and operational needs.
• Own Clearance strategy and drive sell-out of regional old stock via Outlet and Marketplace channel.

Sales Performance & In-Season Management:

• Track sales performance and Sell-Thru weekly, comparing plan vs actuals and revising action plans accordingly.
• Jointly responsible for top-down and bottom-up target achievement, including sales, margin, and profitability KPIs.
• Support development and execution of markdown and promotional strategies across both channels, including post-sale analysis.

Marketplace Management:

• Oversee listing strategy ensuring SEO best practices and brand consistency.
• Collaborate with the marketplace team on promotions, price competitiveness and promotional calendars.
• Extend product assortment according to requirements utilizing regional clearance stock.

Cross-functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with the allocation team to ensure timely product launches and implementation of assortment plans.
• Work closely with Visual Merchandising, Brand & Commercial Marketing, and Operations teams to align retail and marketplace displays with brand and business objectives.
• Liaise with Teamhead Retail Merchandising to develop financial plans and seasonal strategies across categories & stores.

Planning & Reporting:

• Prepare product and strategy presentations for key stakeholders including global teams (e.g., Buy Review), senior management, and store operations.
• Prepare RESEC aligned with global launches and regional focuses
• Conduct performance deep-dives and sell-through analysis to adjust future buying and allocation strategies.
• Provide actionable insights to improve marketplace competitiveness and outlet productivity based on sales trends, customer behavior, and market activity.