Buyer - Retail (Pottery Barn Teen)

About the Team

You will report to the VP of Merchandising, and be part of the collaborative Pottery Barn Teen team responsible for creating assortment strategies based on analyzing sales and trends. Our job blends creativity, analytics, and marketing.

About the Role 

The Teen Retail Buyer is responsible for driving product strategy, in-store execution, and financial performance for the Teen retail business. This role partners cross-functionally with Merchandising, Planning, Allocation, Stores, Visual Merchandising, and Operations to deliver compelling seasonal assortments, support store performance, and ensure accurate execution of product and promotional strategies. The ideal candidate is analytical, detail-oriented, self-starter, and highly collaborative with strong communication skills and an understanding of the teen retail market.

Responsibilities 

Weekly Responsibilities

Reporting & Business Recaps

• Pull weekly business reporting and sales performance analytics.
• Write weekly recap and summary emails for cross-functional partners.

Store Support

• Attend weekly Retail Meetings to support store teams.
• Communicate business shifts and any follow-ups or action items.
• Partner with Allocation and Distribution on allocation needs; attend weekly allocation meeting.

Seasonal Responsibilities

Line Assortment & Product Strategy

• Prepare seasonal hindsight recaps and analysis.
• Develop retail strategies to drive growth.
• Attend Teen product milestone meetings.
• Assort seasonal collections for both Teen Retail Stores and Pottery Barn Kids (shop-in-shop) footprint.
• Select and manage seasonal floor models.
• Create and maintain seasonal merchandise lists.

Financial Planning

• Partner with leadership to set seasonal business targets.
• Attend department rollup meetings.
• Work with the Planning team on retail financial rollups and forecasting.

SKU Management

• Request all 921 copy SKUs for retail assortments.
• Hand off SKUs to Inventory for purchase order (PO) placement.
• Execute re-ticketing and mark-up actions in the system; send memos to stores.
• Maintain SKU data, including cost, COO, ship mode, and vendor updates.

Store Support & Training

• Prepare seasonal kickoff decks and lead training calls with field teams.
• Visit stores to gather feedback and share insights.

Visual Merchandising Partnership

• Partner with Visual Merchandising to map store layouts.
• Support pre-season set-ups as needed.
• Work with Allocation to assign pre-season inventory.
• Coordinate sample lists and trackers; ship samples (UPS) and communicate tracking details to stores.
• Request seasonal and core signage; review and edit visual books.

Reporting

• Maintain and update lists within the retail report.
• Create and update STD reports for broader team usage.
• Pull store-specific reporting to identify business shifts and for fiscal reporting
• Request inventory transfers from DTC to support store inventory.

Criteria

• 5-7+ years of retail buying or merchandising experience.
• Strong analytical and Excel/reporting skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Passion for teen retail, trends, and customer insights.

• This role requires being onsite in the San Francisco office Monday through Thursday

Our Culture & Values 

We believe that taking care of our people is vital to our success and we strive to offer equitable and transparent practices for all. We prioritize connection, growth, and wellbeing. 

People First 

Putting People First means investing in overall well-being and opportunities to grow and advance within the organization. Depending on the position and location, here are a few highlights of what benefits may be available:

 

Benefits

• A generous discount on all WSI brands

• A 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities

• Paid vacations, h