Buyer

Buyer - Apparel In 2002, AKIRA opened the doors to its first women's fashion boutique in Chicago. What began as a single storefront has grown into a nationally recognized fashion destination with over 40 retail locations across the United States and a rapidly expanding eCommerce business at AKIRA.com. At AKIRA, we are driven by a relentless commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences through trend-forward products, inspiring merchandising, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Our core belief is simple: Act and Think Like an Owner. This philosophy empowers every team member to take initiative, challenge convention, and contribute meaningfully to the continued growth and success of the brand. As we continue to scale, we are seeking passionate and strategic leaders who thrive in a fast-paced environment and are excited to shape the future of fashion retail. Position: Buyer Location: Chicago, IL (On-site) Position Overview The Buyer owns the assortment for their category, from trend read and line review through purchase order, in-season reaction, and markdown. That means making decisions quickly with incomplete information, reading what is selling within days, and acting on it: chasing winners, cutting losers, and keeping receipts flowing on time. This role is category-agnostic; you may be assigned to any product area based on business need.

Key Responsibilities

Assortment & Buying

• Translate trend inspiration into AKIRA-right product, adjusting silhouette, fabric and detail to fit our customer, price points and margin goals.
• Build out winning styles into new colors, prints and fabrications to extend a trend across the assortment.
• Build seasonal and monthly assortments by store and e-commerce channel, balancing trend, newness, and core attributes.
• Write and manage purchase orders within approved open-to-buy, working with Planning & Allocation on unit depth, size curves and flow.
• Identify reorder opportunities and broken sizes early; decide when to chase, when to presell and when to walk away.

Vendors & Speed to Market

• Negotiate cost, terms, minimums and delivery dates to hit initial markup and in-store dates.
• Drive the calendar from concept through fit, PO, approvals and ship date, partnering with Technical Design to keep product moving.
• Hold vendors accountable to ship windows and quality; resolve late, short or cancelled orders quickly.

Analysis & In-season Management

• Review sales, sell-through, rate of sale, inventory and on order weekly; turn the numbers into clear actions.
• Own category financials: sales, gross margin, markdowns and inventory turn against plan.
• Recommend markdowns, promotions and exit strategies on slow sellers.
• Present category performance and forward strategy to merchandising leadership.

Cross-functional Partnership

• Work with Planning & Allocation, Design, E-commerce, Marketing and Stores to land the right product in the right place.
• Share product knowledge with stores and marketing for launches and key items.

Qualifications

• Required: 4+ years of buying experience in apparel.
• A sharp eye for trends and a clear point of view on what the AKIRA customer will buy.
• Proven ownership of an open-to-buy and category P&L (sales, margin, markdown, inventory).
• Strong analytical skills; advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups) and comfort working directly with sales and inventory reports.
• Experience negotiating with domestic and/or overseas vendors on cost, terms and delivery.
• Speed and judgment: you make calls quickly, own the outcome and adjust when the data changes.
• Clear communicator who can present a recommendation and defend it with numbers.

Benefits and Perks:

AKIRA offers competitive benefits for full-time employees, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Pet Insurance, Life, LTD, FSA/HSA/Dependent Care FSA, Flex Transit (CTA), 401(k), and a generous employee discount. We’re committed to internal growth, providing meaningful development and career advancement opportunities.

Job Type: Full-time (Onsite)

We are committed to fair and transparent compensation practices. Compensation for this position will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. Additional compensation and benefits may also apply and will be discussed during the hiring process.

We may utilize AI-assisted and automated tools as part of the recruiting and hiring process. All employment decisions are made in compliance with applicable laws and without discrimination.