Buyer

The Buyer leads product selection, merchandising strategy, and seasonal timeline management for an assigned category within the IRONMAN merchandise business. The role owns the end-to-end assortment from concept and vendor selection through pricing, delivery, and in-season performance, and is accountable for the revenue, margin, and athlete engagement results of the business. The Buyer partners cross-functionally with Planning, Product Development, Marketing, Operations, Logistics, and Event teams, and is supported by an Assistant Buyer who executes purchase order, shipment, and allocation activity.

• Lead product selection for the assigned category, choosing the styles, colours, and price points that best represent the IRONMAN brand and athlete.
• Develop and own the seasonal merchandising strategy, translating business objectives into a compelling, profitable assortment, and analyse sales trends, athlete insights, and market/competitive opportunities to inform selection decisions.
• Determine optimal product mix, pricing strategy, and vendor allocation across channels, and drive category performance against sales, gross margin, and inventory productivity targets.
• Own the seasonal buying calendar and all key milestone dates from concept through delivery, setting and enforcing deadlines for product selection, vendor commitments, and order placement.
• Partner with Planning to align purchase timing with inventory and demand forecasts, and proactively identify and resolve risks to the calendar, escalating and course-correcting as needed.
• Build and maintain strong vendor relationships, negotiate pricing, payment terms, minimum order quantities, and production lead times, identify and onboard new vendors and product opportunities, and lead regular vendor business reviews.
• Direct the Assistant Buyer's purchase order, shipment, and inventory allocation priorities across events, warehouses, and channels to keep the calendar on track.
• Review weekly and monthly sales performance, translate findings into action, identify opportunities to maximise sales, margin, and inventory productivity, and make in-season assortment and pricing recommendations while supporting forecasting and inventory planning with Planning.
• Partner with Event Operations to ensure assortments support event-specific needs, collaborate with eCommerce teams to optimise online product offerings, and support onsite events as needed to gather athlete insights and improve future assortments.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team through clear expectations, regular feedback, and meaningful career conversations
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and safe environment
• Model IRONMAN's BE ICONIC behaviours and athlete-first mindset
• Build a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Partner cross-functionally to strengthen alignment, shared ownership, and consistency across the event ecosystem
• And take active ownership of team engagement, role clarity, and performance outcomes.

• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Retail Management, or related field.
• 4+ years of buying or merchandising experience.
• Strong understanding of retail mathematics, inventory management, and assortment planning.
• Demonstrated experience leading vendor relationships and negotiations.
• Exceptional organisational and project/timeline management skills.
• Advanced Excel and merchandising analytics capabilities.

• Experience in sporting goods, apparel, lifestyle brands, or event retail.
• Experience in a multi-channel retail environment.
• Passion for endurance sports and active lifestyles.

Its purpose is to inspire people to unlock their greatest potential through sport, pushing beyond limits to become the fullest expression of human achievement.