In-Season Trader - Sports Brands

In-Season Trader

Role Purpose:

To drive and optimise in-season trading performance across banners and countries by aligning sales, stock, and assortment decisions with real-time data insights. The role acts as the central trading link between Buying, Planning, VM, Logistics, and Retail Operations to maximise sell-through, ensure optimal product availability, and improve profitability through effective inventory management, allocation, and cross-functional collaboration.

What you will do:

Building an In-Season Trading community

Act as the key point of contact for trading across multiple departments, including buying, planning, marketing, logistics, and retail operations.

Drive collaboration and ensure that trading strategies are integrated into broader business objectives.

Assist the Planning Manager to test and scale new tools/WoW across different banners.

Stay updated with industry best practices, new technologies, and trading methodologies.

Continuously identify opportunities to improve trading processes, tools, and systems for more efficient and effective trading operations.

Drive cross-functional projects aimed at improving processes and delivering improved business outcomes.

Develop and lead the in-season trading strategy for the assigned banners, ensuring that the strategy aligns with the company’s business goals.

Sales and Inventory Strategy

Oversee sales performance and inventory management across multiple banners/countries, ensuring optimal stock levels and maximising profitability

Inventory Management:

Work closely with the buying and planning teams to ensure optimal inventory levels across stores

Make recommendations for markdowns to optimize stock levels and minimize stockouts or excess inventory

Work on new replenishment tools to ensure accurate stock allocation and replenishment across countries

Assortment Optimisation

Collaborate with the buying and planning teams to analyse the performance of individual products and categories

Recommend assortment adjustments, product substitutions, or exit strategies to optimize sales and meet customer demand

Manage Inventory Intake

Work closely with Supply chain administration, to monitor & manage inventory intake from Suppliers

Collaborate with logistics to ensure timely product delivery and stock availability

Advanced Reporting and Insights

Lead the preparation of detailed reports for senior managers, providing actionable insights and long-term recommendations based on sales, stock, and profitability analysis.

Analyse sales data, customer insights, and product performance metrics to provide actionable recommendations for assortment adjustments and promotional activities.

Implements inter-store transfers and Never Out of Stock (NOS) coverage tracking.

How you will be measured:

Business Targets

Allocation accuracy (based on store grading/profiles)

Inter-store transfer effectiveness (volume moved vs sell-through impact)

Weeks of stock by store/channel/category

Sell-through uplift from reallocations

Product availability (minimize out-of-stocks / overstocks)

Coverage of NOS lines

Stakeholder Engagement

Effective collaboration with Visual Merchandisers to ensure VM strategies are effectively rolled out in each store in a timely manner.

Effective collaboration with Buyers and Planners to ensure accuracy of OTB.

Competencies required:

Strategic planning

Analytical mindset

Problem solving skills

Self-motivated

Strong collaboration skills / Team player

Effective communication skills

Business acumen

What you will bring to the role:

Degree/Diploma in business administrator or engineering is a plus.

Previous experience (1-2 years) in a trading, merchandising, or inventory management role.

Ability to interpret data and trends.

Proficiency in planning and inventory management systems. Knowledge of pricing tools and analytics software is a plus.

Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Familiarity with retail planning, product lifecycle, and fashion retail processes is a plus.

Valid Maltese Drivers License