Job Summary
The Green Goods Category Buyer oversees the purchasing, assortment and overall performance of the tropical houseplant and live plants category across Salisbury locations. This role reports to the Procurement Manager and is accountable for category margins, open-to-buy (OTB) budgets, and inventory management, ensuring that our annual plant and indoor houseplant offerings are robust, healthy, and aligned with customer demand while maintaining profitability and strong vendor relationships.
The Green Goods Category Buyer is responsible for the full buying cycle—from product selection and purchasing to ensuring the receiving department has complete, accurate paperwork upon product arrival and reconciling orders upon receipt. The role also reports regularly to the Procurement Manager on performance, opportunities, and challenges within this category. In addition to buying responsibilities, this position works on the retail floor as a sales associate at each Salisbury location to care and maintain sellable product that is up to Salisbury standards and maintains office hours as needed to complete buying duties.
Duties and Responsibilities
Category Strategy & Assortment Planning
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Maintain and manage the tropical plant, bulbs/vegetables and seasonal annual plant assortment strategy
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Identify trends, new varieties, and unique product opportunities to keep the category fresh and differentiated
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Balance core volume items with seasonal features and specialty offerings
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Consult with production on what we grow and supplement with buying to maintain a full and diverse plant selection
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Support merchandising plans with product selections aligned to sales cycles
Purchasing & Vendor Management Category Buyer – Green Goods
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Build and maintain strong relationships with growers, brokers, and suppliers across North America
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Negotiate availability, pricing, and delivery schedules to support category targets
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Issue purchase plans and coordinate approvals with the Procurement Manager
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Monitor supplier performance, including quality, fulfillment, and reliability
Pricing, Margin & Inventory Health
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Recommend pricing strategies aligned to margin goals and market positioning
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Partner with the Procurement Manager to approve retail pricing structures
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Monitor sell-through, shrink, and inventory movement to inform buying decisions
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Accountable for category margins, OTB, and inventory levels.
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Coordinate transfers, markdowns, or adjustments with inventory and retail teams
Logistics & Product Flow
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Coordinate plant deliveries with vendors, brokerages, freight forwarders and internal teams
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Review acknowledgements, packing slips, and shipment details for accuracy
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Support receiving processes and resolve discrepancies or quality issues
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Ensure plants are routed to the correct location for optimal sell-through
Cross-Department Collaboration
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Work closely with retail teams to align product mix with customer demand
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Support production, merchandising, and inventory teams during seasonal transitions
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Provide product knowledge and guidance to store retail floor staff and leadership as needed
Qualifications
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Strong plant knowledge across tropical, seasonal, and other greenhouse categories
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Strong Excel and data analysis skills
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Excellent negotiation, vendor management, and organizational skills.
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Experience with retail POS and inventory systems (e.g., Lightspeed) is an asset.
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Experience with retail dashboard and managing OTB, sales, and inventory reporting.
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Customer-service mindset with the ability to work directly on the retail floor.
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Ability to lift and move heavier products (up to 50lbs).
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Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach with retail teams.
