Allocator - Kidswear (Merchandising Admin Assistant)

Job Introduction

Selfridges has always been much more than a shop. We’re a social space where everyone is welcome and feels a sense of belonging, a creative playground where culture and commerce collide, and an experimental hub where you can discover the most innovative and sustainable ideas in retail. We’re here to help make the world brighter. And you can be an important part of this. We’ll talk more about the role below, but before we get to that, let’s share with you the good stuff…  

Rewards and benefits 

Life at Selfridges is dynamic, exciting, and always evolving. As well as working with some of the most cutting-edge, iconic and boundary-pushing brands, designers and creatives, we also offer our team members opportunities to help make a positive difference through our network of communities, both within and outside Selfridges. Here are just a few of our rewards and benefits that help make our team experience that bit more extraordinary. 

• Flexible working options to benefit you, your family and your wellbeing that can include part-time, flexi-time, job sharing or hybrid working

• Generous annual leave that increases with length of service 

• Up to five paid volunteering days – from beach cleans to co-ordinating food and clothing donations 

• Family leave that suits your set up including Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental leave policies 

• Defined pension contribution scheme  

• Generous bonus and/or commission scheme  

• Enviable team member discount including sale previews and double discount days 

• Exclusive local discounts on a range of restaurants, bars, beauticians and entertainment 

• Subsidised gym memberships  

• Annual travel pass and cycle-to-work schemes  

• A sustainable car salary sacrifice scheme 

• Several internal communities to get involved in from our Diversity Board and Green Warriors who are leading the charge on D,E&I and sustainability, to the Wellbeings who are always thinking of new ways to champion healthy minds, bodies and routines for our team members 

• Workplace Options, our confidential team member assistance programme for when life gets tricky or you need a little guidance 

• Access to a wide range of training programmes to help your career development 

Read on to find out how you can play your part in Reinventing Retail… 

Role Responsibility

As Allocator you will be responsible for ensuring that the correct stock is on the right place at the right time to maximise sales. You will be responsible for optimising the flow of stock through the business to the stores by means of auto re-ordering and allocation, while assisting the merchandising team with weekly, seasonal and ad-hoc analysis and communicating to the buying teams. ​

As Allocator you will:​

• Maximise both stock availability and stockturn through best use of auto replenishment and allocation.​

• Optimise stockturn by highlighting slow selling products and recommending actions to be taken​

• Action transfer of stock between stores and DC once agreed and ensure that RTV deadlines are met.​

• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the department, concession performance, best and worst sellers, competitor activity etc.​

• Input markdown following direction from the Merchandiser/AM.​

• Work with the DC to resolve queries and to highlight any unresolved problems​

• Chase suppliers for delivery of orders within the allocated delivery window and assist with booking in at DC where necessary​

• Monitor supplier fulfilment rates on deliveries and highlight any poor suppliers to AM​

• Provide weekly, seasonal and ad-hoc analysis for the Buyer and Merchandiser to inform them of risks and opportunities​

• Maintain an up to date knowledge of the relevant systems (Retek, Excel, Essbase) and to attend training when required

The Ideal Candidate

• Knowledgeable. You will have strong retail knowledge and a solid understanding of Merchandising​

• Organised and proactive. You are able to multi-task, prioritise and work to tight deadlines, whilst maintaining excellent attention to detail​

• A problem solver. You are able to apply different ways of thinking in different situations​

• A great communicator, both verbal and written. You excel in the relationships you build with stakeholders, able to work across various teams​

• A proactive team member. You collaborate with the wider Buying and Merchandising teams​

• Pacey, positive and flexible. Responsive to business needs, you are happy and comfortable to take responsibility for your tasks​

• All over the numbers. You are analytical and results driven, able to use data to measure performance and identify areas of improvement​

• Systems literate. You are proficient in excel, and other Microsoft Office software, with high levels of accuracy ​

• An example of our values, a trusted and respected colleague​

About the Company

Everyone is welcome 

Selfridges is a place where we want everyone to feel a sense of belonging. We embrace every self and are committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive working culture. We are leading with purpose to not only increase the visibility and recognition of under-represented talent within our organisation, but the wider industry too. Here at Selfridges, everyone is welcome – irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or disability, we stand by equal opportunities for all.   

Our awards cabinet  

We’re not ones to brag, but since you asked...Selfridges has won the award for The World’s Best Department Store an unprecedented four times at the IGDS awards, with an additional award for the Best Sustainability Campaign. We were also recognised as a ‘Best 25 Big Company to Work For 2020’ as awarded by The Sunday Times. 

Selfridges