Trading Director

V&C Associates have been retained on a newly created position for a Trading Director to join a successful retail group. A commercial leader, accountable for shaping and delivering the end-to-end trading strategy of multiple stores and brands within them, driving profitable, sustainable growth across all categories.

A professional that will own the end-to-end trading performance of the department stores, sets the vision and pace for profitable growth across all categories. Orchestrate brand assortment, pricing, promotions and omnichannel execution to deliver a market-leading customer proposition, while leading high-performing buying and merchandising teams to beat sales, margin and stock targets

Role Purpose

Sets the commercial vision for multi-category retail (fashion, beauty, home, electrical, seasonal), ensuring a compelling and coherent proposition that delights customers and outperforms the market. The role leads Buying, Merchandising, Category Management and Pricing to deliver a sharp value/quality mix, a differentiated brand portfolio and strong, insight-led trading execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute a multi-year trading strategy that delivers sales, margin and profit growth across all product categories.
• Own the commercial plan (sales, margin, stock, markdowns), course-correcting quickly in response to daily and weekly trade performance.
• Lead forecasting, budgeting and commercial planning cycles, ensuring plans are ambitious, realistic and aligned with wider business objectives.
• Curate distinctive, customer-centric brand assortments that reflect trends, local preferences and market dynamics.
• Optimise category mix, space allocation and visual merchandising to maximise sales density, profitability and brand impact.
• Steer buying and merchandising teams on range architecture, pricing, stock flow and vendor performance to ensure availability and minimal waste.
• Build strategic, long-term partnerships with key suppliers and brands, securing favorable terms, marketing support, exclusives and innovation.
• Design and govern seasonal and promotional strategies, collaborating with Marketing and CRM to deliver high-impact, commercially strong campaigns.
• Partner with e-commerce and digital teams to ensure a seamless omnichannel proposition, with aligned assortments, pricing and promotions.
• Lead, inspire and develop multi-disciplinary commercial teams, building high-performance capability through coaching, feedback and talent development.
• Work closely with Finance, Operations, Marketing and the Executive team to align on commercial priorities, brand positioning, store format evolution and omnichannel initiatives.

Skills and Experience

• Extensive senior commercial experience in multi-category retail, ideally within department stores or large-format environments.
• Proven track record of delivering strong sales and profit growth in a fast-paced, trading-led business.
• Deep expertise in buying, merchandising and category management, with strong negotiation and brand partnership skills.
• Highly analytical with strong financial acumen, confident managing significant P&L, stock and markdown budgets.
• Experienced leader of diverse, multi-functional teams, with a track record of building capability and driving performance.

Personal Attributes

• Commercially sharp, decisive and outcomes-focused, with a bias for action.
• Strategic thinker who can move seamlessly between long-term vision and short-term trading decisions.
• Collaborative and influential leader with excellent communication skills and the ability to align senior stakeholders.
• Customer-obsessed, passionate about retail innovation and constantly looking for new ways to create value for customers and the business.