Job Description

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

How you’ll make an impact:

The Buyer supports the development and execution of consumer-first merchandise strategies across DTC channels (stores & ecommerce) for the Carter’s brand. This role plays a key role in seasonal assortment architecture, buy execution, and in-season business management to drive sales, profitability, and brand storytelling.

The Buyer partners closely with Planning, Merchandising, Ecommerce, Store Operations, and cross-functional partners to deliver assortments that meet consumer needs, reflect brand positioning, and achieve financial goals. This role coaches and supports Assistant Buyer to ensure smooth execution and operational excellence.

60% Strategy & Pre-Season Leadership

• Support the brand in shaping DTC assortment strategies by business category, channel, and consumer segment.
• Build and execute seasonal line architecture balancing breadth, depth, key items, exclusives, and channel differentiation.
• Develop seasonal buy recommendations including delivery flows, pricing strategy, and promotional expectations.
• Partner with Planning to align buys to financial targets and inventory plans.
• Prepare assortment briefs and collaborate with Visual Merchandising & Marketing to bring product stories to life in stores and online.
• Present seasonal strategies and line plans to cross-functional partners and leaders.
• Ensure strong alignment with Supply Chain, Allocation, Ecommerce, and Store Operations for execution readiness.

30% In-Season Management

• Monitor weekly performance across sales, margin, inventory, and consumer response.
• Identify risks and opportunities; recommend actions including chasing winners, style exits, promotional tactics, and inventory reallocation.
• Partner with Planning on inventory management to maintain margin integrity and support lifecycle strategy.
• Leverage consumer insights and competitive analysis to inform decision-making.
• Communicate weekly read-outs and next steps to the Director and cross-functional partners.

10% Team Collaboration & Development:

• Coach and support Assistant Buyer on daily responsibilities and development.
• Support cross-functional communication and alignment to enable execution excellence.
• Foster a consumer-first, data-driven, and agile team culture.

We’d Love to hear from you if:

Must have:

• 6+ years of experience in merchandising, buying, or planning.
• Strong financial and analytical skills with experience influencing buy decisions and managing in-season performance.
• Proven success partnering cross-functionally within a retail environment.
• Ability to translate consumer insights and marketplace trends into assortment decisions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Preferred skills and experience:

• Experience in multi-brand or omnichannel retail environments.
• Background in consumer-first merchandising, fleet segmentation, or omnichannel assortment planning.
• Familiarity with inventory lifecycle and space planning concepts.

Make a career at Carter’s:

• Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management, and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.