Kidswear is more than just clothing – it is about confidence, comfort, durability and trusted value for Kiwi families. If you are ready to shape category strategy, inspire a high performing team and deliver ranges that truly resonate with customers, this could be your next career defining move.
The Warehouse Group (TWG) has become a Kiwi household name, and we proudly recognise the role that we play in communities throughout New Zealand. We are the largest general merchandise retailer in NZ across The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming. We are at an exciting point in our journey where our focus is on becoming brand centric, aiming to deliver an unparalleled experience for our customers. Agility and collaboration are cornerstones of our work culture, empowering us to adapt swiftly and work seamlessly together. By being brand led and retail focused, we are intentional about placing the right people in the right roles, allowing us to perform work that truly makes a difference.
We are looking for an experienced Lead Buyer, Kidswear to take ownership of one of our most visible and high impact categories. This is a key leadership role, blending hands on category buying with people leadership – leading a team of five direct reports. You will shape the Kidswear buying strategy, delivering compelling, trend led ranges that meet the everyday needs of Kiwi families while driving strong commercial performance.
Bringing together commercial acumen, customer insight and data led decision making, you will influence product direction, pricing architecture, branded and own brand development and supplier partnerships – ensuring we consistently deliver quality, value and relevance at scale.
You will be responsible for:
Range Ownership
Lead end to end buying across Kidswear, curating seasonal collections that balance trend, durability, value and financial targets.
Category Strategy
Shape and execute the long term buying strategy, ensuring alignment with brand ambition, customer expectations and broader business goals.
Private Label and Brand Development
Grow and evolve our own brand portfolio while building strong branded partnerships that enhance credibility and choice.
Trading and Commercial Performance
Maximise sales, margin and stock efficiency through strong promotional planning, swift trading decisions and proactive in season management.
Supplier Management and Negotiation
Lead strategic supplier relationships and negotiations – securing the best commercial and product outcomes.
Customer and Market Insights
Leverage data, trend forecasting and customer feedback to keep our ranges relevant, competitive and differentiated.
People Leadership
Coach, mentor and develop buying talent, fostering a collaborative, high performing and commercially sharp team culture.
Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing
Champion responsible sourcing practices, ensuring compliance with ethical standards and supporting our sustainability commitments.
We are after a commercially sharp, resilient and inspiring leader who thrives in a fast paced retail environment. You will bring strong category ownership experience, a passion for Kidswear and the ability to balance creativity with financial performance.
You will bring:
Significant buying experience, ideally eight plus years at senior or lead level within Kidswear, Apparel or a related fashion category.
Proven experience developing both branded and own brand ranges.
Strong commercial acumen, negotiation expertise and analytical capability.
Demonstrated people leadership experience — with a passion for coaching and developing talent.
A customer first mindset, always curious about how we can do better.
Experience trading promotional calendars and leveraging marketing activity for maximum impact.
Confident stakeholder management and communication skills, able to influence across design, sourcing, marketing and planning.
Decisiveness, resilience and agility in a dynamic retail environment.
The ability to build long term, sustainable supplier partnerships.
Come work with us as we look to build exceptional retail brands that customers love and our teams take pride in!
We offer a range of benefits that work for you and your career which include:
Team member discounts across our brands
Paid birthday day off for permanent team members
Free parking, onsite gym and café at our Northcote support office
We value collaboration & flexibility – embracing hybrid working, up to 2 days working from home
26 weeks paid parental leave for permanent team members
A range of wellbeing support and development opportunities
If you’re passionate about Home, love building ranges customers can’t live without, and thrive on leading people and performance, we’d love to hear from you!
The Warehouse Group (TWG) is a New Zealand success story, founded by Sir Stephen Tindall and evolved from a single The Warehouse store to become one of the largest retailing groups in New Zealand with $3 billion in sales. TWG consists of three core retail brands: The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, and Noel Leeming. We have over 180 retail stores, online stores as well as distribution centres throughout New Zealand. We also have two overseas sourcing offices located in China and India. We are a people-centred business with more than 10,000 team employees across our locations.
TWG is known for being Here for Good - it’s who we are and what keeps us focused to succeed. It represents our commitment to better living for all New Zealanders, through sustainable retail products and practices and the mission of contributing to the long-lasting health of our planet.
Over the years, we’ve raised over 50 million dollars for New Zealand communities and have contributed to countless community-focussed initiatives. We were the first company in New Zealand to add a Shielded Site link to the Women's Refuge website to help protect those experiencing family violence, and were a key supporter of the Government’s Family Violence Victims’ Protection Bill. We were New Zealand’s first large company and the third major retailer in the world to go carbon neutral.
While we are 40+ years old as a business, in many ways we feel we’re just getting started.
