1. AMBER BUCHANAN
1003 Dunbarton Rd. • Indian Trail, NC 28079 • (704) 258-0558 • Abuchanan9608@gmail.com
15 years’ experience in retail based atmosphere and 12 years’ experience in a Merchandising/Buying position.
Areas of Expertise:
Assortment Building • Receipt Flow & Inventory Control • Monthly Financial Meetings • Strategic Planning & Vision •
Product Development • Strong Vendor Relationships • Strong Negotiation Skills • Senior Management Presentations •
Domestic and International Travel • Team Leadership & Training • Attention to Detail / Accuracy • Creativity •
Systems: Microstrategy, Retek, SAS Assortment Planning, Vista, Aptaris, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Family Dollar Stores (Dollar Tree Corporate) February 2005 to
Current
Category Merchant / Buyer: Accessories and Footwear: FY16 Sales $225M July 2014 to
Current
• Manages 35 different Class/Season combinations and 1,200 skus a year in 8,200 stores.
• Travel to New York 4x a year. Partner with Doneger on trend services and new vendor development.
• Classifications of Buying:
o Accessories: Replenished Hair Wall (Elastics, Head wraps, Brushes, Combs, Accessories and Appliances),
Fashion Jewelry and Hair, Handbags, Wallets, Hats, Belts and Wallets, Rainwear, Foster Grant Reading and
Sunglasses, Cold Weather (gloves and hats), Scarves and Fashion Cover-ups.
o Footwear: Replenished Footwear and Fashion Footwear for the Family.
• Sales Growth FY16:
o Accessories: Hair Appliances & Men’s Grooming +12% C. +$1.7M, Fashion Accessories (Handbags,
Wallets, Hats) +23% C. +$1.6M, Sunglasses +3% C. +$500k and Reusable Bag +47% C. +$300k.
o Footwear: Boots +200% C. +$1.1M, Replenished Footwear (introduction to Canvas shoe) +4% C. +$700k
and Slippers +5% C. +$400k.
o New Brands in Footwear: Pro-Player and Marilyn Monroe. Accessories: Goody, Remington and Wahl.
• Supplier of the Year award 2015:
o Foster Grant Reading and Sunglasses. Sales +14.6% C. +$4.6M
• Merger with Dollar Tree:
o Exceeded Synergy Savings on like or exact items by 250% with $2.9M in savings.
o Smooth transition on acquiring Dollar Tree Deals store products into Family Dollar stores.
• Develop and implement seasonal/replenished/quarterly strategies and vision, including introducing new product
categories, product selection, vendor negotiations and meetings, analytical analysis, cluster assorting (grade groups
AA-F wedge, climate and ethnicity), assortment planning, approvals on product and packaging and presenting
product lines and strategies to Management and support teams.
• Support team partnership: Planning, Replenishment, Allocation, Global Sourcing, Private Brands, Pricing,
Schematics, Store Operations, Advertising / Marketing, Quality Control, Project Management and Procurement.
o Planning: Collaborate in developing merchandise plans, accurate forecasts and ladder plans on key items.
Align with Planning and Pricing on markdown optimization by store / sku / markdown combination.
o Replenishment: Collaborate to ensure Store and DC in-stocks thru ladder plans, buyer developed 52 week
SAS Assortment Plans by sku, monthly calls with key vendors and holding safety stock domestically on key
FOB import items to react quickly if spike in sales.
Resume

2. o Allocation: Collaborate on store distribution of product based on subclass or like sku selling, hold and flow on
key items / programs to capture in-season selling and end of season grade group analysis.
o Global Sourcing: All items go thru PLM (Product Life Management) system to ensure all deadlines are met
for on-time arrival, auctions on key items with vendors and direct to factory development on basic
replenished items. Shortened Import timelines by 30 days in order to buy closer to season selling.
• Coach and develop Associate Buyer and Merchandise Assistant to ensure growth and readiness for next level
o Build Individual Development Plans, develop growth projects and bi-weekly mentoring touch-bases.
Associate Buyer: Children’s Apparel: FY14 Sales $132M May 2008 to July 2014
Newborn/Infant/Toddler Fashion Apparel: Sales $70M January 2011 to July 2014
• Buyer for 320+ fashion skus between 2 genders & 3 size ranges and across 34 subclasses per fiscal year.
Newborn, Infant and Toddler Baby Basics: Sales $50M January 2011 to Feb 2013
• Buyer for 87+ basic replenished skus between 2 genders & 3 size ranges in soft and hard goods.
Girls’ 4-16 and Boys’ 4-14 Fashion and Basic Replenished Apparel: Sales $87M May 2008 to January 2011
• Buyer for 280+ fashion and 30+ boys’ basic (underwear) skus.
o Buying responsibilities under Senior Buyer. Presentations to Senior Management
o Travel Overseas 2x a year and Domestic (NY) Market 2-4x a year.
o Developed New OPP (Opening Price Point) program producing annual sales of $11.3m.
o Introduced Gerber Brand and converted LUVs to private brand KIDGETS product in Baby Basics.
o Acquired struggling boys’ department (2010) and grew sales 8.2% FY10 and 4.8% FY11. Winner of Category of
the Month Award for December 2010 and January 2011.
o Developed videos, training packets, and marketing tools for store managers.
Assistant Buyer: Men’s and Boys’ 4-14 Apparel: FY08 Sales $170M February 2005 to May
2008
• Assisted Buyer in purchasing 200+ fashion and 65+ replenished skus.
o Buyer of Men’s screen tees (2006-2008). Total sales $35m +20%.
o Buyer for Bugle Boy Boys’ and Girls’ School Uniforms (2007-2008). Total sales volume $2.4m +200% in 2 years.
o Assisted in launching Hanes and Bugle Boy including developing packaging, sign kits and advertising
campaigns.
Accomplishments in Associate and Assistant Buyer Role:
• Trained 11 Team members (8 New Team Members including 2 Buyers).
• Assisted in rollout of Technical Spec Department and Testing Protocols (2008).
• RML (Records Management Leader) for Merchandising (2009-Current).
• Assisted in development of Assortment Planning Tool rolled out to company (2009).
• Assisted in development and rollout of Private Label Brands; Bugle Boy (2006), Tropic Sun (2008), Extremely Me!
(2009) and Kidgets (2010). Manage approvals of product to ensure consistency across Vendors.
• Team Building Development; New Hire Tools and Development training/Bench Strength (2013).
• Leader in development of “Dot” system in Apparel to aid store productivity in Quarterly markdowns (2013).
• Managed product development; approval of fabrics, prints, accessories, packaging and tickets (2005-2014).
Sales Associate- Federated Department Stores September 2001 to October
2004
• Lazarus-Macy’s- Barboursville, WV- Women’s Better Sportswear
• Macy’s (Flagship store: Lenox Square)- Atlanta, GA- Specialist Young Men’s Ralph Lauren
Resume

3. EDUCATION & TRAINING
Marshall University Huntington, WV
2004
B.A. Fashion Merchandising Minor: Business Marketing & Management
North Carolina State University: College of Textiles Winston-Salem, NC
2007
Certificate: Basic Textiles
The GAP Partnership: Negotiation Training for Leaders Winston-Salem, NC
2015
Winner: Overall Top Negotiator
References available upon request
Resume