Oversee end-to-end sourcing and buying for Gardening and Home Decor categories, driving vendor development, product curation, and merchandising.

About the Company

Ugaoo Agritech Pvt Ltd is a leading gardening and green-living brand on a mission to make urban India greener. The company brings together plants, gardening products, and home décor through its D2C, marketplace, quick commerce, and retail businesses. With 20 stores across Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Nashik, and Hyderabad, Ugaoo’s retail business is rapidly evolving into immersive spaces that combine plants, products, aesthetics, and education to deliver a differentiated customer experience. As the company scales, it is building stronger category depth and expanding its retail assortment to create a more complete and inspiring green-living and home experience for its customers.

Role Overview

Ugaoo is seeking a hands-on Sourcing & Buying Manager to own end-to-end sourcing and buying across Gardening and Home Decor categories, with a primary focus on gardening and adjacent categories such as pots and planters, gardening accessories, garden décor, garden furniture, and other home décor products. This is an individual contributor role that demands significant ownership across sourcing, product curation, vendor development, and merchandising. The ideal candidate understands trends, materials, and consumer preferences, has strong domestic and international market and vendor connections, and is excited by the opportunity to build categories and create new retail formats from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

Gardening & Home Decor Category Sourcing & Product Development

• Lead end-to-end sourcing across Gardening and Home Decor categories through domestic and international markets.
• Identify new products, materials, vendors, and manufacturing capabilities aligned with Ugaoo’s brand and customer needs.
• Develop and manage relationships with domestic, international, and local market vendors.
• Work closely with vendors on product development, sampling, customization, costing, and commercialization.
• Understand product construction, materials, and Bills of Materials (BOMs) to evaluate feasibility and cost competitiveness.
• Travel domestically and internationally for market visits, sourcing, and vendor development as required.

Trend & Market Intelligence

• Track emerging trends across gardening, outdoor living, and home décor markets in India and globally.
• Translate trends and consumer insights into relevant product and collection opportunities.
• Stay updated on new materials, finishes, techniques, and evolving customer preferences.

Buying & Merchandising

• Own assortment decisions across new launches, range expansion, continuation, and discontinuation of products.
• Analyse product performance, margins, sell-through, and inventory ageing to make informed merchandising decisions.
• Build differentiated assortments balancing trend, design, quality, price, and commercial viability.

Commercial & Cost Management

• Own product costing and commercial evaluation across the sourcing lifecycle.
• Negotiate pricing, Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ), payment terms, and other commercial aspects with vendors.
• Identify opportunities for cost optimization while maintaining product quality and design intent.
• Partner with Procurement to ensure commercially viable sourcing and purchase execution.

Process Building

• Create structured templates and processes for the buying and sourcing lifecycle, from product identification to final purchase.
• Establish clear processes for product evaluation, sampling, costing, approvals, and vendor handover.
• Work closely with Procurement to ensure smooth transition from sourcing and buying to purchase execution.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of the buying process.

Vendor & International Partner Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with domestic and international vendors.
• Identify and develop new vendor partnerships across sourcing markets.
• Coordinate with international partners on product development, sampling, costing, specifications, and timelines.

Building the Home Format

• Identify opportunities to build new formats, sub-categories, and propositions across Gardening and Home Décor.
• Continuously evaluate market gaps and opportunities to strengthen Ugaoo’s retail proposition.
• Bring a strong test-and-learn and continuous improvement mindset to category building.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Procurement on sourcing handover, vendor finalization, commercial negotiations, and purchase execution.
• Partner with Retail and Merchandising teams on assortment planning, store requirements, range reviews, and product performance.
• Work with Design and Creative teams on product aesthetics, collections, styling, and brand consistency.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain on MOQ, lead times, inventory planning, and replenishment feasibility.
• Align with Finance on costing, margins, working capital, and commercial viability.
• Collaborate with Marketing and E-commerce on product launches, consumer trends, and category storytelling.

8–10 years of experience in Sourcing / Buying / Buying & Merchandising / Category Management, preferably in Gardening, Home Décor, or Retail. Strong experience in domestic and international sourcing. Good understanding of gardening products, home décor, materials, product development, and vendor ecosystems. Strong commercial and negotiation skills with an understanding of costing, BOMs, margins, and inventory. Proven ability to identify, evaluate, and develop vendors. Strong analytical and merchandising orientation with the ability to take clear continue/improve/discontinue decisions. Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required. Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills. Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Competitive compensation with potential for performance bonuses, employee discounts on company products, and opportunities for domestic and international travel.