HOLLY WINDLE
Rotherham
Summary
Experienced Buying professional with background in both branded and private label goods spanning a wide range of FMCG and general merchandise categories including Chilled Food, Toiletries and Household. Detail orientated and commercially driven with key strengths and capabilities in strategic category management, P&L management and maintaining high-quality supplier relationships across UK and European territories to drive business success. Experience working in a fast-paced retail environment and proven success in B2B communication and negotiation.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work history
Buyer (Bathcare and Health & Beauty Accessories)
Morrisons
Bradford, West Yorkshire
2025.09 - Current
- Take full ownership of category sales, pricing, margin and budget across two categories with separate P&Ls. Delivered and exceeded YoY LfL sales targets and budget expectations for three consecutive quarters.
- Direct line manager to Toiletries Buying Assistant conducting regular 1 to 1s and managing and fostering their development in Buying field.
- Negotiate supplier terms agreements to devise a mutually beneficial plan to maximise sales, profitability and guarantee category growth for the year ahead, while identifying strategic more for more opportunities.
- Use sales history, market share data and category insight to develop and implement a clear, customer focused promotional plan for an effectively curated range that meets customer needs.
- Identify commercial levers to mitigate CPIs to ensure no negative impact to EPOS margin and product range remains accessible and competitive vs the market for Morrisons' price sensitive customer who demand value.
- Engage collaboratively internal stakeholders across the business as well as external suppliers to deliver effective customer led propositions while adhering to internal critical paths and processes.
Buyer (Fleet & Transport)
EVRi
Leeds, West Yorkshire
2025.03 - 2026.05
- Lead strategic category management across areas of spend responsibility by identifying key opportunities for cost saving and devising critical path of how and when saving will be delivered and where in P&L the benefit will be seen.
- Work with Legal team to negotiate and execute key supplier contracts, managing end-to-end sourcing processes and ensuring alignment with company ESG goals, SLAs and long-term business objectives.
- Manage termination of expiring supplier contracts, ensuring contingency plans are in place to protect service levels during the set-up of replacement contracts/suppliers.
- Lead competitive RFP processes from supplier identification and RFP development through to business award.
- Influence senior stakeholders through data-driven insights and cost modelling to shape procurement strategies and drive improvement in external spend.
National Buying Analyst
ALDI UK
Athersone, West Midlands
2024.06 - 2025.03
- Provide analysis on merchandising plans in line with the fixed Merchandising Review calendar, working cross functionally across Merchandising, Buying, Brand and Operations to ensure processes are aligned.
- Analyse complex data to assess whether merchandising layouts are profitable, operationally efficient, customer focused and appropriate in terms of product mix, layout and the trading environment of our stores.
- Create and distribute weekly reports to identify and resolve issues with product and planogram data, to minimise the downstream impact on store availability and off sales.
- Carry out space utilization analysis on an ongoing basis to develop category and store level sales, including providing detailed trial analysis to influence how senior stakeholders execute range selections and placement.
- Review, implement and supervise department processes across Merchandising and Buying, and identify potential areas of improvement to streamline and simplify business procedures where possible.
Assistant Buyer (Chilled Ready Meals)
ALDI UK
Athersone, West Midlands
2022.11 - 2024.06
- Take full ownership of multiple categories with high seasonality, managing multiple projects simultaneously through every aspect of the buying lifecycle whilst adhering to the business' critical paths.
- Conduct competitor research on an ongoing basis to monitor retails and promotional offers to ensure Aldi is not exposed to the rest of the market and propose retail reductions where fit to maintain Aldi's discount position to the rest of the market but also retail increases where the market allows.
- Use POS and waste data to analyse how recent moves/changes in terms of product offering, case mix, retail price, branding etc. have impacted sales in terms of volume, value, and margin (WOW, YOY), to identify trends and make impactful decisions on how to drive category performance.
- Identify and implement cost saving opportunities through E2E changes in current products to make business savings, while maintaining the highest quality for customers.
- Independently manage the tender process, making sure to guarantee the highest product quality, whilst effectively negotiating cost prices to maximise NP%.
- Compile and present data from the market and past launches to identify any key gaps, trending concepts, and areas of under trading to develop and execute category strategies for NPD/EPD which will drive profitable growth.
- Instigate and independently conduct regular meetings with key suppliers and internal stake holders to support operational objectives, discuss critical path progress, and build on strong, honest relationships with suppliers and other functions across the business.
Buying Assistant (Total Cleaning Solutions)
Wilko
Worksop, East Midlands
2022.03 - 2022.11
- Support the Senior Buyer with the co-ordination and preparation for category Range Reviews, from strategy through to range sign off.
- Creation and ongoing maintenance of category Range Change documents to guarantee all product details, costs and retails are accurately captured, allowing seamless implementation of range changes.
- Maintaining close working relationships with major global suppliers and being main point of contact to resolve any queries related to ongoing projects.
- Calculate and obtain supplier approval for promotional gate fees and retros according to each supplier's agreed terms and rate cards.
Buying Assistant
Pricecheck | International Brand Partners
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2021.05 - 2022.03
- Liaise and negotiate with both UK and European suppliers after analysing offers/product lists to ensure stock is secured at the best possible price.
- Internal promotion to bring my products to the attention of the sales team, highlighting new lines, special offers, price reductions, market trends and key USPs.
- Proactively conduct market and customer research, advising on trends and RSPs that could influence the development of existing product offering.
- Continuously monitor inventory levels to ensure customer demand can be met on fast moving lines and provide methods to push slow moving lines.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - International Business and Spanish
University of Leeds
LeedsA-Levels -
Thomas Rotherham College
RotherhamGCSE -
Clifton Community Arts School
RotherhamSkills
- Market research & competitor analysis
- P&L management
- Cost negotiation
- Category management & development
- Supplier relationship management
- High degree of accuracy and attention to detail
- Exemplary communicator
- Analytical thinker
- Advanced Excel
Timeline
Buyer (Bathcare and Health & Beauty Accessories)
Morrisons
2025.09 - Current
Buyer (Fleet & Transport)
EVRi
2025.03 - 2026.05
National Buying Analyst
ALDI UK
2024.06 - 2025.03
Assistant Buyer (Chilled Ready Meals)
ALDI UK
2022.11 - 2024.06
Buying Assistant (Total Cleaning Solutions)
Wilko
2022.03 - 2022.11
Buying Assistant
Pricecheck | International Brand Partners
2021.05 - 2022.03
Bachelor of Arts - International Business and Spanish
University of Leeds
A-Levels -
Thomas Rotherham College
GCSE -
Clifton Community Arts School