Cara Pietrella

Commercially astute senior buying leader with over 20 years' experience across value and premium retail environments. Proven track record in building profitable, customer-centric ranges, leading high-performing teams, and driving margin, stock turn, and sell-through. Known for blending strong creative instinct with rigorous analytical discipline to deliver commercially successful product strategies across infants and kidswear.

Head of Buying – Infants Apparel, Accessories & Essentials at Ackermans (2025-02 – Present)

Own and deliver the infants category strategy, driving sales, margin, and stock turn within a value retail environment

• Lead seasonal range planning including option counts, pricing architecture, and flow optimisation
• Manage the end-to-end buying process from supplier negotiation and costing approval to final sign-off
• Drive weekly trade reviews, executing rebuys, rollouts, and exits to manage risk and opportunity
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure on-time, on-cost delivery and strong product execution
• Lead and develop a high-performing buying team, embedding commercial rigour and accountability

Senior Buyer – Shoes/Bags/Accessories at Poetry (2024-07 – 2025-02)

Maternity cover position

• Led the buying strategy for Shoes, Bags and Accessories, driving a cohesive and commercially strong accessories offering aligned to the Poetry brand aesthetic
• Delivered seasonal ranges across multiple categories, balancing trend, quality and margin to meet financial targets
• Managed supplier relationships and product development from concept through to delivery, ensuring consistency in design and execution
• Analysed trade performance to inform in-season decisions and future range planning

Senior Buyer – Infants Apparel, Footwear & Accessories at Max Fashion (Landmark Group) (2023-09 – 2024-03)

• Built and executed department business plans using historical data, market insights, and customer research
• Led and coached a team of Buyers and Assistant Buyers
• Analysed sales and performance metrics to identify growth opportunities and manage forecasts
• Partnered with retail operations to align product strategy to regional consumer trends
• Managed in-season trading and supplier relationships across multiple categories

Senior Specialist Buyer – LTD 2-8 Girls: Apparel & Footwear at Truworths (2021-07 – 2022-11)

• Delivered balanced, brand-aligned ranges through data-led planning and trend analysis
• Worked closely with planning to maximise sales, margin, and stock efficiency
• Negotiated with suppliers to secure competitive cost prices and reliable delivery
• Contributed to profit growth through innovative range and sourcing strategies
• Fostered strong cross-functional collaboration across buying and planning teams

Buying Manager – KEEDO at Cape Union Mart Group (2019-03 – 2021-06)

• Rebuilt and structured the buying function, introducing robust merchandising principles and KPIs
• Built a full buying and design team, including buyers, designers, and technical expertise
• Turned negative profit growth into positive performance and significantly improved clearance rates
• Launched new categories and sub-brands, including lifestyle, home, and collaborative ranges
• Owned end-to-end strategy, sourcing, negotiation, and delivery across all KPIs
• Played a key role in brand repositioning, creative direction, and new line testing

Senior Buyer – Ladieswear & Kidswear at PEP Stores (2012-02 – 2019-02)

• Achieved double-digit growth year-on-year in key categories
• Awarded for best stock turn performance in Older Girls Outerwear
• Key contributor to the launch of a new ladies youth brand
• Presented seasonal range reviews and post-season analyses to senior leadership
• Oracle PLM super-user and nominee for Senior Management Development Programme

Sourcing Coordinator – Ladieswear & Kidswear at Truworths (2006-11 – 2011-09)

• Managed end-to-end sourcing across Far East supplier base, partnering with factories in China and India to deliver on quality, margin, and critical path targets
• Led supplier negotiations on pricing, MOQs, lead times, and payment terms to drive cost optimisation and improve gross margin
• Built and maintained strong, long-term supplier relationships through regular in-market travel and factory visits, ensuring compliance, capability alignment, and performance improvement
• Owned the critical path from development to production, coordinating samples, lab dips, trims, fit approvals, and on-time bulk delivery
• Collaborated closely with Buyers, Planners, and Design teams to align product execution with trading strategy, demand forecasts, and stock flow
• Identified cost engineering opportunities through fabric sourcing, construction adjustments, and supplier benchmarking
• Monitored supplier KPIs including quality, delivery, and efficiency, driving corrective actions where required
• Supported risk mitigation through dual sourcing, capacity planning, and proactive problem solving to minimise delays
• Gained deep technical product knowledge across Ladieswear and Kidswear categories, strengthening commercial decision-making

Diploma in Advertising – The Advertising College of South Africa

Matric – Fairmont High School