Fashion Buyers Salary – Australian Fashion Industry

Ever wondered how much a fashion buyers salary is?  Or maybe you have wondered what the starting salary is like for an assistant fashion buyer?

Below we have listed the national averages for Fashion Buying Roles in Australia, from starting salaries to experienced senior roles.

It’s important to note that a lot of the salary depends on the size of the company that you are working for, and your level of responsibility.

Quite often your salary can be a direct reflection of sales targets and the number of sku’s or stock lines you are responsible for selecting and managing.

For example, a fashion buyer for an individual fashion boutique would have a smaller salary than a fashion buyer for a large department store or retail chain that perhaps has 50 + stores.

A Buyer that is responsible for more product categories also would have a higher salary.  (Ladieswear + accessories  for example.)

Ultimately it comes down to your ability to be able to predict fashion trends, and select the products and clothing people want to buy, and make the retail company money.   You are essentially a business manager with a fashion edge!

 

Fashion Buyers Salary  Pay Scale

Assistant Fashion Buyer or Junior Fashion Buyers with 1-3 years experience: A$38,000- $45,000 per year.

Fashion Buyers with 1-4 years of experience: $50,000- $60,000 p.a

A mid-career Senior Fashion Buyer with 5-9 years of experience: $65,000- $90,000 p.a

An experienced  Senior Fashion Buyer with 10-19 years of experience :$90,000- $150,000 p.a

 

Fashion Buyers Salary- Averages

An early career  Assistant Fashion Buyer with 1-3 years experience earns on average $38,000- $45,000 per year.  The more experienced and the more responsibility the higher the wage.  Senior Fashion Buyers with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation (including super and bonuses) of $50,000- $65,000 A mid-career Fashion Buyer with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of around $70,000- $90,000. An experienced Fashion Buyer with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $90,000- $150,000.

Pay Difference By Location

The fashion buyers salary can differ by location. Employees with Fashion Buyer in their job title in Melbourne or Sydney do tend to earn an average of 12% more than the national average. This tends to reflect on the cost of living in these cities compared to others around Australia. According to Payscale, they believe that Melbourne Fashion Buyers are paid a whopping 54% more.

 

Again, this is an average and not a concrete rule.  Just keep in mind, the larger the company, and the more responsibility in terms of OTB and Sales Targets, the higher the salary.

Online stores are also making a mark here- and there are more and more fashion buying roles for Online Stores being advertised.

 

For the current list of Fashion Buying Jobs advertised click here.

 

How Does a Fashion Buyers Salary in Australia Compare to Overseas Fashion Buying Jobs?

Every year fashionista publishes its annual salary survey surrounding what fashion jobs actually pay in the United States. At the beginning of the year, the publication spoke with roughly 3,000 readers to in turn compile data pertaining to 2019. Individuals thus provided their titles, companies, gender, location, years of experience, and compensation.

Those who participated had anywhere from one year of experience to over 20,  at companies such as Nordstrom, Tiffany & Co., Condé Nast, Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Lauren. Some make only $25,000 USD a year, while others rake in over $500,000 USD.

It’s also worthy of note that the size of the company of course has much to do with how it pays employees, as those who work for public organizations generally earn more than individuals at private companies.

For a breakdown of what fashion jobs pay in 2019, see below, then follow on over to Fashionista for more and download their free PDF with all the information here.

It’s important to note that these salaries are in USD.

Design Assistant designer: $46,910 Designer: $83,500 Creative director: $130,000

Marketing/Social Media Marketing manager: $65,650 Social media Manager: $62,600

Publicity Assistant publicist: $65,710 VP: $142,670

Print Editorial Assistant editor: $35,800 Editor-in-chief: $264,000

Digital Editorial Writer: $58,540 Senior editor: $58,390

Graphic Design/Photo Graphic designer: $43,690 Photo editor: $77,230

Advertising Bookings editor: $168,500 Account executive: $80,640

Styling Assistant stylist: $49,760 Stylist: $79,380

Retail/Sales/E-Commerce Merchandiser: $61,000 Assistant Buyer: $46,680

Product Development/Supply Chain Development assistant: $36,930 Product manager: $72,440

 

At La Mode College we pride ourselves in training the next generation of fashion stars- in this ever-changing fashion business environment!  Our specialized ‘Professional Fashion Buying Course’ helps students gain the best training for fashion buyer jobs in large retail environments.

If you are looking for a career in ‘Fashion Buying’- and would like to upskill your resume, we invite you to apply for our Fast Track Professional Fashion Buying Course.