Title:  Trend Forecaster

KAS Pty Limited is a part of KAS Group Asia (KGA), the exclusive direct sourcing arm of Kmart Group that operates the iconic retail brands Kmart Australia, Target Australia and Catch. KGA’s operations span the largest sourcing markets across Asia including China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, supporting an annual sourcing capability of US $ 2.5 billion.

With our strong commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing, we provide a full suite of procurement services from sourcing, merchandising, packaging, quality assurance, quality control and international supply chain.

At KGA, whether with KAS Pty Ltd or Target Australia Sourcing, you will be part of a dynamic, growing business that delivers incredible results through a clearly defined purpose and strategy. You will work in an environment that is highly supportive, collaborative and encourages innovation whilst providing autonomy and challenge.

You will have access to flexible working hours, health and wellness programs, competitive remuneration and training opportunities with development plans to support your career growth. We offer an empowering culture with strongly embedded organisational values that define who we are and everything we do.

The Trend Forecaster is required to research and identify the biggest commercial product trends for the Kmart Anko brand. The trend team is responsible for setting and leading the seasonal product vision in line with the Kmart/Anko handwriting. Early identification of consumer and product trends is essential in order to work within our lead times and MOQs, to deliver the most desired products at the right time. Ultimately, our goal is to bring joy to customers by making on-trend products obtainable to them, and as a result, positively impacting Kmart’s performance.

Key responsibilities of the role:

TREND FORECASTING: Identify and interpret trends relevant for Kmart Australia. Research global merchandise trends, consumer attitude and lifestyle shifts, and identify potential merchandise opportunities. Visually articulate and effectively communicate trends relevant to the Australian consumer and Kmart product handwriting. Research and report on Macro Trends, Colour Trends, Print and Graphic trends, Material and Fabric trends, across all RBU's. Also support the Design team in their trend research.

COLLABORATION: Collaborate with team members across various RBU's and at different role levels, from CMO to Design Assistants. Most importantly, work closely with the Trend and Forecast Manager whom you share the trend workload and tasks to be completed. 

EXECUTION: Accurate timing and adherence to the business critical path. The role requires work to be completed across multiple projects simultaneously. The trend team have various deliverables in order to support Kmart's 'always on' way of communicating product trends, these include (but are not limited to) the seasonal Merchandise Trend Steer, Seasonal Colour and Material directions, Trend Packs for RBU's, Trend radar reports, and fortnightly Trend Newsletters. Strong time management skill will be of benefit in order to keep pieces of work progressing and hitting milestones (such as project review meetings with DM).

DESIGN TOOLS: Currently all work is completed in InDesign. Skills in video creation would be beneficial. Attention to detail is required, to keep information on the files updated and orderly, and to complete presentation files at a high level.

PRESENTATION: Regular internal presentations are required. Present trend insights to a high standard, effectively providing evidence and inspiration to support the trend.

CREATIVITY: Bring creativity and problem solving to explain consumer trends to all levels of the business. Create ways to articulate trends, providing both inspiration and clarification on trends, making trend information tangible in order for team members to be able to translate for their department. Be open to/suggest new ways of working to constantly improve the trend research processes and outputs.

KAS Group Asia values diversity and we pride ourselves on representing the diverse and multicultural communities of which we are a part. All information provided will be treated in strict confidence and used solely for recruitment purpose.