Henrik Lindqvist
Fashion Buyer | Apparel Assortment Planning & Sustainable Sourcing
Gothenburg
Professional Summary
Fashion Buyer with extensive commercial experience across Scandinavian apparel retail, specializing in seasonal range planning, margin management, and international vendor negotiations. Proven background in balancing commercial viability with sustainability standards, optimizing inventory turnover across multichannel store fleets.
Work Experience
Nordic Thread Retail Group
Gothenburg, Sweden
Fashion Buyer
Mar 2021 – Present
- Manage category budgets of 42 million SEK across seasonal menswear and casual outerwear collections.
- Negotiate pricing, lead times, and minimum order quantities with European and Asian garment manufacturers, improving gross margin by 3.2 percentage points over three seasons.
- Analyze weekly sell-through data and inventory turnover rates to reforecast open-to-buy allocations and optimize stock levels across 28 stores and online channels.
- Collaborate with in-house design and technical teams to ensure sample fit specifications and sustainable fabric certifications align with brand standards.
Västkust Apparel AB
Gothenburg, Sweden
Associate Fashion Buyer
Aug 2016 – Feb 2021
- Executed range plans and vendor orders for knitwear and denim departments across 15 regional retail locations.
- Monitored supplier performance against on-time delivery metrics, reducing shipment delays from overseas vendors by 18 percent.
- Conducted seasonal competitor benchmarking and runway trend synthesis to inform color palettes and silhouettes for core collections.
- Partnered with inventory planners to coordinate clearance markdowns and promotional pricing, decreasing end-of-season terminal stock.
Junior Assistant Buyer
Nov 2013 – Jul 2016
- Coordinated purchase order entry, sample tracking, and laboratory testing reports for seasonal apparel lines.
- Liaised daily with logistics partners and suppliers to ensure accurate customs documentation and shipment tracking.
Götaplatsen Department Stores
Gothenburg, Sweden
Department Merchandising Coordinator
Apr 2011 – Oct 2013
- Supervised floor inventory replenishment and visual display standards for contemporary apparel departments.
- Tracked floor-level sales patterns to supply localized product demand feedback to central procurement teams.
Education
The Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås
Bachelor of Science · Textile Management and Fashion Merchandising · Borås, Sweden · Pass · Sept 2001 – Jun 2004
Coursework focused on textile production economics, international apparel sourcing, supply chain coordination, and fabric quality evaluation.
Selected Projects
Responsible Sourcing Initiative
Jun 2023 – Apr 2024
- Led the transition of two core menswear collections to GOTS-certified organic cotton and recycled synthetic fibers without exceeding existing cost-of-goods targets.
- Audited tier-1 and tier-2 fabric mills in Portugal and Turkey for chemical compliance and environmental certifications.
Core Competencies
Assortment Planning
Open-to-Buy Management
Supplier Negotiation
Vendor Relationship Management
Range Planning
Margin Optimization
Trend Forecasting
Textile Costing
Inventory Control
Sustainable Sourcing
Languages
Swedish
C2
English
C1
German
B1
Certifications
Certificate in Procurement and Supply Operations
Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply · May 2022
Community Involvement
West Sweden Textile Guild
Gothenburg, Sweden · Sept 2022 – May 2025
- Industry Mentor
- Advise student designers on commercial pricing structures, costing sheets, and bulk fabric sourcing fundamentals for graduation collections.