Buying Trainee – Emiratisation – Chalhoub Group

Chalhoub Group, a seven-decade partner and creator of luxury across fashion, beauty, jewellery, watches, eyewear, and art de vivre, is hiring a Buying Trainee specifically through its Emiratisation programme, bringing UAE nationals into the buying and merchandising function that decides which luxury products actually reach the group’s stores and customers. Buying is one of the most commercially central functions in any retail business — it’s the discipline of deciding what to stock, from whom, at what cost, and in what quantity.

As a trainee role, this is explicitly structured as a learning position: shadowing and supporting experienced buyers, learning how vendor relationships and purchase decisions get made within the luxury category specifically, and gradually taking on more responsibility as skills develop. Being part of Chalhoub’s Emiratisation initiative also likely means structured mentorship and development support beyond what a standard trainee role would offer.

This suits a UAE national early in their career with a genuine interest in the luxury retail and buying function — an interest in fashion, beauty, or luxury goods is a strong starting point, but the trainee structure means prior buying experience isn’t expected; curiosity and a willingness to learn matter more at this stage.

Given Chalhoub Group’s role as a partner to major international luxury brands, this trainee position also offers early, direct exposure to how those brand relationships and buying decisions actually get made — something not every retail buying trainee role can offer.

Buying decisions directly determine what's on Chalhoub Group's shelves and, ultimately, whether the assortment matches what luxury customers in the region actually want — get buying wrong, and a store carries the wrong mix of products, ties up capital in slow-moving stock, or misses a trend that competitors capture instead. Bringing UAE nationals into this function through a structured trainee programme also builds a long-term pipeline of buyers who combine genuine local market understanding — of regional customer taste and luxury consumption patterns — with the professional buying skills the role requires, a combination that's valuable well beyond any single trainee's individual contribution. For Chalhoub specifically, as a company built on managing prestigious brand relationships, developing local buying talent also supports the deeper, longer-term relationships international luxury brands look for in a regional partner. It also strengthens Chalhoub's standing with government stakeholders who track private-sector Emiratisation outcomes as part of the UAE's broader national workforce strategy.

A structured buying trainee programme is one of the strongest possible entry points into a career in luxury retail buying and merchandising — learning directly from experienced buyers, with the backing of Chalhoub Group's established brand relationships and category expertise, gives a trainee exposure that would take years to build independently. For a UAE national specifically, this kind of Emiratisation-backed role often comes with additional mentorship, visibility, and career support, reflecting the company's investment in developing national talent for the long term. Chalhoub Group's standing as a major luxury retail partner in the region also means the buying skills and vendor relationships built here carry real weight, whether a career stays within Chalhoub long-term or eventually moves elsewhere in the region's luxury and retail sector. Buyers who progress successfully from a trainee role typically move into assistant buyer, buyer, and eventually category management or senior buying leadership positions — a well-established and genuinely achievable path within a group of Chalhoub's scale. Trainees who show strong judgment early are also often given increased responsibility faster than a standard hiring timeline would allow, since Chalhoub has a direct interest in retaining and developing UAE national talent within its buying function for the long term. That accelerated track, backed by a recognized luxury retail name, is a strong foundation for a full buying career.

• UAE national (Emiratisation programme eligibility required)
• Genuine interest in luxury retail, fashion, beauty, or related categories
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; business, fashion, or retail-related studies are an advantage
• Strong analytical and numerical skills for evaluating buying decisions
• Willingness to learn and take direction from experienced buyers
• Good communication skills for vendor and internal stakeholder interaction