Category Manager #2

Summary:

The Category Manager is responsible for the management of the assigned category of products including profitability, sales, advertising, category planning, vendor negotiations, product development, in-store bakery production management, SKU selection, planograms, and customer service (both stores and retail consumers).

Responsibilities:

• Develop sales and promotional strategies including advertising, theme events, seasonal opportunities, product innovation in order to achieve department targets and financial goals.
• Responsible for defining product assortment and negotiating terms and conditions of purchase.
• Create & Maintain promotional calendar to maximize sales and profits.
• Complete regular category reviews in selected categories utilizing Analytics, Nielsen and vendor data. Review regular retails as well as feature frequency and depth analysis. Manage strategies to ensure market competitiveness while balancing with financial targets.
• Review KVI price checks to ensure market competitiveness.
• Monitor all competitive and industry activities (including trends, opportunities etc.) regarding merchandising, marketing, assortment, pricing and promotions and use findings to support continuous improvement and innovation in the category.
• Conduct regular competitive store visits to gain first hand insight.
• Modify category plans as needed to be responsive to customer needs.
• Identify consumer requirements and develop merchandising plans to meet those requirements.
• Maintain contact with Store Managers, Merchandisers, Inventory Managers, and others to answer questions or resolve issues regarding products or services in assigned business initiatives.
• Monitor market conditions that impact categories within the marketplace.
• Manage an assistant and an admin, including performance management.

Qualifications:

• 5-7 years of merchandising/category management experience preferably within the grocery retail industry
• University degree in a business related field
• Previous supervisory or management experience an asset.
• Strong experience using the SAP Merchandising Module & BW
• Good working knowledge of Dunnhumby Shop & Nielsen Workstation Plus
• Strong MS office and Computer skills, Intermediate to Advanced level knowledge of Excel
• Demonstrated forecasting experience
• Excellent communication skills and a positive results oriented attitude
• Occasional travel required