Category Manager

Job Title: Category Manager
Salary: £45,000 - £55,000
Function: Purchasing & Category Management
Industry: Garden Centres
Location: Multiple locations to choose from Nationwide

This role is an exciting opportunity to onboard with a market-leader in their respective industry who are now looking for a talented category manager to join the team!



Who We Are Looking For:

Ideally, you will have experience in Category Management or Merchandising and Buying from a Retail background - but key to the role is to have a strong grasp of commercials and analytical skills required to run a profitable multichannel retail business.

Garden Centre product experience is desirable but not essential. More important is your ability to interrogate data and turn it into tangible trading action; to tailor your storytelling to suit your audience, from store assistants up to managing director; your personal drive to be both proactive and creative; your passion for product and building strong own label and branded ranges.



Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Support the Head of Category in building and executing the category strategy
• Ownership of launching and trading profitable multichannel business
• Utilise the IT suite of reporting to analyse and optimise product category performance; focusing on sales, cash margin, customer numbers, stock and availability
• Identify trading opportunities and work with marketing, design and operational teams to bring agile business decisions to fruition
• 'Open to Buy' management with a focus on quality of stock, markdown spend through discounts, wastage & shrinkage, sellthrough, product exit strategies and stockturn
• Calculate new line forecasts using analytical skills and market awareness
• Manage the relationship between stock availability and optimal inbound phasing, working closely with Imports and warehousing teams
• Support the Head of Category in compiling full year financial and operational budgets [sales, margin, buying, FTE] coupled with a sound grasp of the influences of volume, cost, inflation and market conditions
• Provide regular and appropriate trading communication with garden centre department managers, that is action-based and focusses on the critical
• Build strong relationships with both domestic and imported vendors with a sound understanding of the end-to-end supply chain model and supplier terms
• Identify range strengths and opportunities, overlaid with a broad understanding of the online and physical competitive landscape and how to service an AB1 demographic.
  
  

For an informal chat, please call me, Jordan on 01780480530 or email jordan@morepeople.co.uk or send me a message on LinkedIn. Don't worry if your CV isn't up to date, just send what you already have, and we can sort the rest later.