Category Manager - Stationery at Text Book Centre (TBC)

Job Purpose

The position will be responsible for the development and oversight of long-term product strategy within assigned category; provide compelling category and consumer insights by analyzing market trends to advise on new product options, sourcing and supplier management, determine optimal product pricing, target, and channel, and enhance product promotions.

Key Responsibilities

• Owns the category end-to-end across all our channels (wholesale, owned stores, franchised stores, e commerce) and is responsible for the performance of the category: assortment, financials, merchandising, pricing and consumer experience 
• Leads the category from selection of the suppliers, sourcing of the products, definition and distribution of the assortment, inventory management, along with merchandising and marketing/promotional activities 
• Owns the commercial calendar for the category in order to maximize each commercial opportunity to grow sales and visibility of TBC 
• Creates and develops a data-driven category business plan and strategy for development of the category and leads its execution 
• Builds and leads a team to execute on business area or category objectives 
• Coaches, drives and inspires team members and provides feedback to enhance skills, knowledge and work performance 
• Defines success for the category and engages team to deliver business results consistent with category strategy 
• Ensures premium merchandising standards across all channels to enhance consumer experience, including product presentation, content, customer reviews and enhancements 
• Evolves and elevates the category's assortment strategy through in-market expertise and identifies assortment gaps and opportunities 
• Optimizes the product sourcing mix across manufacturers, distributors and third-party retailers 
• Works with planning and supply chain partners to manage owned inventory in the category 
• Owns vendor relationships, including negotiating product costs and supplier funding 
• Ensures holistic price competitiveness and adherence 
• Collaborates with marketing and creative teams on category messaging 
• Leads category management projects to optimize ranges and related merchandising 
• Fosters trust relationships with vendors to achieve better pricing and quality of services and places appropriate orders to ensure product availability that meets consumer demands 
• Works alongside wholesale and retail teams to translate customer insights into strategies which drive performance 
• Manages P&L and ensures achievement of category financial targets and identifies levers to achieve these targets Experience 

Job Qualifications

• Bachelors’ degree in business management, marketing or equivalent.
• Proven ability to develop finely tuned product strategies.
• Proven track record of managing all aspects of a successful product throughout its lifecycle in an omnichannel retail environment.
• At least seven (7) years of experience in category management, three (3) years of which must be in a managerial role.

Key Competencies:

• Strong negotiator with proven experience in setting negotiation strategies and conducting negotiations. 
• Extremely customer-focused and takes the time to understand the evolution of the market and the needs of the business.
• Deep expertise in inventory Management, Planning, and Merchandising both in physical and digital retail environments.
• Strong analytical skills including the ability to quickly synthesize, distill and draw conclusions on large amounts of disparate data.
• Ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects requiring frequent communication, organization, time management, and problem-solving skills.
• Analytical thinking and the ability to analyze retail insights and break down the components but still be able to see the bigger picture.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.