Bachelor’s degree in business or operations related field
4+ years related merchandising / category management experience
Negotiation skills and decision-making ability
Strong communication and interpersonal skills
Proven analytical and organizational skills
Responsibilities
Sets the strategy and drives growth of the business for assigned categories, including product selection, vendor negotiation, promotions, and providing leadership to the merchandise team
Responsible for the performance of assigned categories including driving growth, category profitability and customer experience
Responsible for product selection and the development of competitive merchandise assortment plans that achieve financial objectives
Negotiates pricing and terms with new, existing and prospective vendors
Builds strong relationships with the vendor community and exercises flexibility in approach to negotiations
Oversees the development of the sales and margin plans and sales forecasts for assigned categories
Communicates merchandising strategies to cross functional teams to ensure proper and timely execution of strategy
Connects strategies to business operations and maintains an understanding of business operational goals and challenges
Responsible for price management for assigned categories including price indexing and achievement of price targets
Collaborates with the Marketing team to develop pricing, promotional and campaign strategies for assigned categories
Continually monitors merchandising performance and promptly reacts to changes in the business to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risks
Provides leadership and training to the merchandise team. Provides the team with frequent and actionable feedback and professional development opportunities
Establishes and maintains a reputation of credibility and responsiveness in the marketplace