Field Category Manager

Essential Functions Supports national and regional strategic direction. Responsible for local assortment and planogram execution; owns frontline pricing decisions (with promotional guidance from National or Regional for floor/ceiling). Responsible for vendor operations and local relationships; implements planogram execution and resets (including all 3rd‑party relationships); provides actionable operational reporting (out of stock, zero sales reporting, delivery frequency, and others as necessary). Selects local vendors, negotiates costs and terms for products, and develops schematics by applying category management principles in accordance with the department’s National and Regional strategic objectives. Increases sales revenues by developing promotional concepts and overlay programs on local assortment; contributes to team effort by accomplishing financial and key result area targets pursuant to company plan guidelines. Fosters positive relationships between the National, Regional and Business Unit team and operational team; supports pilots/testing activities, including preparation and delivering communication materials; tracks results and feedback to the appropriate team. Establishes and monitors gross margins by forecasting and developing annual sales quotas, projecting expected sales volume and profit for existing and new products and determining placement and promotions. Projects and measures category sales and gross profit results by developing and maintaining records of item cost, retail, and gross margin dollars. Maintains external local and national vendor relations by providing direction, guidance, and information, resolving concerns. Recommends changes in products, service, and policy by evaluating results and competitive developments. Achieves financial objectives by preparing an annual category review, budget, scheduling expenditures, analyzing variances, initiating corrective actions. Allocates program costs by preparing operational and risk reports for analyses aligning with the National and Regional merchandising objectives. Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reading professional publications, establishing personal networks, or participating in professional societies.

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