Category Manager

at  Walgreens

JOB SUMMARY:

Responsible for managing revenue and overall profits and losses (P&L). Manages ongoing business through insight-led decision making, assortment optimization, category marketing, visual merchandising, and vendor management to optimize ROIC.

Job Responsibilities

• Plans, develops, and is accountable for sales, gross-profit level, inventory control, and merchandise-turnover objectives for the assigned department(s) and item(s).
• Develops and determines merchandising, display, advertising, distribution, packaging and sales plans and programs for assigned items and merchandise departments.
• Negotiates buying contracts and obtains most advantageous pricing. Manages day-to-day vendor relationships and growth opportunities.
• Uses market, competitive, and customer perceptions analyses to set and adjust item price levels.
• Aggressively manages category performance by establishing category goals and building financial models to predict ROIC.
• Demonstrates category ownership by creating and defending all planogram category strategies and decisions with sound analytics. Delegates analytical tasks to key support functions and synthesizes results.
• Provides Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) with business case for promotions/ROTO spots, including promotional productivity forecast and product performance sensitivity analyses.
• Manages the translation of marketing and consumer insights into assortment merchandising decisions. Champions the weekly category meetings with merchant support to manage category performance.
• Maintains an understanding of Walgreens and WBA private brands, including assortment and projected sales forecasts, gross-profit level, and merchandising and promotional programs. Works with the DMM to project sales forecasts and gross-profit levels within the assigned categories.
• Cultivates team morale, motivation, and loyalty through continuous training and mentorship, setting obtainable performance goals and provides clear communication and constructive feedback.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 4 years of experience in two or more of the following categories: retail, procurement/purchasing, merchandising, vendor relations, pharmacy operations, or retail marketing OR a High School Diploma/GED and at least 7 years of experience in two or more of the following categories: retail, procurement/purchasing, merchandising, vendor relations, pharmacy operations, or retail marketing.
• At least 2 years of experience working with P&L concepts – revenue, COGS, gross-profit margin, operating expense and income
• Knowledge of customer centric retailing principles and the analytics of customer purchase behavior.
• At least 4 years of experience developing strategic programs in merchandising, vendor relations, and marketing in the retail business.
• Knowledge of retail business financial concepts, to include penny-profit market, mark-up percent, turns and ROI.
• Experience collaborating on analysis for market-potential evaluation, pricing, and promotions.
• Knowledge of marketing and promotional strategies and methods.
• At least 2 years of experience contributing to financial decisions in the workplace.
• At least 2 years experience in direct leadership, indirect leadership and/or cross-functional team leadership.
• Willing to travel up to 10% of the time for business purposes (within state and out of state).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Project management experience.
• At least 2 years of experience in negotiating deals.
  We will consider employment of qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records

• Plans, develops, and is accountable for sales, gross-profit level, inventory control, and merchandise-turnover objectives for the assigned department(s) and item(s).
• Develops and determines merchandising, display, advertising, distribution, packaging and sales plans and programs for assigned items and merchandise departments.
• Negotiates buying contracts and obtains most advantageous pricing. Manages day-to-day vendor relationships and growth opportunities.
• Uses market, competitive, and customer perceptions analyses to set and adjust item price levels.
• Aggressively manages category performance by establishing category goals and building financial models to predict ROIC.
• Demonstrates category ownership by creating and defending all planogram category strategies and decisions with sound analytics. Delegates analytical tasks to key support functions and synthesizes results.
• Provides Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) with business case for promotions/ROTO spots, including promotional productivity forecast and product performance sensitivity analyses.
• Manages the translation of marketing and consumer insights into assortment merchandising decisions. Champions the weekly category meetings with merchant support to manage category performance.
• Maintains an understanding of Walgreens and WBA private brands, including assortment and projected sales forecasts, gross-profit level, and merchandising and promotional programs. Works with the DMM to project sales forecasts and gross-profit levels within the assigned categories.
• Cultivates team morale, motivation, and loyalty through continuous training and mentorship, setting obtainable performance goals and provides clear communication and constructive feedback