Category Manager

Role Overview

The Category Manager position demands a commercially savvy and strategic professional to oversee category performance, product portfolios, and initiatives for business growth. Key focus areas include creating category plans, analyzing market and customer trends, optimizing products, and collaborating closely with stakeholders to fulfill company goals.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies and operational plans.
• Manage product assortments and selection processes.
• Track sales, profitability, and category performance KPIs.
• Analyze market dynamics, customer behavior, competitor actions to identify growth opportunities.
• Liaise with suppliers, sales, marketing, merchandising, and operations teams to ensure effective product positioning, pricing, promotional activities, inventory management, and category execution.
• Evaluate supplier performance and support commercial negotiation efforts.
• Prepare regular business and category performance reports using market insights, sales data, and customer feedback.
• Make data-driven decisions to enhance category profitability and performance.

Candidate Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, Retail Management, Economics or related discipline.
• In-depth knowledge of category management principles, including product assortment, pricing strategies, promotions, and commercial planning.
• Strong analytical expertise in interpreting sales, market, customer, and competitor data.
• Proven ability to formulate category strategies aligned to business objectives and convert them into actionable plans.
• Comprehensive understanding of market trends, consumer insights, product positioning, and competitive landscape.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience collaborating effectively across suppliers and cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other business analytics or reporting software.
• Preferred knowledge in category performance metrics, forecasting, inventory control, and profitability analysis.
• Strong commercial acumen combined with robust problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
• Highly organized, detail-focused, proactive, and capable of managing multiple priorities simultaneously.