Category Manager of Wine/Liquor

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Manage the strategic development and planning for assigned category, as a subset of a larger group of categories led by the Senior Category Manager. Ensure category sales plans are consistent with the overall Merchandising strategy. Promote and verify execution of category strategy at the store and ensure that the category fits into the total store perspective.

* Develop, manage and communicate sales plans for delegated categories and support additional categories as requested to support Senior Category Manager in development of overall category sales plans. * Complete entry for national sales planning tool, including de-averaged costs or retail, and new or expanded items and/or offers. * Ensure marketing and Point of Purchase (POP) are developed for all categories as determined by the Senior Category Manager for the monthly sales plan, proof monthly solicitation for accuracy and make recommendations as necessary to support development of regional Point of Purchase (POP) item forecasts. * Facilitate vendor meetings and negotiate for delegated categories. * Support Product Director and Senior Category Manager on day-to-day activities that include Strategic Pricing team as well as supporting Senior Category Manager in the preparation for and engagement in vendor meetings related to product assortment architecture and cost of goods negotiations. * Develop and execute strategic merchandising initiatives such as roles and intents of categories, segmentation and vendor and product specific strategies. * Own and manage vendor relationships for assigned small categories as a primary contact and assist Senior Category Manager in vendor relationships for key national relationships. * Collaborate with Logistics and the Senior Category Manager to ensure stable supply within the demand chain including close collaboration with Logistics team and partners. * Ensure products are delivering on quality and value needs of customers. * Negotiate delegated category offers, costs, bill-backs, allowances, terms, co-op media and other related opportunities. * Ensure proper information provided for suppliers including product costs, bill-backs, allowances, discounts, Lowest Distribution Units (LDUs), routing information, new item set up details and new vendor set up details. * Provide forecasting information, including initial committed inventories, historic sales, store turns, seasonality, past order frequency and cannibalization for all delegated categories and provide support for categories at the request of the Senior Category Manager in conjunction with Merchandiser and Category Specialist. * Lead national schematics efforts on behalf of the Senior Category Manager. * Coordinate with Merchandiser to ensure regional sets are developed and in-line with the national strategy. * Review strategy and decisions with the Senior Category Manager before implementation. * Track all key sales metrics (sales, group, unit and margin) for delegated categories and additional categories as requested. * Analyze and share insights with Senior Category Manager, Product Director, Zone Leader and other Operations leadership to drive improved results and enhance understanding of the business. * Evaluate Store Supported Item (SSI) and Non-Recommended Items (NRIs) for further testing or expansion to ensure the optimal recommended assortment. * Accountable for optimizing Gross Profit dollars within delegated category role and overall category growth. Conduct ongoing financial analysis of national sets by evaluating product SKU productivity. * Develop and oversee in-store testing of potential new products, concepts and promotional activity within delegated categories and assist for other categories as requested. Optimize display management opportunities within assigned category and assigned zones. * Support testing activity including preparation or delivering of communication materials, tracking of results and feedback to Test areas and stores and verification of store and Franchise feedback. * Assist with integration of roles and intents and segmentation into assortment decisions at the national and regional level. Work with vendors to introduce and expand new or existing items based on store and customer segments, while retracting items in under-performing segments to optimize overall assortment. * Coordinate Seasonal (SE) vendor sponsorships, samplings, and other events on a national and regional level for categories supported. * Rework and troubleshoot outputs (decisions on proposed items and item setup) and handling requests from accounting. * Provide point-of-view to Operational leadership based on Current Situation Analysis (CSA) and marketplace understanding, be advocate for customer across the category and engage Operations to support. * Assist Senior Category Manager in communicating requirements, volume changes or sales plan, other key sales plan information to Division Logistics Manager and/or Logistics team and coordinate readiness for delivery. * Assist the Senior Category Manager in communicating integrated sales plans (national/zone) and ensure comprehensive delivery of necessary facts, data and SOP. * Support Merchandiser in the coaching and development of the Operations team regarding best merchandising practices for the category at store level.

* Education: Bachelors Degree or Equivalent 4 year Degree. * Experience: 2-5 years with negotiating experience * Understanding of financial methodology to determine costs and to develop annual business plan. * Strong analytical and effective communication skills. * Internal Job Posting Period: April 18th - April 28th.