- Category Manager – Quispamsis, NB
Category Manager
Great Canadian Dollar Store has over 120 retail stores nationwide and we are looking for a Category Manager to join our growing team. This is a full-time opportunity, in office, with paid vacation and group benefits. If you enjoy a fast paced working environment, have strong analytical skills, and like staying on top of buying trends, this could be a great opportunity for you!
How You Will Make a Difference
Category Managers are responsible for overseeing the planning, development, and execution of assigned product categories in order to maximize sales and profitability. Working closely with the Store Operations and Distribution Centre teams, you will make sure our stores have the right products at the right time in the right quantities in order to achieve business goals. You’ll accomplish this by:
- Develop strategies and implement category plans to achieve sales and profit targets.
- Conduct market research, analyze consumer trends, and competitor products and pricing, in order to identify new opportunities and make informed decisions regarding the purchase and sale of products.
- Monitor market dynamics and industry trends to stay on top of customer preferences; adjust category strategies and plans accordingly.
- Review and select suppliers for products; collaborate with suppliers to negotiate and maintain favourable terms, pricing, and contracts.
- Determine pricing strategies and minimum product buys to optimize sales and profitability. This includes gathering information on the total cost to land product at our Distribution Centre, recommend the retail selling price, and achieve expected margins.
- Monitor inventory levels to stay aligned with sales forecasts; work closely with Store Operations and Warehouse Distribution to minimize overstock and stock-outs.
- Collaborate with Marketing and Store Operations to develop and execute promotional plans in order to drive sales and increase our brand visibility.
- Work to manage smooth and accurate distributions from our suppliers, to the Distribution Centre, to stores.
- Analyze sales by category overall as well as at the provincial and store level.
- Review category buys and contact suppliers for product descriptions, cost, packing details, UPC, and purchase amount. Verify invoices once shipped, then complete distributions for store level.
- Work to develop a planning calendar one year in advance to ensure we have the products we need in place at the right time.
- Provide support to Operations for any product issues, what’s trends, what’s selling.
Ideally you have:
- Proficient with MS Office; strong Excel knowledge.
- Ability to work closely with cross-functional team members: Accounts Payable, Finance, Stores, Distribution Centre as well as other Category Managers and the Senior Buyer.
- Strong analytical skills to review data, identify trends, potential issues, projections for sales by category.
- Good negotiation, problem solving, and decision making skills.
- Very strong attention to detail.
- Ability to research products and present proposals in a very straightforward manner.
- Ability to quickly learn new categories to understand the features, benefits, and salability of products.
- Post-secondary education in business, supply management, or a related field is an asset.
- Previous retail experience in a customer service and/or merchandising role is an asset.
- Ability to travel overnight as required for supplier meetings, trade shows, and store visits.
Sound like an opportunity you’d like to explore? If interested, we’d love to hear from you. Please email your current resume with cover letter to jean.smith@greatcanadiandollarstore.ca.