JOB TITLE: Category Manager

DEPARTMENT: Merchandising & Procurement

REPORTS TO: Sr. Category Manager

LOCATION: St. Petersburg, Florida (SalonCentric National Operations Center)

ABOUT US:

SalonCentric, a subsidiary of L’Oréal USA, is the premiere distributor in the United States of professional salon products. Through its hundreds of stores, national field sales force and sub-distribution network, SalonCentric promotes the finest professional beauty brands and educates stylists on the latest products and trends.

SUMMARY:

The Category Manager is responsible for the P&L management, assortment planning, promotional planning, strategic development, and overall communication/collaboration with brands in a specific category segment.  This position plays the key role in developing and maintaining relationships with manufacturer partners with a key focus on growing our Essentials category. The Category Manager is the main contact between partner brands and SalonCentric.  The position is also accountable for collaboration amongst cross-functional SalonCentric partners, including but not limited to: Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, and Sales Channels.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

·       Brands and SalonCentric Internal teams:

o   Foster an environment that welcomes change and promotes high levels of integrity, ingenuity, creative thinking, risk tolerance and collaboration.

o   Drive increased efficiencies via process improvement and workload reduction.

o   Provide clear, accurate and timely information within SalonCentric to keep all areas up to date and informed of changes, progress, issues, and opportunities.

o   Conduct brand meetings and provide the data and information needed to grow sales and margin.

·       Drive Profitable Sales, Deliver Margins and Meet Inventory Objectives:

o   Responsible for the day-to-day management and execution of business to maximize sales and margin, while managing inventory objectives for select brands.

o   Develop strategic opportunities to ensure long term sustained growth and gain market share.

o   Fully participate and contribute in business planning meetings.

·       Provide promotional/item/brand strategy based on sales goals, historical analysis, trends, future product launches and seasonal events:

o   Research and analyze customer insights from both internal & external sources to create the best customer experience.

o   Identify new brands, trends, innovation within the industry and update assortments to fulfill the changing needs of the marketplace.

o   Proactively provide assessment/recommendation for promotions, new launches based on analysis and collaboration with brands and Demand Planning team.

o   Negotiate exclusive promotions and prioritize brand promotional submissions to provide the greatest return while controlling risk.

o   Ensure accuracy of all printed/digital communications to include pricing, deal content, material set up and pagination.

o   Measure sell-through and the effectiveness of each promotion with Demand Planning to ensure promotions are meeting thresholds.

o   Build tiered product assortments to drive assortment productivity within store channels.

·       Provide Leadership within the SalonCentric Organization:

o   Proactively provide guidance and communication to cross-functional teams regarding updates/changes/launches/introductions/strategies by your brands.

o   Take on additional duties as requested by management.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

·       Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent job experience required.  

·       Detail-oriented with excellent analytical and quantitative skills.

·       Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.

·       Strong communication and interpersonal skills, able to interact effectively and professionally with peers and management.

·       A team player with an ability to work in a team environment and independently.

·       Minimum 2-3 years’ experience in business management, marketing or similarly related professional.

·       Experience in merchandising or buying products is highly desirable.

·       Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Power Point.

·       Must have long-term authorization to work in the U.S.