Category Manager, Clothing and Footwear
If you have a passion for the outdoors, previous success in purchasing, sales or operational management and are looking for a challenging and inspiring work environment, then we want to talk to you! This position can be located in either Kelowna or Vancouver.
We take our relationships with our employees to heart and are interested in applicants that have one! We’re in the business of providing exceptional service and to deliver it we depend on employees that care deeply about our customer experience. Sound interesting?
Summary:
The Category Manager – Clothing and Footwear, is responsible for the purchasing, pricing and oversight of all clothing and footwear products. Responsibilities include overseeing costs, pricing, and margins, tracking sales trends, competitive analysis, and the selection, pricing and procurement of product for special orders and sales events. This position is also responsible for coordinating/sourcing product training resources and supporting material for the purpose of staff training.
Job Duties:
- Establish vendor relationships and purchasing agreements that support the company’s service and financial objectives
- Select and SKU specific products from vendors to meet customer demand and maximize sales opportunities
- Regularly review brand and product performance, perform competitive analysis and add/remove products and product lines to ensure sales, margin, and turn objectives are met
- Prepare new Product Input templates; enter and update product pricing/details
- Coordinate/source product training resources and supporting materials for the purpose of staff training
- Manage regular purchasing and maintenance of an open to buy plan in the Clothing and Footwear categories
- Capitalize on special purchase opportunities to enhance margins and turns and ensure product arrives in time for special orders and peak selling seasons/events
- Manage online product presentation and placement of accessory opportunities, as required
- Coordinate with marketing to establish product pricing and placement for sale events, co-op marketing, and other promotional opportunities.
Requirements:
- 5+ years of purchasing/buying, sales or operational management experience (ideally in footwear and clothing)
- Post-Secondary degree in Business or a related field an asset
- Excellent customer service skills
- Proven negotiation skills
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic business initiatives
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Internet applications