The Category Manager Omni is responsible for the overall merchandising direction of a few category department(s) in store and on partycity.com with the goal of meeting/exceeding sales and margin targets. The Category Manager Omni will report directly to the Category Director and focus on the product category and customer by incorporating competitive intelligence, customer insight, and business analysis. This position is responsible for the purchase and negotiation of merchandise and will partner with the planning, inventory, finance and marketing teams to develop strategies to maximize business opportunities.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Work with category director to develop a strategic vision for product categories and actionable plans that support the overall objectives
- Analyze and forecast category sales data to identify business growth opportunities and liabilities
- Manage merchandise programs, vendor relationships, store merchandising, inventory management, markdowns and marketing in accordance with the category strategic plan
- Develop vendor relationships that grow the business via market meetings, trade shows, thoughtful planning and communication
- Create new business concepts and products to grow and improve our in store/online experience
- Perform competitive shopping to increase the connection to our customers and know the market place
- Analyze feedback and other sources to define and improve category strategies, product assortments, marketing and pricing
- Develop, mentor and lead a team of 1 -2 associates
- Partner closely with business partners in Operations and Planning to drive in store execution and presentation; inventory management in stores
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with members of cross-functional teams (Visual, Marketing, Data Management, Planning, Stores, Facilities, Safety)
- Partner with e Commerce to share the product vision and strategy, in order to execute and launch on PartyCity.com
- Actively monitor, analyze and report on the business and market trends
- Work with product development teams to manage the timeline and overall product designs, pricing, MOQ’s within a given category
- Work with Site Merchandise Manager on key initiatives impacting category performance, business results and customer experience
