Associate Category Manager - Health and Wellness

Walgreens • Deerfield, IL

7d

About The Position

The Associate Category Manager collaborates with Category Managers to select and purchase merchandise and services across a limited number of categories at the lowest possible cost. The role evaluates business economics and conditions, sources of supply, merchandise requirements, and company policy to guide purchasing decisions. It provides merchandising, promotional plans and programs, and distribution services to meet consumer and store needs. With direction or input from the Category Manager, the Associate Category Manager develops and implements merchandising techniques and procedures.

The role plans and recommends sales, gross profit, inventory control, and merchandise turnover objectives for assigned departments and items. It develops and recommends plans covering merchandising, display, advertising, distribution, packaging, and sales. It may negotiate buying contracts for categories or subsets of categories as assigned by the Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) or Category Manager (CM), and reviews contracts with the CM. The Associate Category Manager analyzes market, competitive, customer perception, historical, and year-to-date performance data; recommends price levels and performance goals; and manages category performance as assigned. Working with Store Experience and merchandise planning, the role develops category insights and makes data-based recommendations on planograms, ROTO spots, promotional programs, assortment, forecasts, and other category initiatives. It also develops knowledge of Walgreens and WBA private brands and works with the CM and/or DMM on sales forecasts and gross profit levels for assigned categories.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of experience in two or more of retail, procurement/purchasing, merchandising, vendor relations, pharmacy operations, or retail marketing; alternatively, a high school diploma/GED and at least 4 years of experience in two or more of those areas.
• Experience working with P&L concepts, including revenue, cost of goods sold, gross profit margin, operating expenses, and income.
• Knowledge of customer-centric retailing principles and analytics of customer purchase behavior.
• At least 2 years of experience developing programs in merchandising, vendor relations, and marketing in the retail business.
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills.
• Basic Microsoft PowerPoint skills.
• Basic Microsoft Word skills.

Nice To Haves

• At least 1 year of experience in cross-functional team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, and recommend sales, gross profit, inventory control, and merchandise turnover objectives for assigned departments and items.
• Develop and recommend merchandising, display, advertising, distribution, packaging, and sales plans and programs for assigned items and merchandise departments.
• Negotiate buying contracts for assigned categories or subsets of categories as directed by the DMM or CM, and review contracts with the CM.
• Analyze market, competitive, and customer perception data and recommend price levels to the DMM and CM.
• Review and analyze historical and year-to-date category performance data, recommend category performance goals, and manage performance as assigned.
• Work with Store Experience and merchandise planning to build and review category insights; use data to recommend planograms, ROTO spots, promotional programs, merchandising assortment, forecasts, and other category initiatives.
• Elicit insights from data and recommend programs to division leadership.
• Develop an understanding of Walgreens and WBA private brands, including assortment, projected sales forecasts, gross profit levels, and merchandising and promotional programs.
• Work with the Category Manager and/or DMM to project sales forecasts and gross profit levels within assigned categories.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level