Category Manager - Center Store/Grocery

Coborn's•Saint Cloud, MN

31d•$82,000 - $130,000

About The Position

Are you passionate about merchandising, analyzing trends, and building strong relationships? If yes, join the Coborn's Merchandising Team as a Category Manager! As we continue to stay competitive in the grocery retail industry, Coborn's is in search of category merchandisers who can own a product category - optimizing product assortment, negotiation with suppliers, enhancing sales, while driving growth of our organization. With a team of expert merchandising professionals, you will have the opportunity to make an impact on our employee-owned business and the communities that we serve! Strengthening our understanding of consumer trends are what we aim to do, and we are committed to hiring category managers to help us get there. If you are not familiar with grocery retail, it's not a problem! We encourage all category managers, of diverse backgrounds, to apply!

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, Merchandising, or related field preferred.
Five years' related experience in areas of category management, merchandising, or retail strategy; grocery experience preferred but not required.
Strong data analytical skills with experience using tools such as Excel or Power BI to make data-driven decisions.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy: Develop and execute category growth strategies to maximize sales, market share, and profitability with a guest-centric approach aligning with the consumer needs, preferences, and shopping behaviors.
Product Assortment Optimization: Manage product assortment ensuring the right mix of products, including core, seasonal, and new items to minimize redundancy, enhance category performance and maximize sales.
Pricing Strategy: Establish competitive pricing models, including everyday pricing, promotional pricing, and value perception.
Merchandising & Placement: Decide how products are displayed and organized to enhance visibility and increase purchases.
Supplier & Vendor Relationships: Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and vendors to negotiate pricing, secure exclusive deals, promotional planning, and develop strategic partnerships.
Promotional Planning: Design and execute marketing and promotional campaigns to drive category growth, brand awareness, and maximize sales and profitability.
Data & Performance Analysis: Analyze key performance indicators (KPI's) to include sales, guest insights, and market trends to make data driven decisions that will improve margins, market share, and other areas of improvement within the category; continuously refine the category strategy.
Trends & Innovation: Monitor competitor activities and emerging trends to identify opportunities and introduce new products and programs to keep the category competitive and relevant.
Collaboration & Execution: Work with suppliers, vendors, and internal marketing and operations teams to ensure effective category execution on programs that are high impact and easy to execute.
Financial Forecasting & Planning: Manage category budgets and forecasts for sales, profit, inventory, and in stocks to deliver on the established annual performance targets.

Benefits

10% employee discount on grocery items, with additional franchise-specific discounts available at company owned Ace Hardware, Caribou Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert's, and Pet Supplies Plus locations.
Get Paid Daily with DailyPay - for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
Paid Floating Holidays & time and a half (1 ½) paid for hours worked on a company-recognized holiday!
Sunday Premium Pay - an extra $1 per hour for hours worked on Sundays (some exclusions apply)
Paid Military Leave
Employee recognition programs with monetary rewards including in-store vouchers, years of service, and employee of the month
Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources - to assist our team members in living a life of wellbeing!
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year
Access to a national discount marketplace for travel, electronics, auto/home insurance , entertainment and more!
Tools, resources and opportunities for career growth and development
401(k) plan options - we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) - yes, we're employee-owned! Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
Education benefits including tuition discount and scholarship programs
Additional Voluntary Benefits - such as vision, accident and critical illness insurances
Medical & Dental Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Tuition Reimbursement
Adoption Reimbursement
Paid Family Caregiver Leave
company-sponsored Term Life Insurance
Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance!