Category Manager

Simon Pearce • Windsor, VT

13d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Category Manager is a cross-functional role that owns product category performance by integrating demand planning, inventory strategy, and commercial insights to drive sales, margin, and inventory productivity. The role is responsible for aligning forecasting, channel allocation, retail replenishment and key merchandising initiatives to support overall commercial goals. Partnering closely with Merchandising, Sales, Visual Merchandising, Marketing, and Planning and Warehouse teams, this role translates strategy into actionable plans and manages initiatives from concept through execution. The Category Manager balances analytical rigor with strong project management to drive alignment in a fast-paced, commercial environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising, Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, Economics, or related field
• 2-5 years of experience in category management
• Experience owning or influencing category-level strategy and financial performance (sales, margin, inventory)
• Strong business acumen with understanding of pricing, assortment strategy, and product lifecycle management
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to interpret large data sets
• Demonstrated ability to translate data into commercial recommendations and business decisions
• 3+ years project management experience working with cross-functional teams
• Advanced proficiency in Excel
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders

Nice To Haves

• Luxury retail experience preferred
• Experience with ERP and demand planning tools preferred

Responsibilities

• Shape seasonal assortment strategies, including SKU productivity, lifecycle management, and line architecture for owned categories
• Own category-level performance including sales, inventory productivity, and sell-through; proactively identify risks and opportunities and drive action plans
• Develop and maintain category-level financial plans (revenue, margin, inventory) aligned to company targets
• Analyze category performance across channels and recommend actions to optimize mix, depth, and timing
• Drive decisions on new product introductions, discontinuations, and lifecycle transitions based on performance insights
• Act as the central point of view on category health, synthesizing inputs from Merchandising, Sales, Marketing, and Planning
• Develop, manage, and continuously improve demand forecasts at the SKU, category, and channel levels to support financial and category plans
• Analyze demand drivers including promotions, product launches, lifecycle changes, and go-to-market [GTM] plans; identify risks and opportunities
• Aggregate and reconcile forecasts to support inventory, production, financial planning, and purchasing decisions for manufactured and purchased goods
• Translate forecasts into actionable inputs for inventory planning, production planning, and purchasing
• Support S&OP processes by preparing demand plans, assumptions, and scenario analyses
• Monitor forecast accuracy and recommend corrective actions
• Maintain and enhance forecasting tools, models, reporting, and processes
• Prepare clear reporting and insights for leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
• Continuously evaluate planning assumptions and recommend process improvement.
• Oversee allocation of inventory by channel and retail location in alignment with demand plans and approved strategies
• Determine and manage retail replenishment parameters (safety stock) by SKU by store based on historical analysis, seasonal builds, and visual strategy
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Product Development, Retail, and Visual Merchandising to ensure allocations align with GTM plans and seasonal assortment strategies
• Monitor sales trends and weeks of supply to proactively adjust retail replenishment levels
• Drive analysis and recommendations for markdowns, liquidation strategies, and sell-through optimization
• Lead project management of key merchandising initiatives
• Build and manage project plans, timelines, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies
• Ensure alignment across Merchandising, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Retail, and Operation
• Communicate progress and drive accountability to ensure initiatives are executed accurately, on time, and with minimal disruption

Benefits

• medical, dental, and vision coverage
• employer paid life & disability
• paid time off
• flexible holiday time
• 401k retirement plan with employer match
• tuition reimbursement assistance
• exclusive employee discounts on both our glass and pottery products
• employee discounts at our restaurant

What This Job Offers

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