Manager, Category - General Merchandise

Pilot Company•Knoxville, TN

About The Position

The category manager of general merchandise is responsible for leading the development of the department’s strategy, financial performance, and execution of a $150m category across 650+ stores in 42 states. This role drives profitability, ensures compliance, fosters strategic partnerships with leading consumer packaged goods companies, and seeks out new product assortments based on current trends and customer insights for our general merchandise category.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience with at least 5 years' experience in the convenience, retail, or consumer packaged goods industries.

Responsibilities

Leads a $150M category across 650+ stores in 42 states, taking accountability for P&L performance, budgeting and forecasting.
Manages and develops team talent, overseeing role clarity, coaching and performance for hourly team member(s) while modeling company purpose and virtues.
Supports long-range department strategy, including annual sales and gross profit planning, category pricing, promotional programs, new product lines, distribution and inventory optimization.
Leads vendor relationships and distribution management, negotiating space, assortments, costs and projects with 50+ suppliers.
Serves as the primary merchandising representative to major CPG companies, strengthening strategic partnerships and driving category growth through cross-functional collaboration with marketing, loyalty, finance, operations, legal and other departments.
Ensures flawless store execution of category strategy, compliance with federal/state/local regulations, accurate financial tracking of promotional funds, and support of all general merchandise initiatives.