Merchandising Manager

Circle K • Corona, CA

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Merchandising Manager role involves a significant amount of field work (minimum 60% of time) within an assigned business unit. This position supports pilot and testing activities, including preparation and delivery of communication materials, tracking results, and providing feedback. The manager will offer a local perspective to Hub leadership based on marketplace understanding and act as a customer advocate across the category, engaging operations to provide support. Responsibilities include supporting marketing efforts for Point of Purchase (POP) execution, leading the local execution of national schematic efforts with local assortments, coordinating reset teams, and owning product launches locally. The role also involves supporting local partners and technical teams to resolve customer-facing issues and fostering positive relationships between Hub, Spoke, and Operational teams. Additionally, the manager will coach and mentor operational staff on merchandising practices aligned with Hub initiatives, buying trends, and local customer demand, while also supporting the operations team with best practices for the category at the site level. Other site merchandising-related tasks may be assigned. Collaboration with Country and HUB activities for the Category, including product forecasts and distributions, is also a key function. The manager will monitor local competitors and recommend appropriate actions, oversee local store layouts, category space allocation, and product adjacencies based on Hub recommendations, and recommend changes in products, service, and policy to the HUB for evaluation. For local business unit programming, the manager will select vendors, negotiate costs and terms, develop schematics using category management principles aligned with HUB strategic objectives, increase sales revenues through promotional concepts and overlay programs, and develop category plans. The role involves establishing and monitoring gross margins by forecasting annual sales quotas, projecting sales volume and profit, and determining placement and promotions. The manager will project and measure category sales and gross profit results, maintain local external vendor relations, and keep professional and technical knowledge current. Contribution to team effort by accomplishing determined Financial and Key Result Area targets is expected.

Requirements

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word/Excel/PowerPoint) required.
• Valid Driver’s License supported by a clean driving record.
• Minimum of 60% time in the field of the assigned business unit.
• May require up to 60% travel.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in advertising, business, or related field preferred.
• Five years of experience or more preferred in merchandising; including three years of management responsibility.
• Other combinations of job-related experience and education that meet the requirements may be substituted.

Responsibilities

• Support pilots/testing activities, including preparation and delivering communication materials, tracking of results and feedback.
• Provide the local point of view to Hub leadership based on marketplace understanding.
• Act as an advocate for the customer across the category, engaging Ops to support.
• Support marketing; ensure POP are executed across BU.
• Locally lead the execution of national schematics efforts with local assortment.
• Coordinate with and manage reset teams in all aspects.
• Own product launches locally.
• Support local partners and technical teams to troubleshoot customer facing issues.
• Foster positive relationships between the Hub team, Spoke team and Operational team.
• Coach and mentor Operational staff to merchandise product assortments that reflect Hub initiatives, buying trends and support seasonal local customer demand.
• Support the operations team regarding best merchandising practices for the category at site level.
• Collaborate and support Country and HUB activities for the Category.
• Collaborate with Hub for product forecasts and distributions.
• Monitor local competitor retail and make recommendations appropriately.
• Oversee the local level of store layouts, category space allocation, product affinity/adjacencies based on recommendations by the Hub.
• Recommend changes in products, service and policy to the HUB for evaluating results and competitive developments.
• Select vendors, negotiate costs and terms for products and develop schematics by applying category management principles in accordance with the HUB strategic objectives.
• Increase sales revenues by developing promotional concepts and overlay programs; develop category plans.
• Establish and monitor gross margins by forecasting and developing annual sales quotas, projecting expected sales volume and profit for existing and new products and determining placement and promotions.
• Project and measure category sales and gross profit results by developing and maintaining records of item cost, retail, and gross margin dollars.
• Maintain local external vendor relations by providing direction, guidance, and information, resolving concerns.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reading professional publications, establishing personal networks; or participating in professional societies.
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing determined Financial and Key Result Area targets pursuant to Company Plan guidelines.

What This Job Offers

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