Job Overview
Job Description:
The Category Manager is responsible for the overall merchandising and business direction of Party City’s marketplace business (Amazon, eBay, Walmart etc.) and other digital properties, with the goal of meeting/exceeding sales and margin goals through assortment growth (new, unique, web top sellers etc.), marketing/ advertising, content enhancement, customer experience, conversion, and average order value. The Category Manager will focus on the marketplace strategy, P&L, business growth, marketplace customer, and partnerships with vendors, agencies and account partners to grow the business. The category manager will incorporate competitive intelligence, customer insight, and business analysis to continually identify opportunities, drive new initiatives, and optimize the business. This position is responsible for the planning/ purchase of merchandise and will partner with the planning, inventory, category teams, finance, and marketing teams to develop strategies to maximize business opportunities on Marketplaces.
Develop and manage a multi-year strategic vision for Amazon, eBay, Walmart and other 3rd Party marketplace businesses (domestic & global), establish actionable plans that support the overall objectives, and deliver on the annual financial plans for the marketplace business
Assess and develop plans to launch on other marketplaces (domestic & global)
Analyze and forecast category sales data to identify business growth opportunities and liabilities
Manage merchandise programs (Seasonal & Every Day business), vendor & partner relationships, ecommerce merchandising, inventory management/ markdowns (working with inventory partner) and marketing in accordance with the category strategic plan
Collaborate with category teams (web & store) on the creation of assortments and in developing buy plans for various seasons and every day businesses with an emphasis on key new and unique items and kits that are pivotal to marketplace sales and margin growth
Analyze weekly reporting of marketplaces, identify actionable insights, and create plans to improvise business based on data (top sellers, AOV, UPT, ACoS, sessions/ impressions, conversion, search and sales ranks, buy box); identify areas of opportunity through pricing/ margin expansion, marketing/ promotions, cross-sells, advertising optimization, content enhancement and unique assortment
Develop vendor and marketplace account partner relationships to grow the business via weekly, monthly and quarterly strategic and marketing meetings, trade shows, thoughtful planning, communication, and road-mapping of execution
Actively lead and engage with internal partners to drive FBA, global shipping, and other integration initiatives
Create new business/ product concepts and unique/ new products strategies to grow and improve our marketplace business and customer experience
Partner with Vendors and Category teams to manage the timeline and overall product designs, pricing, MOQ’s within a given category and develop unique marketplace assortment
Plan and lead the end-to-end process of promotions, deals, marketplace events, and seasonal events working closely with integration partners, marketplace account partners, and internal teams and effective relations with these partners to grow our business
Audit Marketplaces/ perform competitive shopping regularly to identify unique assortment opportunities for seasonal and everyday businesses and work with ecommerce merchandising, content, and site teams to plan and introduce unique/ new assortment and/ or troubleshoot assortment, pricing, fulfillment issues on existing products
Analyze customer feedback and other sources to define and improve category strategies, product assortments, marketing, fulfillment, and pricing opportunities
Develop, mentor and coach associates to grow the team and business
Communicate and collaborate with operations business partners (Logistics/ Fulfillment, customer service) on any merchandise related tasks and ensure a high level of customer service is maintained
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with members of cross-functional teams (Category team, Marketing, Data Management, Inventory/ Planning, Ecommerce Merchants and Site Teams, Customer Service, Logistics and IT teams)
Partner with Ecommerce team to share the marketplace vision, growth strategy, plans, business recaps, trends & insights etc. and garner support to execute initiatives and launch on marketplaces
Actively monitor, analyze and report on the business and marketplace / industry trends