Catogory Head

Category Head - Kitchen, Home Décor & Home Furnishings

Role Summary

The Category Head will lead the end-to-end strategy, planning and

performance of the Kitchen, Home Décor and Home Furnishings categories,

with full responsibility for sales, margin and inventory KPIs. The role

is accountable for developing the right product mix, driving

customer-centric assortments and ensuring Home Centre's positioning as a

market leader in style, value and quality.

Key Responsibilities

• Category strategy, budget and planning

• Define and own the category strategy and annual operating plan

for Kitchen, Home Décor and Home Furnishings in line with the

overall business objectives.

• Build and manage sales, margin and OTB budgets; drive

initiatives to achieve top-line growth and bottom-line targets

for each sub-category.

• Use historical performance, customer insights and market trends

to plan seasonal and annual range architecture, price ladders

and promotional plans.

• Assortment, design and quality

• Curate and manage the end-to-end assortment across Kitchen, Home

Décor and Home Furnishings, ensuring the right breadth, depth,

and balance of private label and branded ranges.

• Partner with design, product development and quality teams to

develop differentiated collections, aligned to Home Centre's

brand handwriting, style guides and quality standards.

• Monitor customer feedback, returns and quality issues and drive

continuous improvement in product fit, function, aesthetics and

durability.

• Category merchandise and pricing

• Drive customer-focused merchandise plans for each sub-category,

including pricing, promotions, space allocation and

in-store/online presentation to maximise sales and sell-through.

• Set and review price ladders, markdown strategies and margin

structures to deliver planned gross margin and stock turns while

remaining competitive.

• Work closely with Marketing and Visual Merchandising to support

category campaigns, launches and key events across channels.

• Vendor development and sourcing

• Build, evaluate and manage a strong vendor and sourcing base for

Kitchen, Home Décor and Home Furnishings across domestic and

import markets.

• Negotiate commercial terms, costs, MOQs and service levels to

ensure availability, quality and profitability; drive cost

optimisation and value engineering.

• Continuously scan the market, trade shows and industry networks

for new suppliers, trends, materials and technologies relevant

to the categories.

• Operations and order management

• Oversee buying cycles, order placement and delivery calendars to

ensure on-time product availability in line with range launches

and seasonal plans.

• Partner with supply chain, planning and warehouse teams to

optimise inventory levels, reduce ageing/slow movers and improve

replenishment efficiency.

• Monitor category performance and key KPIs (sales, margin,

sell-through, stock cover, ageing, RTVs) and implement

corrective actions.

• Market, competition and customer insight

• Regularly review market and competitor activity in Kitchen, Home

Décor and Home Furnishings, benchmarking assortment, pricing and

promotions.

• Leverage customer insights, store feedback and digital analytics

to refine ranges, identify gaps/opportunities and enhance

category performance.

• People and stakeholder management

• Lead and develop a team of Buyers, Planners, Designers and

Executives, providing clear goals, coaching and performance

feedback.

• Foster strong cross-functional collaboration with Design,

Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Marketing, VM and Store

Operations to deliver category objectives.

• Build a high-performance, innovation-driven culture within the

category team, encouraging ownership and data-driven decision

making.

Candidate Profile

• Graduate/postgraduate with 10-15 years of relevant experience in

buying/category management, with significant exposure to Kitchen,

Home Décor and Home Furnishings in modern retail or e-commerce.

• Strong commercial acumen with proven track record in driving

category growth, margin improvement and inventory productivity.

• Deep understanding of home category trends, materials, manufacturing

bases, vendor ecosystems and consumer preferences.

• Demonstrated experience in leading and developing category/buying

teams and working in a fast-paced, multi-stakeholder environment.