Category Manager

Job Title: Category Manager

Company Name: Titan

Job Type: Regular/Permanent

Job Category: Jewellery-SMR

Department: Mia-Merchandising

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Position Overview:

To craft and introduce the right product/ merchandise mix in the stores by analysing overall market trends & competition while studying the respective store catchment areas to ensure continuity in the product supply to improve the profit margins.

Key Responsibilities:

Merchandising: Planning & forecasting: Demand planning:

• Provide inputs and develop the seasonal sale forecast and offer sales profitability forecast
• Develop iterations and seek approvals on the annual store-wise product group sales mix
• Provide approvals for the Mia exchange program and Gold exchange program on a 3-month rolling basis
• Conduct sales variance study and approve recommended interventions on monthly basis on a small-scale basis
• Develop the product mix and other initiative plans for the stores assigned under hero markets
• Design the annual plans for new product introduction and penetration as per the forecasted demand plan
• Design and develop the annual collection launch plans and activation plans
• Provide inputs on national level interventions targeted towards boosting sales of concerned SKUs 
• Provide inputs on developing and rolling out interventions for effective market analysis like exhibition, melas, road shows etc. to boost sales
• Provide inputs in the integration of Mia growth levers with the sales plan

Merchandising: Planning & forecasting: Annual Merchandising planning:

• Manage all the Mia products periodically and provide inputs for improvements through gap analysis based on customer and store staff feedbacks, opportunity analysis based on vendor feedbacks etc.
• Provide inputs and insights into the pricing policy changes
• Develop the merchandising plan with Mia strategic growth levers as the fundamental building blocks
• Collate data and provide inputs for sign off on the merchandising plan with the senior management
• Identify the list of focus stores based on inputs from regional teams like wedding destination stores etc.

Merchandising: Planning & forecasting: Gross Contribution planning:

• Manage the mark-up model (stone & making charges) on F1 & F2
• Plan and organise Gross Contribution benchmarking activity across relevant competitors
• Design and develop the discount pay-out and variance management and seek final approval from Head Merchandising Jewellery
• Plan the offer/ discount management activity along with the team and seek approval from Head Merchandising Jewellery on the designed plan
• Develop the making charge variance across regions and seek approvals on changes from Head Merchandising Jewellery
• Identify opportunities on product resourcing/ movement of manufacturing setup from vendor to factory/ karigar park or vice versa and seek approval from Head Merchandising Jewellery
• Develop interventions to improve GC in the existing product library by using multiple levers

Merchandising: Pricing: Promotional strategy:

• Provide inputs to develop the calendarized offers and activation schemes based on sale projections and profitability
• Develop schemes and strategy to ensure liquidation of SKUs and enable adhoc/ regional activations targeted towards improving focussed sales
• Conduct evaluation of scheme & promotions effectiveness and propose countermeasures 

Merchandising: Policy Changes :

• Design and develop policy alteration to accommodate low GC products using geography and product attributes
• Develop exchange and GRN policy modifications basis strategic intent, customer feedback and margin requirements and seek approvals on the same

Merchandising: Pricing: Markdown strategy:

• Identify poor performing products and propose strategies to ensure their liquidation
• Ensure the effective cascade of the best deals with all the internal teams including VM, marketing, commercial, retail etc.
• Identify the best possible offers based on seasonality and develop schemes 

Merchandising: Pricing:

1.     Develop case for updating the gold rate mark-up for stores across locations based on market conditions

2.     Develop the KVI pricing, DBR multipliers for updating retail diamond rates, AMC revision post new product introductions and mark-to-market pricing for regional products

3.     Organise competitive Price Benchmarking exercise

4.     Approve product attribution for price benchmarking

Provide inputs to price revisions for enhancing profitability and sales of select products

Merchandising: Product Management: Product Portfolio Management:

• Manage the entire product lifecycle from inception to product retiral
• Provide inputs on range expansion within a collection
• Achieve Category Top line Targets as per planned catpb sales shares
• Monitor the BBPM performance evaluation for vendor returns
• Conduct existing vendor performance evaluations based on product performance and evaluate new vendors based on the skill set planning
• Approve the New Product Introduction tagging on the products based on recommendations
• Approve the evaluation of route of introduction - BBPM/Regular
• Develop the trend evaluation from diverse sources like IIJS, Exhibitions, customer visits, online etc.
• Provide inputs on the model stock recommendations for assortment planning
• Provide inputs to raise indents for regular products - full trousseau, best seller during season etc.
• Create and suggest melting recommendations for inventory calibration and seek approval from Head Merchandising Jewellery
• Identify and create new dedicated product library to consume slow moving inventory to improve operational efficiency
• Develop the sell through analysis for lifecycle management and approve countermeasures 

Merchandising: Product Management: New Product Development:

• Create the new product briefs
• Conduct evaluation of bottom-up feedback on new products and incorporate changes
• Organize category per boutique gap evaluation post universe rationalization
• Approve/ select the designs created or the product pick-up from vendors for a new collection
• Approve the final PDIS release; Coordinate with NPI team for code creation
• Support the teams to conduct NPIMs - central and across regions
• Approve the assortment planning for new products - region/customer segment specific
• Conduct periodic canvassing with L3s for indent enhancement, seasonal upstocking etc. to improve new product penetration
• Initiate the new product rotation post introduction
• Envisage and approve the introduction of future scalable collections/concepts via Pilots - VPIM, BBPM
• Collaborate with marketing for ad-variant planning

Merchandising: Inventory management: Norms finalization:

• Develop the boutique level split of category based on the sale target evaluation
• Develop the minimum range and norms at store level based on sales plan and turn targets
• Support in cascading the norms developed across all stores and ensure deployment 

Merchandising: Inventory management: Stock turn:

• Support the teams to ensure constant availability of best sellers, new products and ad variants in the stores
• Manage the stock levels in the special intervention stores and categories
• Support in identifying and creating timely IBTTs for ageing prevention
• Provide inputs on the best deal stock rotation
• Provide inputs on regular and special melting recommendations 

Merchandising: Inventory management: New store indenting:

• Provide inputs on the ROI evaluation for store- wise assortment planning
• Develop the model stock and raise the first indent
• Provide inputs on the first month buffer for a new store and oversee the indent placement including best seller special indents
• Develop strategies for front end up selling/cross selling
• Develop and seek approval for the incentive plan for the stores
• Coordinate with Retail ops and VM team to create implementable planogram

Retail Operations: Channel Productivity Improvements: Sales Productivity:

• Develop sales team incentive programs
• Communicating FAB to front end - digital and other media
• Develop strategies for front end up-selling/cross selling

Retail Operations: Store Operations: Training & Development:

• Create and develop training Content and Modules to enable the sales staff

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, as well as opportunities for growth and development within the company. If you are a driven and results-oriented individual with a passion for the jewellery industry, we would love to hear from you. Apply now to join our team at Titan as a Category Manager.

Education: Graduate 

Relevant Experience: 5-8 years with experience in Jewellery/fashion/garments industry

Behavioural Skills:

• Customer orientation
• Drive for outputs
• Networking ability
• Detail orientation 

Knowledge:

• Category management experience
• Business acumen
• Analytical ability
• Vendor management experience