Category Manager, Alcoholic Beverage (Ab)

We're Outfox Hospitality. A union of Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen & Market, dedicated to elevating the everyday, through unrivaled curation of products, delectable culinary excellence, and an experience that delights our customers.  Whether shopping in our stores, rooted in our local communities, or placing an order via our app - our mission is to deliver the best of modern convenience.  

Foxtrot. We're the digitally-native evolution of the corner store-the one-stop-shop for those seeking thoughtful food experiences that are a reflection of themselves and their city. We offer a handpicked curation of daily essentials and delightful snacks, chef-prepared grab & go dishes, and delicious cafe menus, in our warm & welcoming stores, and delivered straight to your door in as little as 30 minutes, via our app and website.

Since launching in 2013, we now operate in Chicago, DC-metro, Dallas, and Austin, and we continue to scale within those markets, and beyond.  

Dom's Kitchen & Market. We're a team of food industry experts, excited to share our knowledge of hospitality. We pride ourselves in offering well-crafted, locally-sourced food, in an environment of discovery. We thrive on sharing space at our neighborhood table.  

Operating two stores in Chicago, we're looking forward to welcoming new stores to better serve our team, customers and communities.  

In the broadest terms, a Category Manager is responsible for every aspect of the retailing of a group of products, from discovery through a customer's purchase.  

The overall responsibility of the AB Category Manager is to optimize sales for Alcoholic Beverages, such as wine, beer and liquor, across our fleet of stores at Outfox Hospitality, the parent company for Foxtrot Market and Dom's Kitchen and Market. These are two trailblazing retailers with a shared vision to redefine food shopping and dining for the local communities we serve.   This Category Manager must be able to maintain a productive relationship externally with  our partners & vendors, and internally with our retail operations, legal and other support functions, while also ensuring they're keeping pulse with trends, customer demand and engagement.  

Ultimately, within this role, the Category Manager will drive sales, find creative solutions to complex retail challenges, manage category purchasing, educate & coach our retail teams.  Specifically, that will include: 

Merchandising:

• Determine, curate & cultivate our differentiation in the market.  Ensure we offer the right products at the right time for the right price. 
• Spend time exploring new trends, opportunities, products and quality, unique makers within the AB category.
• Make recommendations for category products.
• Analyze item assortment, competition's impact on the category, recommend ways to grow market share.

Pricing:

• Category Manager will be responsible for analyzing & setting competitive pricing points and adjusting the pricing to increase sales and clear out stagnant items from inventory.  Successful marketing of a product or product line requires the right formula which includes pricing and availability, balanced with consumer demand. 
• Influence the design of seasonal displays and other visual merchandising plans. 

Inventory:

• Manage inventory, and effectively plan and forecast to maximize profitability.
• Create trend forecasts and implement sales plans.
• Financial analysis as a key planning responsibility.  
• Analyze category performance across a variety of indicators, such as sales, gross profit, mark-on, markdowns, and market share.

Education & Engagement:

• Engage our teams & customers around the AB program at Outfox Hospitality.
• Develop and schedule educational resources for retail team members, and host trainings & tastings. 
• Work alongside the Marketing team to develop content, such as press releases or social media series.
• Identify in-store event opportunities, in partnership with vendors.  

Requirements & Skills:

• 21+ years of age or older is a requirement, with the ability to apply strong, sound judgment. 
• Bachelor's degree in business, retailing, management, sales, or marketing is strongly preferred.  An MBA or postgraduate study in merchandising or retail management is an advantage.
• At least 5+ years of Category Management experience, with at least 2 years of successfully owning a full category.
• Experience with planning strategic long term direction of a category.
• Experience in marketing, merchandising, sales or similar expertise in the Alcoholic Beverage industry, with keen awareness and understanding of the complexities of compliance with state & local jurisdictions. 
• Strong analytical retail management skills are a must. 
• Exceptional organization, outstanding attention to detail, and excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, are non-negotiables. 
• Ability to easily establish a rapport with a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds and understanding within the Alcoholic Beverage industry. 
• Strong background with vendor management & visual merchandising is a plus.  
• Great taste & understanding of the key tenets of quality Alcoholic Beverages.  
• Ability to handle stress appropriately, and deal with ambiguity will prove very beneficial.  

We'd be remiss to not mention some of the added benefits & perks of working with our Outfox team!  Beyond working alongside a stellar team, daily free coffee & employee discounts, you'll be eligible to participate in our comprehensive health and welfare benefits, our 401K plan with an employer match, generous paid time off programs, and more! *  

Outfox Hospitality is an equal opportunity employer, providing equal opportunities for everyone that applies to, and who works, on our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity or expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, and medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service (past, present or future) in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state or local law. 

Outfox Hospitality participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.

* of course, certain program & eligibility rules apply