Category Manager - Jewelry

Amanda Blu & Co. is a fashion manufacturer in Shawnee, Kansas. We are seeking an experienced merchant and Category Manager, with an entrepreneurial spirit, self-starting approach, strong analytical skills, and passion for developing products to join our team.  Primary functions include supporting strategy development and presentation of the product category, providing input, executing new product development, and analyzing assortment to maximize sales and profitability.

Additional duties: assortment planning, product pricing, forecasting, and coordination with marketing and creative. This position will see strong collaboration between Product Development & Design, Inventory Control, Marketing, Ecommerce and Data Analytics teams to drive strategic growth for the brand.

Job Description:

• Leads product development team to achieve the jewelry category sales and gross margin budgets through optimizing assortment, pricing, and strategy.

·       Conduct sales analyses and regularly keep abreast of industry trends to make recommendations for opportunities.

• Develop assortment plans – watch for and identify trends in jewelry categories.
• Continually find ways to expand upon category through product extensions or additions.
• Partner with Inventory Control to establish realistic forecasts and buy plans that will support demand and margin goals.
• Present accurate data for seasonal assortment planning updates. Present assumptions and conclusions that drive the direction of the jewelry category.
• Maintain data integrity of merchandising attributes from item inception through to printed catalogs, websites, and sales training.
• Adhere to timelines while also managing partners to meet strict deadlines for on time product launches.
• Build strong teamwork and communication strategies with Product Development, Marketing, Inventory Control, Ecommerce, and Catalog Production.
• Collaborate with marketing to execute product launch strategies.
• Coordinate with Executive Team to coordinate key accounts assortments and Scan Based Trading programs.

New Product

• Owns the creation and maintenance of product plans throughout various stages of development, ensuring accuracy of item detail.
• Research product offerings to aid with the initiation of new product development to ensure the product strategy remains relevant and competitive.
• Analyze classification, price point and sales trends to make informed decisions on new product.

Pricing:

• Aid with execution and implementation of margin reviews and pricing structure strategies to ensure margin requirements are met.
• Conduct analysis and gather comparable product information to inform team of MSRP, wholesale cost and margin targets for new products.
• Validating set pricing based on margin requirements that include import duties, tariffs, packaging, testing, and freight.
• Conduct competitive market research on a regular basis.

  Assortment Analysis

• Aid with execution and implementation of formal Planning reviews to achieve style count and productivity targets.
• Develop reports, presentations and trend reports that communicate a high-level view of new product introductions and current assortment for product development and assortment planning.
• Conduct key initiative information gathering and research as it pertains to the current assortment.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Coordinate, manage, and maintain security of samples/stock.
• Prepare product category reviews, key account meeting materials as well as assist with other administrative tasks and projects as needed to respond to business needs.
• Respond to Key account jewelry directives and presentations in a timely manner.
• Attend trade shows to get direct customer feedback and their response to jewelry products.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree
• 4 years of category management or comparable merchant experience.
• Experience and proven history managing teams at a high performing level.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office products: Excel, Word, PowerPoint
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to communicate plans and requirements clearly and concisely to a variety of teams.
• Must be able to travel overseas to our China offices and factories.

Job Type: Full-time/Salaried Position:

• Pay: $ 90,000 per year with 15 % bonus potential

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance