Whole Foods Market Careers – Category Merchant

Job Description:

Develops category goals & strategies and product assortments through the lens of our core customer, ensuring a strong mix of national brand product relevance, best-in-class local product relevance, and best-in-class private label product relevance – distinguishing Whole Foods Market from our competition. Responsible for business financial performance, developing strategies that drive profitable sales through data-rich, customer centric assortment selection, product development, pricing, presentation, and promotion. Collaborates and works closely with Merchandising Planning, Merchandise Operations, Procurement, Distribution, Quality Assurance, Marketing, Regional Leadership, and our Suppliers to most effectively deliver on category goals and strategies.

Job Responsibilities:

• Remains calm and composed in the face of ambiguity.
• Ensures vision integration and alignment with higher-level objectives and encompasses a breadth of forward-looking insight.
• Conducts ongoing analysis of category performance, trends, and competitive assortment and pricing.
• Serves as thought-leader in pricing and category analysis.
• Accountable for the financial performance of assigned high volume, complex, and/or financially significant categories.
• Develops and executes category promotional planning including planning and executing key promotional events and reacting in-season bases on sales performance and the competitive landscape.
• Leads and ensures an integrated approach with business partners in vendor negotiations and cost increase justifications.
• Works with leadership to help develop category strategy based on financial expectations, category role, category performance, customer and product trends, competitive landscape and WFM differentiators.
• Leverages experience to contribute to master category strategy development and key initiatives.
• Engages with Exclusive Brands to integrate branded / exclusive programs into overall category strategies.
• Leverages strategic supplier / vendor relationships to ensure early insight into new trends and products; early and exclusive access to new items; differentiated product; merchandising and promotions and competitive costs.
• Works with leadership to set category price strategy and develop pricing tactics to achieve financial and customer objectives.
• Partners across teams to integrate branded / exclusive programs into overall category strategies as well as with Marketing on marketing and promotional events.
• Leads creation of customer-centric category owned brand vision.
• Supports leadership efforts to identify, assess, and hire new TMs.
• Works with Merchandising leadership to help drive change and support WFM evolution to Category Management
• Helps with TM on-boarding, training, and development.
• Works with business partners to identify gaps in analytical processes and reporting; problem-solves with various other teams to fill gaps.
• Viewed as subject matter expert and thought leader within category merchant organization.
• Provides project leadership on various merchandising initiatives.
• Develops strategic relationships with key suppliers to ensure early insight into new trends and products; early and exclusive access to new items; differentiated product; merchandising and promotions and competitive costs.

Job Requirements:

• Effectively presents to a wide range of audiences (direct reports, TMs, peers leadership, suppliers), tailoring communication to audience needs.
• Leverages skill set and exemplary judgment to make independent business decisions and deliver results.
• Proven ability to take complex business analyses and projects from concept to completion and make results accessible and relevant to business users at all levels.
• Serves as voice of WFM with suppliers and other external audiences.
• Attuned to category business performance; understands impact on master category, resolves underlying issues and delivers financial results.
• Able to facilitate and/or lead the work of others.
• Ability to staff, structure, plan and lead projects.
• Advanced to expert skills in Microsoft Office applications.

Qualification & Experience:

• BA/BS degree and 6-8 years’ relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Job Details:

Company: Whole Foods Market

Vacancy Type: Full Time

Job Location: Austin, TX, US

Application Deadline: N/A

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