Retail Merchandising & Category Manager

Job Description

The Opportunity\n

Lard Oil Company is seeking a data-driven Retail Merchandising & Category Manager to improve inside sales, gross profit, category performance and promotional effectiveness across our company-operated convenience stores. Reporting to the Director of Retail, this position leads category strategy, assortment, pricing recommendations, vendor programs and merchandising execution. Our portfolio includes On The Run stores operating within the Circle K franchise system and independently controlled retail formats.

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This is a strategic, analytical category-management role—not primarily a store-reset or field-merchandising position. The right candidate will turn retail performance data into measurable business improvements.

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What You’ll Do\n

·       Analyze category and SKU sales, gross profit dollars, margins, pricing, promotions and product productivity to recommend profitable actions.

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·       Develop assortments, planograms, merchandising standards and new-product tests tailored to individual stores and markets.

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·       Partner with the Director of Retail on category strategies, pricing recommendations, vendor negotiations and promotional planning.

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·       Coordinate Circle K promotional execution at On The Run franchise locations and develop promotional programs for independently controlled stores.

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·       Build category scorecards and use retail reporting and analytical tools to evaluate results and present clear recommendations.

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·       Collaborate with District Managers, Store Managers, the Price Book function and Foodservice Manager to support consistent execution.

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Qualifications\n

·       5+ years of category management, merchandising or related commercial retail experience in a multi-unit retail environment; convenience-store experience strongly preferred.

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·       Required: Demonstrated experience analyzing retail sales, gross profit, gross margins, pricing, promotional results, SKU performance and category profitability.

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·       Required: Hands-on experience using retail management, ERP, POS reporting or business intelligence software comparable to PDI to extract, analyze and interpret retail operating and financial data.

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·       Required: Strong Excel and analytical skills, with the ability to translate findings into actionable recommendations and measurable results.

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·       Strong understanding of retail pricing, vendor economics, assortment planning and merchandising execution.

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·       Strongly preferred: Hands-on PDI retail software experience, including reporting, price book data and category-level analysis.

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·       Experience with both franchise/national-brand and independently controlled retail formats is desirable.

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·       Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required; relevant experience and demonstrated results are more important.