Category Manager - Packaged and Adult Beverages

CATEGORY MANAGER BEVERAGES & ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES LOCATION Las Vegas, NV Corporate Headquarters / Hybrid as Required DEPARTMENT Merchandising & Category Management REPORTS TO Director of Category Management FLSA STATUS Exempt LV Petroleum is seeking a highly strategic, analytical, and commercially driven Category Manager - Beverages & Alcoholic Beverages to lead the development, execution, and optimization of all beverage categories across the enterprise. This includes packaged beverages, fountain beverages, coffee, energy drinks, sports drinks, bottled water, juice, beer, wine, spirits, ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, and emerging beverage segments. The Category Manager serves as the business owner for one of the company's most critical revenue-producing categories and is accountable for category growth, profitability, assortment strategy, supplier partnerships, pricing architecture, promotional effectiveness, inventory productivity, and market competitiveness. This role partners closely with Operations, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Store Leadership to ensure beverage offerings align with consumer demand, market trends, and enterprise growth objectives while maximizing sales, margin, and customer satisfaction. Develop and execute annual and multi-year category strategies for all beverage and alcoholic beverage segments. Establish category goals, financial targets, and strategic initiatives that support company growth objectives. Identify growth opportunities through trend analysis, market research, competitive intelligence, and consumer insights. Evaluate emerging beverage and alcohol trends to ensure LV Petroleum maintains a competitive market position. Lead innovation efforts through new product introductions, limited-time offerings, and seasonal programs. Own category sales, gross profit, margin performance, inventory productivity, and contribution to EBITDA. Analyze category performance metrics and implement corrective actions to improve results. Develop forecasts, annual budgets, and financial plans for assigned categories. Monitor profitability by supplier, brand, SKU, package size, and retail channel. Drive category performance through data-driven decision-making and financial discipline. Lead strategic negotiations with beverage and alcohol suppliers. Negotiate pricing agreements, rebates, incentives, promotional funding, and growth partnerships. Establish and manage supplier scorecards and performance review processes. Build executive-level relationships with major beverage, beer, wine, spirits, and distribution partners. Identify opportunities for exclusive programs and strategic supplier agreements that create competitive advantages. Manage product assortment, SKU rationalization, and category segmentation. Establish pricing strategies that maximize sales, profitability, and customer value perception. Optimize planograms, shelf placement, cold vault allocations, and merchandising standards. Utilize category management principles to improve customer shopping experience and basket size. Ensure product assortments meet varying market demographics and regional preferences. Develop annual category promotional calendars. Partner with Marketing to create impactful beverage promotions and campaigns. Measure promotional effectiveness and return on investment. Manage vendor-funded marketing initiatives and cooperative advertising opportunities. Support new store openings, remodels, acquisitions, and growth initiatives. Partner with Supply Chain teams to maintain optimal inventory levels. Monitor service levels, in-stock percentages, and inventory turns. Reduce out-of-stock occurrences while minimizing excess inventory. Support forecasting accuracy and replenishment strategies. Identify opportunities to improve distribution efficiency and product availability. Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations governing alcohol sales. Maintain awareness of licensing requirements and alcoholic beverage regulations across all operating jurisdictions. Partner with Operations and Compliance teams to ensure adherence to company policies. Support audit readiness and regulatory inspections. Serve as a category expert and strategic business partner across the organization. Provide leadership and direction to category analysts, coordinators, and cross-functional project teams as assigned. Foster strong working relationships with Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain leaders. Lead category reviews, strategic planning sessions, and vendor business reviews. Promote accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement throughout the category management function. Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Merchandising, or related field. Minimum seven years of progressive experience in category management, merchandising, procurement, retail buying, or beverage leadership roles. Experience managing both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage categories. Proven success driving category growth, profitability, and supplier relationships. Strong analytical and financial modeling capabilities. Advanced negotiation and contract management experience. Experience utilizing category management, pricing, and assortment optimization methodologies. Experience within convenience retail, travel centers, fuel retail, grocery, big box retail, beverage distribution, or consumer packaged goods industries. Category Management Association certification or related professional certification. Experience leading enterprise-level beverage category portfolios exceeding $100 million in annual sales. Familiarity with syndicated data platforms, category analytics tools, and retail reporting systems. KPI AREA SUCCESS MEASURES Financial Performance Beverage category sales growth Gross profit growth Margin improvement EBITDA contribution Merchandising Performance Category market share growth New product performance Promotional effectiveness Assortment productivity Inventory Performance Inventory turns In-stock percentage Forecast accuracy Shrink reduction Supplier Performance Vendor funding growth Rebate and incentive achievement Supplier scorecard results Strategic partnership development Operational Excellence Alcohol compliance performance Execution of category initiatives Store adoption of merchandising programs Cross-functional project success The Category Manager is expected to operate as a strategic business leader who balances growth, profitability, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. Success in this role requires strong commercial instincts, financial discipline, relationship-building capabilities, and the ability to translate market insights into measurable business results that support LV Petroleum's long-term growth strategy. This position operates in a fast-paced retail environment and requires periodic travel to stores, supplier meetings, industry conferences, trade shows, and distribution centers. The role routinely uses business technology and data analytics tools to monitor performance and support strategic decision-making. What We Offer Competitive base salary + performance bonus Comprehensive benefits package (medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off) Opportunity to play a key financial role in a rapidly expanding national brand Collaborative, growth-oriented culture in Las Vegas This is an excellent opportunity for a driven category manager who enjoys the fast-paced travel center and retail fuel industry. #J-18808-Ljbffr