Category/Merchandise Manger

Job Classification: Exempt, Full-Time

Reports To: Chief Commercial Officer

Role Summary

The Category Manager is responsible for managing assigned product categories and delivering sales, margin, inventory, and customer experience goals. This role executes category strategies that strengthen market position, curate a high-performance product mix, support private label expansion, and leverage data to optimize pricing and inventory.

Primary Accountabilities

• P&L Accountability: Manage assigned categories to achieve sales revenue, gross margin dollars, and inventory turn targets.
• Competitive Execution: Monitor major e-commerce and retail competitors; recommend and execute actions that strengthen Valley Vet’s competitive position while maintaining the specialized trust and authority of the brand.
• Digital Merchandising: Effectively collaborate with the e-commerce team to continuously improve the online presentation, searchability, and conversion optimization of your categories.

Major Duties

Strategic Assortment & Product Mix

• Portfolio Management: Curate a balanced assortment of national brands and high-margin private label products.
• Private Label Development: Identify assortment gaps and support the development and launch of Owned Brand products that protect margins and build customer loyalty.
• Trend Monitoring: Utilize external market data, vendor insights, and internal analytics to identify emerging shifts in the industry and recommend category actions.
• Lifecycle Management: Manage the entire product lifecycle from sourcing and onboarding to maturity and eventual liquidation/discontinuation.

Pricing, Profitability & Intelligence

• Pricing Execution: Utilize pricing intelligence tools to monitor competitor movements and execute pricing recommendations and approved strategies that balance Top-Line Sales with Margin protection.
• MAP Governance: Monitor and maintain compliance with Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies to protect brand integrity.
• Subscription Focus: Collaborate with marketing to identify, enroll and retain Auto-ship customers to increase Lifetime Value (LTV).

Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Partnerships

• Vendor Planning: Build productive vendor relationships and participate in Joint Business Planning (JBP). Identify and negotiate opportunities such as promotional support, exclusivity periods, and first-to-market opportunities, escalating complex agreements as appropriate.
• Supply Chain Resilience: Work with vendors and the internal purchasing team to ensure supply chain diversity, mitigating out-of-stocks on critical supplies.
• Financial Negotiation: Improve backend profitability through negotiation of rebates, MDF/co-op (Market Development Funds), short-dated opportunities, and volume incentives, partnering with senior category managers on complex or high-impact negotiations.

E-Commerce & Digital Marketing

• UX & Discovery: Collaborate with the e-commerce/marketing team to optimize site taxonomy, internal search ranking, and cross-selling (product recommendations) algorithms.
• Content Excellence: Collaborate with the e-commerce/marketing team to ensure all PDPs (Product Detail Pages) are optimized for SEO/GEO/AEO and conversion, enhanced imagery and dynamic assets, and soliciting User Generated Content (reviews/photos).
• Performance Marketing Support: Provide high-intent product information to the Marketing team for Paid Media Shopping, Social Ads, and Email flows.

Catalog & Omnichannel (Retention)

• Catalog Evolution: Curate the Equine, Farm, and Pet catalogs/print pieces not just as sales vehicles, but as brand-building retention tools. Select high-ROI items that drive customers to the web.
• Unified Pricing: Ensure seamless pricing and promotional alignment across online and offline/print channels.

Inventory & Operations

• Demand Forecasting: Utilize modern demand planning tools and historical trends to support forecasts for seasonality, disease outbreaks, and other demand shifts.
• Aged Inventory Control: Proactively partner with Purchasing to manage inventory levels and execute exit strategies for slow-moving SKUs with a strategic mark-down approach.

Leadership & Community Engagement

• Team Collaboration: Partner effectively with Category Managers, Category Assistants, Merchandise Coordinators and cross-functional teams, sharing category knowledge and supporting a culture of data literacy, accountability, and agility.
• Industry Presence: Represent the brand at major industry trade shows and sponsorship events as requested.
• Note: This role involves "hands-on" leadership, including setup and direct selling at select premier events to maintain connection with the core customer.
• Cross-Functional Agility: Collaborate closely across Category Management, Marketing, Warehouse Operations, and Customer Service (Call Center) to execute category priorities and resolve issues.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Animal Science, or related field.
• Experience:
• 3+ years in Category Management, Merchandising, Buying, or a related retail/e-commerce role.
• Experience working in a DTC e-commerce environment is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of the Animal Health, Equine, or Farm industry is highly preferred.
• Technical Proficiency:
• Proficient Excel skills (Pivot tables, lookups, basic modeling and analysis).
• Familiarity with BI visualization tools (Sigma, Tableau, PowerBI, Looker) is preferred.
• Familiarity with modern ERPs and Pricing Intelligence software.
• Soft Skills: Strong analytical and communication skills, sound negotiation ability, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt execution based on market data.

Physical Demands (Trade Show & Operational)

• This role requires active participation in industry events.
• Must be able to lift up to 75 pounds (trade show setup/tear down).
• Ability to travel up to 15% (Trade shows, vendor summits), including weekends on occasion.
• Mobility to navigate large warehouse environments and expansive trade show floors.

Work Environment

• Hybrid professional office setting with periods of warehouse interaction.
• Dynamic trade show environments (indoor/outdoor arenas).
• Professional and deadline-oriented environment in an office setting
• Interaction with staff, customers and vendors
• The employee occasionally works near a warehouse environment and must be cautious of moving forklifts, WAVES and other mechanical equipment

Additional Duties:

Additional duties and responsibilities may be added to this job description at any time.