Category Manager

Cabinetworks Group, a leading manufacturer of cabinets and kitchen/bath products, is seeking an experienced Retail Category Manager to support our strategic partnership with Lowe's. In this role, you will be responsible for driving sales growth, category optimization, and strengthening our collaborative relationship with one of our key home center customers.

This role will provide deep insights on POS, inventory, and profitability for Cabinetworks stock, custom, and promotional business. This role will own standardized weekly reporting as well as required ad-hoc reporting. This role will partner with IT as appropriate to build PowerBI and Salesforce.com dashboards.

Candidates for this role should have experience with Lowe’s; preferably in custom and special order building products or kitchen/bath categories. This will be a remote role based in the Mooresville, NC area to facilitate meetings at Lowe’s HQ. The role will also be expected to travel periodically to support customer market walks, and internal sales meetings.

PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. POS, Inventory, and Profitability Analysis

• Conduct deep-dive analysis on product sales trends, market share, pricing, promotions, and other relevant metrics within the Lowe's channel.
• Monitor stock-SKU inventory and in-stock %, providing weekly reports and insights to Lowe’s merchandising team and Cabinetworks Group sales team.
• Standardize weekly POS, inventory, and in-stock reporting for the Lowe's merchandising team and Cabinetworks sales team.
• Collaborate with FP&A and product management teams to build customer specific reporting on product level profitability.
• Translate data-driven insights into actionable recommendations.

2. Assortment Planning and Optimization:

• Provide data-backed recommendations on optimal product assortments to maximize sales and profitability. This will include local market assortment recommendations.
• Collaborate with Lowe's merchandising team to ensure the right mix of Cabinetworks products are available to meet consumer demand.
• Partner with Cabinetworks S&OP Demand Planning team to provide input demand signals, including changes in assortment, promotions, new/lost programs, and insights on year-over-year events.
• Identify opportunities to rationalize the product portfolio and optimize inventory levels.
• Analyze Cabinetworks' profitability by product, programs, and locations to make profitable assortment recommendations.

3. Build Performance Reporting and Analytics Tools:

• Leverage Excel, PowerBI, and Salesforce.com to create interactive dashboards and reporting for Lowe's performance.
• Integrate Lowe’s POS, and inventory data with Cabinetworks ERP data to provide complete insights to ensure a holistic view of the Lowe’s business from both Lowe’s and Cabinetworks perspective.
• Monitor compliance with all Lowe's vendor performance requirements.
• Track and report on the sales performance of new products within the Lowe's channel.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• 5-10 years of experience working with Lowe's in sales, demand planning, supply chain, or category management roles.
• Demonstrated expertise in using Microsoft Excel for advanced data analysis and reporting.
• Existing experience with Lower’s Vendor Partner Plus (VPP) and ability to pull data and generate insights.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to turn data into actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams, including proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint.
• This role from time-to-time will require preparing sales displays and supporting customer shows, which will include but not limited to physical activity such as standing, lifting, and transporting product to-and-from customer presentations.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft PowerBI for creating dashboards, querying data, and generating insights.
• Proficient in Salesforce.com, specifically in building reports and dashboards.
• Currently located in the Mooresville, NC market.