What are the responsibilities and job description for the Grocery Buyer position at King Kullen?
Grocery Buyer/Category Manager
Position Summary
We seek a grocery buyer/category manager to manage the purchasing and financial management functions of assigned product categories. Buyer will coordinate the buying, selling and merchandising efforts of the assigned categories. Buyer will work with vendors, brokers and King Kullen Merchandising and Store Operations teams. Must be able to function as a team member within the department and organization, while being self-driven and take ownership of assigned categories.
Position Responsibilities
- Manage procurement process for assigned categories and maintain and modify assortment strategy as needed
- Maintain accurate records of procurement activities (purchase orders, contracts, etc.)
- Perform routine SKU rationalization
- Establish base and promotional pricing for assigned categories, and execute promotion strategies to drive sales
- Stay abreast of market trends, customer preferences, and industry developments to support informed purchasing decisions
- Manage product assortment in assigned categories, with the goal of maximizing sales and margin opportunities
- Develop and execute strategies to boost sales and enhance profit across assigned categories
- Establish annual goals and objectives for assigned categories, aligned to Company objectives
- Develop and manage vendor and broker relationships
- Responsible for category innovation
- Close collaboration with Store Operations team regarding categories managed, inclusive of in-store merchandising plans
- Conduct store visits to monitor programs, assess program implementation and gather feedback
- Perform all other duties as assigned
Qualifications
- Minimum of 5 years category management experience, ideally in the grocery industry. Experience purchasing non-foods and/or specialty foods categories is a plus
- Excellent negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills
- Analytically and numerically astute, with the ability to derive and report on actionable insights from data
- Strong planning and organizational skills
- Ability to manage time effectively and prioritize competing demands
- Excellent attention to detail
- Ability to own key vendor relationships
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel
- Self-motivated with a strong work ethic
Salary : $70,000 - $85,000