Senior Category Manager, Underwear, Loungewear and Socks

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Lacoste USA is seeking a Senior Category Manager to lead the commercial growth and strategic development of its underwear, loungewear & socks categories.

This high-impact role is primarily focused on driving sales across all channels while maintaining a 360-degree oversight of the underwear business, encompassing commercial, marketing, and merchandising.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong commercial acumen, a proven track record in retail and wholesale expansion, and the ability to build strategic partnerships with key accounts. This role requires collaboration with global teams to align product offerings and implement strategies that maximize category growth in the US market.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

Commercial Strategy & Sales Growth:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to drive sales across wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels (e-commerce, boutiques, outlets).
• Manage wholesale key accounts, including Lacoste's #1 global underwear account.
• Manage and negotiate wholesale account profitability in line with internal targets.
• Identify and secure new wholesale accounts, expanding the brand’s footprint in the US market.
• Lead initiatives to drive cross-channel efficiencies.
• Review and refine buying strategies to balance demand, margin goals, and product lifecycle management.
• Liaise with supply teams to manage deliveries and monitor stock to serve all distribution channels on time in full.

Product Development & Merchandising:

• Collaborate with global teams to define a compelling and relevant product offering for the US market.
• Review and refine buying strategies to balance demand, margin goals, and product lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with global teams to define a compelling and relevant product offering for the US market.
• Develop and execute a pricing strategy that balances profitability with competitiveness in the US market.

Marketing

• Partner with Marketing teams review marketing campaigns ensuring these align to business objectives.
• Collaborate with VM teams to secure best execution at POS.
• Cooperate to drive trade marketing campaigns across all distribution channels.
• Managing wholesale trade marketing budgets.

Key Skills & Experience:

• 8 to 10 years of experience.
• Proven experience in commercial roles, ideally within Fashion, FMCG, or Cosmetics industries.
• Strong expertise in P&L management, ensuring strategic decisions align with business objectives.
• Highly analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into actionable strategies.
• Exceptional negotiation skills to manage key accounts and secure new business partnerships.
• Proficiency in Excel and retail analytics tools for performance analysis and reporting.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to drive cross-functional collaboration across sales, marketing, and product teams.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects, ensuring deadlines, budgets, and strategic objectives are met.
• A curious and entrepreneurial mindset with a proactive approach to identifying growth opportunities.

Why Join Lacoste?

At Lacoste, we believe in the power of movement, creativity, and innovation. As a part of our team, you will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment where your expertise and ideas can make a tangible impact.

Career Growth & Development

• A culture that fosters learning, mentorship, and professional growth opportunities.

Competitive Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits, 401(k) matching, and generous employee discounts.

A Collaborative & Inclusive Culture

• A workplace that values diverse perspectives and encourages teamwork.

Global Brand with a Strong Legacy

• Join an iconic brand with a rich history and a future-forward vision in the fashion industry.

Be a part of a company that blends tradition with modernity, creativity with strategy, and global reach with local expertise. At Lacoste, we don’t just create products – we build experiences.

Core Values and Traits:

Play as One Team:

• Showing respect towards everyone

• Commitment for the team’s work and decisions

Play with Elegance:

• Striving for excellence

• Treating others with fair play and humility

Play by Daring:

• Having the courage to speak up, experiment and take initiative

• To explore new opportunities

Play with Tenacity:

• Constantly seek continuous improvement

• Learning from our failures

At Lacoste, we’re committed to building the best team we can. We hire for potential and support every team member through each step of their career development. Building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive space for our team to think differently and push the status quo is incredibly important to us; and we strive to use these guiding principles as the foundation for how we interact with each other, how we build our business, and how we hold ourselves accountable to our core values.

* This job description is not intended to be exhaustive. They can be changed orally or in writing at any time by the discretion of management. We as Lacoste associates must also always ensure that all functions of our position are represented with our core values.