What are the responsibilities and job description for the Category Analyst position at Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores?
Req ID: 457508
BASIC PURPOSE : The Category Analyst will leverage data and analytics to support the category management team with an emphasis on pricing, promotion, and sell-through optimization. You will be responsible for enabling the use of data & analytics to support decision-making and measurement initiatives that directly impact revenue and profitability across the Merchandising and Operations Departments. As a member of the Merch Analytics team, you will focus on leading price & promotion strategy and effectiveness, as well as being a key business consultant developing relationships with Category Managers, Sr. Category Managers, and Operations. This individual will contribute to the vision, goal setting, implementation, and delivery of future pricing, promotion, and analytical functions. You will receive robust coaching and development from senior team members to help you grow as a strong Category Analyst.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Learn the Love’s business. Develop deep fluency in the composition, roles, and contributions of Love’s products, strategy, and customers, as well as Love’s business performance.
Take a lead role in the development and execution of the Love’s pricing strategy.
Use data science tools to forecast and recommend pricing and promotion strategies.
Coordinate with Category Management to design pricing rules & strategies that will best support business objectives.
Create and present pricing projects to Merchandising as well as other cross-functional teams.
Perform pricing audits to ensure accuracy across pricing strategies.
Analyze performance of pricing decisions and effectively communicate their impact.
Participate and/or lead competitive benchmarking initiatives.
Participate in field visits to understand internal and competitive pricing strategies and execution.
Lead future system integration projects as it pertains to pricing & promotion.
Support any existing and future reporting or analytical needs.
Other Duties as Assigned.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
BA/BS minimum, Masters or preferred, in a relevant field, such as mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, management information systems, business administration (MBA), engineering or other quantitative fields.
1 - 3 years’ experience preferred in retail, sales, marketing or operations with exposure to pricing systems and methodologies
In-depth, hands-on knowledge of retail pricing systems helpful
Proven experience with troubleshooting principles and issue resolution techniques
Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Python, and R are a plus
SKILLS AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Skills:
Ability to devise an analytical approach to solving business problems
Understanding of statistical concepts and basic pricing principles such as price elasticities, promotional uplift, cannibalization and affinities
General understanding of the retail business environment
Highly motivated self-starter
Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills
Customer service driven
Experience working in a team-oriented and collaborative environment
Typical Physical Demands:
Requires prolonged sitting, some bending and stooping
Occasional lifting up to 25 pounds
Manual dexterity sufficient to operate a computer keyboard and calculator
Requires normal range of hearing and vision
Travel required as needed
On-call availability
Job Function(s): Corporate
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is the industry-leading travel stop network in the United States. For more than 55 years, we’ve provided customers with highway hospitality and “Clean Places, Friendly Faces.” We’re passionate about serving drivers with clean, modern facilities stocked with fuel, food and supplies. We offer meals from popular restaurant chains, trucking supplies, showers and everything needed to get back on the road quickly. The Love’s Family of Companies includes:
Gemini Motor Transport, one of the industry’s safest trucking fleets
Speedco, the light mechanical and trucking service specialists
Musket, a rapidly growing, Houston-based commodities supplier and trader
Trillium, a Houston-based alternative fuels expert
BASIC PURPOSE : The Category Analyst will leverage data and analytics to support the category management team with an emphasis on pricing, promotion, and sell-through optimization. You will be responsible for enabling the use of data & analytics to support decision-making and measurement initiatives that directly impact revenue and profitability across the Merchandising and Operations Departments. As a member of the Merch Analytics team, you will focus on leading price & promotion strategy and effectiveness, as well as being a key business consultant developing relationships with Category Managers, Sr. Category Managers, and Operations. This individual will contribute to the vision, goal setting, implementation, and delivery of future pricing, promotion, and analytical functions. You will receive robust coaching and development from senior team members to help you grow as a strong Category Analyst.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Learn the Love’s business. Develop deep fluency in the composition, roles, and contributions of Love’s products, strategy, and customers, as well as Love’s business performance.
Take a lead role in the development and execution of the Love’s pricing strategy.
Use data science tools to forecast and recommend pricing and promotion strategies.
Coordinate with Category Management to design pricing rules & strategies that will best support business objectives.
Create and present pricing projects to Merchandising as well as other cross-functional teams.
Perform pricing audits to ensure accuracy across pricing strategies.
Analyze performance of pricing decisions and effectively communicate their impact.
Participate and/or lead competitive benchmarking initiatives.
Participate in field visits to understand internal and competitive pricing strategies and execution.
Lead future system integration projects as it pertains to pricing & promotion.
Support any existing and future reporting or analytical needs.
Other Duties as Assigned.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
BA/BS minimum, Masters or preferred, in a relevant field, such as mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, management information systems, business administration (MBA), engineering or other quantitative fields.
1 - 3 years’ experience preferred in retail, sales, marketing or operations with exposure to pricing systems and methodologies
In-depth, hands-on knowledge of retail pricing systems helpful
Proven experience with troubleshooting principles and issue resolution techniques
Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Python, and R are a plus
SKILLS AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Skills:
Ability to devise an analytical approach to solving business problems
Understanding of statistical concepts and basic pricing principles such as price elasticities, promotional uplift, cannibalization and affinities
General understanding of the retail business environment
Highly motivated self-starter
Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills
Customer service driven
Experience working in a team-oriented and collaborative environment
Typical Physical Demands:
Requires prolonged sitting, some bending and stooping
Occasional lifting up to 25 pounds
Manual dexterity sufficient to operate a computer keyboard and calculator
Requires normal range of hearing and vision
Travel required as needed
On-call availability
Job Function(s): Corporate
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is the industry-leading travel stop network in the United States. For more than 55 years, we’ve provided customers with highway hospitality and “Clean Places, Friendly Faces.” We’re passionate about serving drivers with clean, modern facilities stocked with fuel, food and supplies. We offer meals from popular restaurant chains, trucking supplies, showers and everything needed to get back on the road quickly. The Love’s Family of Companies includes:
Gemini Motor Transport, one of the industry’s safest trucking fleets
Speedco, the light mechanical and trucking service specialists
Musket, a rapidly growing, Houston-based commodities supplier and trader
Trillium, a Houston-based alternative fuels expert
