Category Manager - Dispensed Beverages

Position Responsibilities

• Own the full P&L performance of assigned categories, delivering sales growth, margin expansion, inventory productivity, and market share gains across all banners.
• Develop and execute annual category strategies and 3-year roadmaps, including program launches, assortment optimization, pricing architecture, promotional strategy, and innovation pipelines aligned to company growth objectives.
• Lead joint business planning with key supplier partners; negotiate cost of goods, trade funding, promotional investment, equipment and service needs, and contract terms to maximize return on investment and drive measurable performance outcomes.
• Utilize POS data, syndicated insights, customer analytics, and competitive intelligence to identify trends, whitespace opportunities, and risks; translate insights into actionable category plans.
• Own daypart strategy and end-to-end program execution across dispensed beverages (coffee, fountain, frozen), including equipment and dispenser strategy, and new program commercialization.
• Track velocity and evaluate post-launch performance.
• Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Loyalty, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure alignment on promotions, pricing, in-stock performance, and store-level execution standards.
• Monitor supplier scorecards to ensure accountability in service levels, innovation delivery, and financial commitments.
• Evaluate promotional effectiveness and pricing strategies to improve gross profit flow-through and return on promotional investment.
• Present category performance updates, strategic plans, and key initiatives to senior leadership and field operations to drive alignment and execution excellence.
• Travel independently as required (approximately 20%).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or related field required; advanced degree a plus.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant retail merchandising experience will be considered.
• Minimum 5–7 years of progressive experience in retail category management, merchandising, or multi-unit retail operations; convenience retail experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success owning category P&L performance, including sales growth, gross margin expansion, and inventory productivity improvement.
• Experience developing and executing data-driven category strategies, assortment optimization, pricing architecture, and promotional planning.
• Proven track record negotiating cost of goods, trade funding, and supplier agreements to drive measurable financial outcomes.
• Strong analytical capabilities with the ability to translate complex data into actionable business decisions.