Director Private Brands

About the role

The Director of Private Brands is pivotal in driving sales growth, increasing margins, and enhancing customer loyalty through a strong, differentiated private brand portfolio to create a competitive advantage and differentiate Weis Markets in the retail grocery marketplace.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the overall private brand strategy, assortment, innovation pipeline, and packaging portfolio while providing leadership, expertise, and cross-functional influence to support sales, margin, and penetration objectives.
• Manage the private brand portfolio through analysis of sales performance, market trends, customer insights, penetration results, and competitive activity.
• Partner with merchandising directors, category managers, pricing, procurement, marketing, and advertising teams to influence and align on sourcing, creative, pricing, promotional, and execution strategies for fresh and center store private brand items, while direct ownership of those functional activities remains within the respective business areas.
• Oversee private brand packaging design to ensure products and programs meet Weis Markets' quality, brand, regulatory, and value standards.
• Manage supplier relationships, contractual agreements, external partnerships, and third-party service providers to ensure quality execution, cost effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
• Identify and recommend new item opportunities, product enhancements, and packaging updates that improve assortment productivity, customer relevance, and portfolio performance.
• Develop financial forecasts, monitor performance against budgets and objectives, and recommend actions to improve sales, unit growth, penetration, and profitability.
• Lead innovation efforts through trade shows, market visits, supplier engagement, product evaluations, and competitive market reviews.
• Foster a collaborative, results-oriented team environment that promotes accountability, partnership, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, merchandising or a related field required.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in category management, private brands or merchandising with progressive levels of responsibility.
• Thorough understanding of retail operations, preferably within the supermarket or grocery industry.
• Experience managing a private brand portfolio, including product development, supplier relationships, packaging, sourcing, procurement, and promotional planning.
• Demonstrates strategic thinking and long-term planning capabilities, leveraging creativity and innovation to differentiate private brands in a competitive marketplace.
• Proven track record of delivering financial results.
• Prominent negotiation and vendor management skills, with a comprehensive understanding of the supplier community.
• Demonstrated knowledge of P&L management, budget development, forecasting, and business performance analysis.
• Working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local regulations related to product development, labeling, packaging, sourcing, and retail food operations preferred.
• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint and Word; experience with syndicated data tools such as Circana or Nielsen preferred.

Skills

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to develop, motivate, and influence cross-functional teams while building productive business relationships.
• Creative, innovative, and customer-focused, with the ability to identify emerging trends and translate insights into actionable business strategies.
• High level of professionalism, sound judgment, and discretion in handling sensitive information.
• Strong analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of organizational priorities, business objectives, and how technology enables enterprise outcomes.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal, collaboration, and consultative skills.
• Ability to assess emerging technologies, industry trends, and solution options to support strategic decision-making.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and execute in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working effectively in collaborative, cross-functional environments.
• Familiarity with business, technology, and transformation terminology, concepts, and practices.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines consistently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.