Assistant Manager

ROLE PROFILE / RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Category Growth and Profitability Drive sales from the assigned category by developing comprehensive category business plans Drive and monitor gross margins for the category and ensure alignment with the organization’s position, business plan and budgets. 2. Category Merchandise Planning Prepare annual plans for the assigned category and provide inputs to the Merchandising Development and Buying Head to assist in creation of overall merchandizing budget Study trends from historical data around product category sales and market research to assist in the overall planning process Ensure adherence to financial plan in all key areas - sales, markdowns, margin & average inventory Discuss, decide and freeze the merchandise plans (pricing, promotion, assortment etc.) for the category with the Merchandise Planning department Ensure effective in season management across territories (stock balancing, markdown management, stock analysis, stock vs sales performance) 3. Category Design and Quality Ensure optimum utilization of customer research information to guide category management decisions, including decisions on the introduction of new products, product assortment, shelf layout, promotion and pricing of products in the store Formulate design and development plan in consultation with the Design Head with specifications on product features, functions, packaging and resource requirement across categories Ensure all design and development activities are carried out within budget Ensure the merchandise procured and received meets the quality standards 4. Order and Vendor Management Create an adequate vendor base for the organization through active scouting and negotiation / renegotiation

Role responsibilities include: 1) Category Growth and Profitability: drive sales from the assigned category by developing comprehensive category business plans; drive and monitor gross margins for the category and ensure alignment with the organization’s position, business plan and budgets. 2) Category Merchandise Planning: prepare annual plans for the assigned category and provide inputs to assist in creation of overall merchandising budget; study trends from historical data and market research to assist planning; ensure adherence to financial plan in key areas (sales, markdowns, margin, average inventory); discuss, decide and freeze merchandise plans (pricing, promotion, assortment) with the Merchandise Planning department; ensure effective in-season management across territories (stock balancing, markdown management, stock analysis, stock vs sales performance). 3) Category Design and Quality: utilize customer research to guide category decisions including new products, assortment, shelf layout, promotion and pricing; formulate design and development plan with Design Head including product features, functions, packaging and resource requirements; ensure activities are within budget; ensure merchandise procured meets quality standards. 4) Order and Vendor Management: create an adequate vendor base through active scouting and negotiation/renegotiation.