POSITION TITLE: Category Manager

REPORTS TO: Director of Category Management

LOCATION: Roselle, IL (Chicago Metropolitan Area) or Remote

INFORMATON ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Jon-Don LLC, (“Jon-Don”) is a national value-added distributor of equipment, supplies, and training for specialty contractors in the water restoration, concrete surface prep and polishing, carpet cleaning, building service and abatement end markets. Jon-Don serves over 60,000 customers annually with multiple retail branch/distribution centers nationwide and is headquartered in Roselle, Illinois.

In 2020, Incline Equity Partners completed a majority investment in Jon-Don. Incline is a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm that invests in distribution, manufacturing, and business services companies. Incline has a proven track record of accelerating business growth through investments in technology to further enhance customer service.

POSITION OVERVIEW

As Jon-Don continues to grow, they seek a Category Manager to create and drive the assortment strategy for key product categories and suppliers. The Category Manager will focus on driving growth and profitability for the business through strategic leadership within their aligned product vertical. She/He will focus on all facets of the corporate P&L for their product vertical including inventory placement and turns, product lifecycle, brand strategy, pricing strategy, industry trends, and opportunities to differentiate Jon-Don in the marketplace. As a key decision maker for the business, the Category Manager will be expected to work cross-functionally to understand the needs of the business and the customers we serve. The Category Manager will display curiosity, creativity and passion towards building and deploying a best in class product offering intended to improve customer experience and drive profitable growth.

The Category Manager will be part of the Jon-Don Category Management Team and will report to the Director of Category Management. He/she will work cooperatively with internal partners - Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain and Customer Service organizations; as well as external parties – product suppliers, customers, 3rd party support vendors.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Craft a high quality, customer centric assortment strategy for aligned product categories, focusing on profitability, sales growth and differentiation in the marketplace
• Create and lead monthly operating reviews focused on full P&L performance within aligned product category
• Formally and informally lead the strategic direction for the business as it relates to the product category; including go to market plans, inventory strategy, pricing strategy and sales team training
• Build strategic supplier relationships, manage core financial measurements and create merchandising strategies for aligned product categories
• Manage products through their lifecycle, ensuring a best-in-class product offering while minimizing excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory issues
• Use reporting and analytics to guide decision making for the portfolio, ensuring a holistic P&L point of view is front and center
• Influence inventory throughput by leveraging markdown philosophy to exit products and alleviate E&O
• Leverage resources to manage key processes related to the product line including: cost/price changes, product information improvement, merchandising enhancements, supplier performance, etc.
• Own strategy to execute product line expansion (PLE), growing the assortment with balance of sales, profitability, and inventory
• Research the industry, understand the competitive landscape, identify trends within data and gather business partner feedback to build and improve assortment strategy
• Manage the balance between National Brands and Private Label, driving increase of Private Label as a % of sales
• Using customer research, work with manufacturers to design private label products to increase market share and profitability
• Create and apply pricing methodology for the category, maintaining the balance between market relevance and profitability
• Research and understand Jon-Don’s customers to provide insights about growth and improvement opportunities
• Partner with Marketing and Sales teams to promote the portfolio to drive sales growth and new customer acquisition
• Negotiate with vendors to drive cost, terms and contract improvements within the product assortment to deliver greater profitability for the company
• Conduct Line Reviews for aligned product categories, focused on building best in class assortment at the best cost, with the best service levels
• Own overall relationships between Jon-Don and suppliers, focusing on supplier performance, collaboration, and partnership
• Monitor market competition and provide insights related to product assortment changes, pricing changes, and opportunities to better position Jon-Don in the marketplace

KEY OPERATING METRICS:

• Product category P&L
• Impact to EBITDA
• Sales growth
• Rebate & Contract Terms
• Inventory health – Turns and E&O
• Cost management and gross profit improvement
• New products as a percent of sales
• Private label products as a percent of sales

QUALIFICATIONS / REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 5 - 7 years’ experience in related field - supply chain, product or marketing a plus
• Customer focused
• Exceptional attention to detail, problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Strong financial acumen - ability to think strategically about the business with a P&L mindset
• Leadership, influence, and the ability to drive results through others, both formally and informally
• Creative thinker – the ability to see the big picture and not just follow the process, the ability to solve the right problem, not just the obvious problem
• Strong negotiation skills, a demonstrated ability to use fact-based strategy and creativity in tandem to drive financial results
• Agility, flexibility and the ability to adjust priorities based on the needs of a dynamic business
• Process oriented, with a focus on time management and managing multiple priorities
• Strong stakeholder management skills, keeping informed those who are involved in key topics as they progress
• A desire to progress in her/his career, an interest in learning and being coached
• Strong ability to contribute to strategy development, using data to inform a point of view
• Able to multi-task and work in a deadline-driven environment
• Ability to travel in-market to visit customers and sales team members as a means to refine category strategy, 1 – 2 days per month.