Category Manager

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• Location: Whitesburg, KY, 41858
• Company: Hometown Convenience LLC
• Department: Retail
• Job Status: Full Time
• FLSA Status: Salary Exempt
• Reports To: COO
• Job Type: Director Level
• Positions Supervised: Retail
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm (Special circumstances may occur)

Position Summary

Responsible for driving sales, margin growth, and market share across assigned categories. This role oversees product assortment, pricing strategies, promotional planning, and vendor partnerships to ensure the company remains competitive, compliant, and customer-focused. The Category Manager analyzes sales trends, customer buying behaviors, and market conditions to identify opportunities for growth and improve category performance.

They collaborate with operations, marketing, and merchandising teams to develop and execute category strategies, manage inventory performance, negotiate with suppliers, monitor product life cycles, and ensure stores are stocked with the right products at the right price. This position is accountable for achieving financial goals, maximizing profitability, and delivering exceptional customer experience while supporting the company's overall business objectives.

Essential Functions

Category Ownership

• Own financial performance
• Drive sales growth, margin improvement, and unit velocity
• Manage category P&L and identify opportunities for growth

Assortment & Product Strategy

• Build the optimal product mix
• Optimize SKU rationalization (right items, right stores)
• Introduce new products and manage lifecycle performance

Pricing & Competitive Strategy

• Develop competitive pricing strategies based on market analysis
• Monitor competitor pricing and adjust to maintain market position
• Balance margin vs. volume

Promotions & Loyalty Integration

Plan and execute high-impact promotions (multi-buy, members pricing and price point, bundles)

Partner with marketing to activate

• In-store signage
• App offers (double Kwik Rewards)
• Seasonal and vendor-funded promotions
• Evaluate promotional ROI and optimize future campaigns

Vendor Management & Negotiation

• Lead relationships with key suppliers
• Negotiate cost, rebates, scan deals, and promotional funding
• Participate in joint business planning and vendor strategy sessions
• Bring innovation and new item opportunities into the business

Inventory & Execution

• Lead category execution through regular store visits, operational partnerships, and data-driven identification of sales and merchandising opportunities
• Develop team capability by training and educating employees on category insights, performance trends, expectations, and best practices
• Maintain strong in-stock levels
• Reduce out-of-stock and lost sales
• Improve inventory turns
• Ensure strong in-store execution of sets, displays, and pricing

Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with all federal, state, and local tobacco regulations
• Partner with operations on age verification and training standards
• Monitor product placement and signage to meet legal requirements

Data & Insights

• Analyze category performance using KPIs including sales, margin, units, market share, turns, GP$, and shrink
• Use customer insights and loyalty data to guide decisions
• Conduct regular store visits to evaluate execution and opportunities
• 3–5+ years of retail, category management, or CPG experience

Experience in convenience retail

• Strong analytical and financial acumen
• Experience negotiating with vendors and managing supplier relationships
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field preferred (or equivalent experience)

Physical Demands

Manual dexterity – able to perform moderately difficult manipulative skills such as typing

Able to adequately and consistently see objects closely as in reading charts, graphs, and computer screens

Able to hear normal sounds with some background noise

Prepared By: Cheyenne Tackett

Date: 6/05/2026

The company has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the company reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the company may deem appropriate.

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