Fragrance Category Manager: Growth & Private Label

RNA Resources Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Lifestyle is seeking an Assistant Category Manager for Perfumes to drive growth, profitability and market leadership of fragrance brands. You will lead end-to-end merchandise planning, cross-functional projects, and vendor management to meet financial targets and optimise inventory.

This role requires strong Excel skills, multi-brand and omni-channel experience, and a strategic approach to open-to-buy and promotions. Located in Dubai, the role covers in-store and digital brand campaigns.

Qualifications

• 5 years' experience in beauty or retail buying.
• Exposure to multi-brand and omni-channel retail.
• Advanced level proficiency in MS Excel.
• Experience in buying budgets & vendor management.
• Product development & research experience.
• Good financial and business acumen.
• Negotiation skills.
• Relationship management.
• Attention to detail.
• Planning & execution abilities.
• Strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Take full accountability for category sales gross margins sell-through and inventory health OTB stock turns and aged stock reduction.
• Align brand portfolios with overall category goals identify growth opportunities brand exclusives and market gaps through competitive benchmarking and trend analysis.
• Lead vendor negotiations regarding trading terms margins promoter support marketing contributions and CVM initiatives.
• Serve as the strategic owner for private label perfume ranges steering projects from initial scent concept and formulation through cross-functional approvals to in-store launch.
• Direct perfume houses and packaging suppliers on briefs formulation benchmarks target pricing and quality standards evaluate and approve scent samples and components.
• Manage vendor creation contract closures and regulatory compliance by orchestrating cross-functional alignments across Finance Legal Quality and Supply Chain.
• Lead financial assortment and Open-to-Buy planning setting sales targets margins and stock allocations across store networks.
• Monitor daily weekly performance against budgets and adjust with reorders or markdowns to maximise sell-through.
• Design and evaluate category promotions ensuring pricing and margins align with inventory reduction targets.
• Lead category team operations with KPIs and regular performance reviews for senior leadership.

Skills

Beauty retail buying

Omni-channel retail

MS Excel

Vendor management

Product development

Financial acumen

Negotiation

Relationship mgmt

Planning & execution

Communication skills

Job description

Lifestyle is seeking an Assistant Category Manager for Perfumes to drive growth, profitability and market leadership of fragrance brands. You will lead end-to-end merchandise planning, cross-functional projects, and vendor management to meet financial targets and optimise inventory.

This role requires strong Excel skills, multi-brand and omni-channel experience, and a strategic approach to open-to-buy and promotions. Located in Dubai, the role covers in-store and digital brand campaigns.