Optical Merchandise & Category Planning Manager

Aster DM Healthcare; Dubai; On-site; AED 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aster DM Healthcare in Dubai is seeking a seasoned Category Management and Merchandising professional to develop and implement category strategies across frames and accessories. You will forecast demand, plan inventories, and coordinate with stores to optimize assortment and stock levels.

You will lead cross-functional collaboration with Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, and vendors to maximise sales and profitability while maintaining appealing in-store presentations and planograms.

Qualifications

• Experience in category management and merchandising planning.
• Strong analytical skills to review performance and identify opportunities.
• Proven ability to manage vendor relationships and negotiate with suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Develops and executes category strategies tailored to store profiles and customer demographics.
• Creates annual/seasonal merchandising plans and forecasts demand and inventory needs.
• Monitors inventory health, reduces aged stock, and optimizes stock across stores.
• Tracks sales metrics, margins, and sell-through; prepares regular performance reports.
• Oversees visual merchandising, planograms, and in-store presentation to maximise sales.
• Manages product ranges across price points; coordinates launches and exclusive ranges.
• Assesses pricing and promotions impact and supports marketing with product selection to protect margins.
• Collaborates with Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Store Managers and IT/BI teams to achieve commercial goals.

Skills

Category management

Merchandising

Forecasting

Vendor management

Analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Develops and executes merchandising and category strategies across Frames, Sunglasses, Readers and Accessories to maximise sales, gross profit, inventory productivity and customer satisfaction, ensuring the right products are in the right stores at the right time while collaborating with Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain and vendors.

Category Management

• Build and execute category strategies tailored to customer demographics and store profile.
• Review category performance weekly and recommend actions to improve sales and profitability; introduce new ranges based on trends; phase out slow-moving and underperforming products.
• Analyse customer buying behaviour, market trends and competitor activity to identify opportunities and optimise product assortments.

Merchandise Planning

• Create annual/seasonal plans, forecast demand and inventory needs, allocate stock across stores, and maintain optimal product mix while minimizing excess inventory.
• Ensure the right product mix is maintained in every store.

Inventory Management

• Monitor inventory health across all categories, improve turn and sell-through, reduce aged/obsolete stock, and develop action plans for slow-moving stock.
• Manage full product life cycles and partner with vendors on replenishment.
• Optimise inventory investment and working capital while maximising stock productivity and return on inventory.

Sales & Performance Analysis

• Track sales, units, ASP, gross profit/margin, sell-through, stock turn, weeks of cover and category contribution.
• Identify growth opportunities and produce regular performance reports.

Visual Merchandising

• Set merchandising guidelines and planograms, ensure consistent in-store presentation, optimise display space by performance, and conduct store visits/audits.
• Conduct regular store visits and merchandising audits.

Product & Range Management

• Build balanced assortments across price points and brands.
• Manage launches and seasonal collections, recommend exits, and secure exclusive ranges with suppliers.

Pricing & Promotions

• Recommend pricing and markdown strategies, evaluate promotional effectiveness, and support marketing with the right product selection while protecting margin.

Vendor & Supplier Management

• Build supplier relationships, participate in buying meetings, negotiate promotional/marketing support, and review supplier performance.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Store Managers, Vendor Partners and IT/BI teams to deliver commercial goals.