Merchandising Officer

Sharaf DG; Bahrain; On-site; BHD 6,000 - 12,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharaf DG Bahrain seeks a Merchandise Officer to lead, strategize, monitor and report on category performance under the guidance of the Category Head/Merchandising Manager.

You will align category plans with sales, margin and stock targets, lead supplier negotiations, and work with stores to ensure optimal inventory and in-store execution. The role requires strong planning, analytical and negotiation skills to boost GMROI and market share.

Qualifications

• 3+ years experience in Category Management in Retail (preferably Electronics)
• Post Graduate qualification is required
• MBA in Sales and Marketing is desirable

Responsibilities

• Lead category strategy, budgeting and forecasting to hit sales and margin targets
• Negotiate annual contract terms with suppliers to optimize margins, pricing and volumes
• Collaborate with stores to maintain healthy inventory and drive store-level sales and profitability
• Develop promotional plans and update planograms/assortment; manage ageing and end-of-life stock
• Monitor category performance, conduct competitor analysis and adjust ranges to grow market share
• Coordinate with Marketing, Product Registration, Vendor Co-ordination and Finance for category processes and reconciliation

Skills

Planning

Organizing

Analytical

Problem solving

Communication

Negotiation

Presentation

Education

Postgraduate

Job description

Job Summary & Purpose

Merchandise Officer is responsible to lead, strategize, monitor and report on Category performance (sales, margin, stock holding, Market Share etc ) and flow objectives under the guidance of Category Head/Merchandising Manager

Key Performance Areas (KPAs) & Principal Accountabilities:

• Responsible for budgeting, forecasting , making category level strategy and achieving Sales and Margin targets assigned to a particular category
• Lead negotiations on annual contract terms with suppliers to maximize benefits for both Sharaf DG and the suppliers including margins, pricing and volumes, product range, MSL, returns and replenishments, payment terms etc
• Work closely with stores to ensure a healthily store level sales and Profit and maintaining healthy inventory at each store
• Keep up to date with latest retail and category trends about new and innovative products and ways of displaying products
• To have a close eye on each competition, making counter strategies to gain market share YOY/ MOM/ WOW
• Work Closely with Marketing team to create marketing strategy for own category and provide all necessary inputs to marketing for respective category
• Ensure category liaison with key internal interfaces such Product Registration, Vendor Co-ordination, finance reconciliations for category, Brand level reconciliation for respective category, and Store teams to ensure category processes and procedures are implemented effectively. Oversee management of all supplier reconciliation, rebates and any disputes.
• Ensure optimum category inventory levels are maintained keeping in mind store requirements as well as working capital constraints, OTB management.
• Monitor and make recommendations for customer product needs, preferences based on internal survey data and GFK data, and change Product range/ buying patterns within category
• Making weekly/ Monthly category level promotional plans
• Ensure planograms and assortment are up to date and making timely clearance plan for Ageing and EOL inventory.
• Ensure effective in season management of the assigned category/department through regular analysis and action plan based on the performance around the following anchors: sales vs. Stock, stock analysis, stock balancing, margin analysis
• Oversee management of organization training needs for training provided by suppliers for new products
• GMROF(Gross margin return on Footage) and GMROI(Gross Margin Return on Inventory) – Achieving yearly targets and benchmarks as well as Defining strategies to improve the GMROF and GMROI
• Competition analysis – review and analyze competition offers compared to SDG offers. Suggest improvements based on the analysis

Qualitative Requirements

• Experience (Yrs & Field) - 3 years + in Category Management in Retail Industry preferably in Electronics industry
• Educational Qualification - Post Graduate
• Professional Certifications- MBA in Sales and Marketing is desirable

Skills & Abilities

Strong Planning and Organizing Skills, Analytical and Problem Solving Skills, Communication Skills, Negotiation & Presentation Skills