Category Manager

Classic Football Company Ltd.; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading football retail company in Manchester is seeking an experienced Category Manager for New Product to enhance their modern football apparel offering. This pivotal role includes shaping the product strategy and managing key supplier relationships. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in football retail and excellent analytical skills. The role is full-time and hybrid, ensuring a collaborative culture with growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Buyer, Assistant Buyer or Category Manager in football retail.
• Strong understanding of key brands and consumer trends in football.
• Experience with budgeting and data-driven decisions.
• Demonstrated success in building supplier relationships with global brands.

Responsibilities

• Manage the annual budget for a category within New Product.
• Forecast demand using sales data and brand insights.
• Develop relationships with major brand partners.
• Analyse category performance to identify trading opportunities and margin improvements.
• Influence pricing, assortment and lifecycle strategies for sales and profitability.
• Collaborate across e-commerce, merchandising, marketing and operations on launches and performance.
• Stay ahead of football culture and market trends to keep offerings strong.

Skills

Football retail understanding

Analytical skills

Excel skills

Stakeholder management

Tools

Google Sheets

Google Sheets

Job description

Classic Football Shirts started in 2006 when university friends Matt Dale and Doug Bierton set out to track down rare football shirts. From those early days in a bedroom full of rails, the company has grown into a thriving business with a talented team, a busy warehouse, and stores in Manchester, London, and the US.

Our passion for football and the stories behind every shirt drives everything we do. At Classic Football Shirts, we work together, stay grounded, and always put our fans at the heart of the business. We share the passion, win together, stay fan-focused, be agile, and stay grounded — values that guide how we operate every day.

To find out more about our story so far please follow this link: https://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/about-us

We welcome all suitably qualified applicants and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees. We have a great work ethic and a friendly group of diverse employees who enjoy working here to help carry out our mission.

The Role

Category Manager – New Product

Classic Football Shirts is looking for an experienced and highly driven Category Manager for New Product to lead the growth and performance of our modern football retail offering. This is a pivotal role within the business, responsible for shaping our product strategy, managing key supplier relationships, and ensuring we continue to bring the very best new football apparel and merchandise to our global customer base.

We’re looking for someone with deep experience in football retail - ideally currently working in a buying or category management role within a leading sports or football retailer. You will bring valuable marketplace knowledge, commercial instinct, and supplier understanding that will strengthen and elevate our team.

If you live and breathe football and can thrive in a fast-paced, data-led environment, this is an opportunity to make a major impact.

Location: Manchester (Hybrid – 1–2 days per week in the office)

Hours: The role is a full-time position

Key Responsibilities

• Help build, own and deliver the annual budget for a category within New Product, aligning financial targets with trading and growth plans.
• Forecast demand across all relevant product lines using sales data, trends, and brand insights to optimise stock efficiency and availability.
• Manage and develop relationships with major brand partners including adidas & PUMA and others - ensuring strong commercial terms, collaborative planning, and access to key product launches.
• Analyse category performance, using spreadsheets and business data tools to identify trading opportunities, range gaps, risks, and areas for margin improvement.
• Influence pricing, assortment and lifecycle strategy to maximise sales, profitability and customer experience.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with e-commerce, merchandising, marketing and operations to ensure successful product launches and ongoing category performance.
• Stay ahead of football culture, brand stories and market trends, ensuring our new product offering remains industry-leading and commercially strong.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience as a Buyer, Assistant Buyer or Category Manager or similar within football retail (replica, training wear, footwear, equipment or related categories).
• Strong understanding of the football retail landscape, key brands, seasonal calendars and consumer trends.
• Experience managing budgets, forecasting and making data-driven trading decisions.
• Demonstrated success in building and managing supplier relationships with global brands.

Skills & Attributes

• Passionate about football — you understand the product, the culture and the customers.
• Highly analytical, comfortable working with large datasets and commercial reporting.
• Strong Excel and Google Sheets skills, with the ability to build, interpret and manipulate complex datasets, forecasts and trading models.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth and data-driven environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Commercial mindset with an ability to balance product vision, margin and trading realities.
• Organised, proactive and comfortable owning a category end-to-end.

Working at Classic Football Shirts

Classic Football Shirts is home to the world’s largest collection of original football shirts, celebrating football culture and product in a way no one else does. You’ll be part of a passionate, ambitious team driving the next phase of growth as we expand our modern retail offering alongside our renowned vintage and classic collections.

We offer a collaborative culture, the freedom to shape your category, and the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in world football.

Application

• Application method: please email CV and Cover Letter to [e-mail]
• Please note: We are not engaging with recruitment agencies for this role, so we kindly ask that agencies do not contact us regarding this vacancy.

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