Category Designer

MALABAR GOLD & DIAMONDS; Kozhikode district; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

MALABAR GOLD & DIAMONDS is seeking a senior professional to drive end-to-end management of Gold & Category collections, balancing design excellence with optimal assortment planning and data-driven decisions aligned to business strategy and customer preferences.

The role involves creating design codes, maintaining the product catalogue, evaluating performance, planning entries/exits, ensuring freshness of portfolios, and guiding regional merchandisers on planograms to meet stock and customer

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end management, performance, and profitability of Gold & Category collections.
• Ensure design excellence, optimal assortment planning, and data-driven decisions.
• Create and approve unique design codes within design families.
• Maintain product catalogue and design bank for visibility across stakeholders.
• Evaluate product performance and plan entries/exits for assigned collections.
• Manage newness and freshness of product/design portfolios.
• Contribute to NPD/NPI processes aligned with business priorities.
• Guide regional merchandisers on planogram and assortment mix for stores.
• Oversee photoshoots to ensure accurate product descriptions for selection.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to capture customer preferences and market trends.
• Monitor inventory and stock levels; recommend stock requirements.
• Identify aging, dead, or slow-moving stock and coordinate clearance strategies.
• Provide input on vendor returns and carrying costs for sub-categories.
• Direct dead stock evaluation and removal plans; track progress and deviations.
• Identify stock redistribution opportunities via analytics dashboards.
• Recommend actions for melting or returning dead stock to minimize losses.
• Maintain ongoing communication on performance with stakeholders and update SOPs.

Job description

Role & responsibilities

Responsible to drive the end-to-end management, performance, and profitability of Gold & Category collections by ensuring design excellence, optimal assortment planning, effective inventory control, and data-driven decision-making aligned with business strategy and customer preferences.

Functional Responsibilities

• Create and seek approval of unique design codes under a design family for Gold & Category identification of designs.
• Ensure and maintain the product catalogue and design bank for products in the Gold & Category collections so that relevant stakeholders have visibility of the available products.
• Evaluate product performance, communicate, and recommend action plans to related stakeholders. Plan entry and existence of assigned Gold & Category collections.
• Ensure newness and freshness by managing your product and design portfolios.
• Responsible for active participation in the NPD/NPI process by understanding business priorities and strategy.
• Guide the Regional Merchandisers in developing the planogram and assortment mix for the Gold & Category Collections in stores based on the criteria defined by the Head of Merchandising to maintain the appropriate amount of stock to cater to customer preferences.
• Monitor photoshoots for products in the Gold & Category Collections so that relevant stakeholders (store heads, regional heads, etc.) have an accurate description and understanding of the product to select the most suitable product. Demand planning and planogram.
• Spearhead discussions with relevant stakeholders (Regional Merchandisers, Store Heads, Marketing etc ) to gain inputs regarding catchment preferences, peak seasons, and campaigns planned; conduct external research to understand customer preferences and market trends and identify opportunities for efficient growth in the Precia and Era Collections.
• Periodically monitor inventory and review the inventory holdings in stores for Gold & Category Collections to aid in the decision-making of stock requirements to maintain inventory levels.
• Recommend the criteria for aging, dead, or fast- moving stock for the Gold & Category Collections to the Category Head based on past performance data; manage the rotation of aged or dead stock to maximize inventory turn. Dead Stock Management.
• Provide inputs to the Category Head/Sub Category Head regarding the guidelines for vendor returns (for their assigned sub-category) to help finalise vendor contracts.
• Guide the Regional Merchandisers in determining the carrying cost of stocks at a discounted price to manage slow-moving products.
• Responsible for dead stock evaluation and treatment plan proposal preparation.
• Monitor and control dead stock as per the policy and communicate to related stakeholders on the progress, deviations, and corrective measures that need to be taken.
• Identify stock redistribution among stores through the analytics dashboard for effective stock shuffling.
• Identify dead stock to be melted or returned to vendors to minimize MGD losses. MIS & Section Development.
• Maintain a regular track of Precia and Era Collections' performance and regular communication with related stakeholders.
• Support the department head in plotting standard operating procedures.
• Confer with team members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems to facilitate execution excellence.