Lead - Category Management (Limeroad)

V-Mart Retail Ltd.; Gurugram District; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

V-Mart Retail Ltd. is seeking a senior Category Manager to own marketplace P&L, drive vendor monetization, and lead end-to-end category development.

You will coordinate with Marketing, Product, SCM and Merchandising to optimize events, catalog quality and pricing strategies across channels. The role requires 6–10 years in ecommerce category management, with proven vendor negotiation and data analytics skills.

Qualifications

• 6–10 years of experience in e-commerce category management, marketplace preferred.
• Must have proven category P&L ownership and vendor monetization experience.
• Experience negotiating with vendor base and managing commercial terms.
• Strong Excel/BI skills and data-driven decision making.
• Experience with cross-functional collaboration across Marketing, Product and Finance.

Responsibilities

• Plan and manage marketplace events, vendor onboarding and account management.
• Own category P&L including GMV, NMV, take rate and revenue mix.
• Build pricing, event and ad-mix scenarios to guide annual planning.
• Lead collaboration with Marketing, Product, SCM and Merchandising.
• Improve catalogue content, pricing competitiveness and PDP quality.

Skills

Marketplace economics

Category management

Negotiation

Data-driven decision making

Leadership

Education

MBA / PGDM (Marketing, Retail, Operations or Business Analytics)

Fashion Management / Digital Commerce certification

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Tableau

Excel

Job description

Event income: Plan and run the marketplace event calendar (sale events, theme days, category

festivals), drive vendor participation and grow event income from vendors.

Ad revenue: Build and sell advertising products (sponsored listings, banners, featured placements)

to vendors, with a target of ad revenue of marketplace NMV.

Commercial terms: Define rate cards, vendor packages and commercial terms that balance vendor ROI with LimeRoad's revenue goals.

Vendor profitability & category P&L

Track contribution margin at vendor level; tier vendors on profitability and drive corrective action

on take rate, returns, logistics cost and discounting.

Own the marketplace category P&L, including GMV, NMV, take rate, CM1.5 and CM3, with monthly reviews against budget.

Build P&L and scenario models (pricing, commission, event and ad-mix what-ifs) to guide decisions and annual planning.

Curate external vendor selection around core fashion trends, Gen-Z demand and regional relevance.

Lead vendor acquisition, onboarding and account management on the SOR model, including

catalogue quality, OTIF, pricing compliance and policy adherence.

Drive conversion uplift by improving catalogue content, pricing competitiveness, search and browse

merchandising, and PDP quality in partnership with Product and Tech.

Endless aisle & omni partnerships

Identify, negotiate with and onboard at least one omni-channel retailer for the Endless Aisle

programme, and own integration, go-live and ongoing performance.

Collaboration & leadership

Work closely with Marketing, Product, SCM, Finance and V-Mart Merchandising to align events,

traffic, fulfilment and assortment.

Use data and AI-enabled tools for demand and trend intelligence, and share marketplace insights with V-Mart category teams.

Lead, coach and set goals for the category management team (where applicable), building a high-performance, data-driven culture.

Education:

Must-Have

Graduate in any discipline from a recognized university.

Good-to-Have

MBA / PGDM (Marketing, Retail, Operations or Business Analytics) from a reputed institute.

Degree or certification in Fashion Management (e.g., NIFT) or Digital Commerce.

Experience:

Must-Have

6–10 years of experience in e-commerce category management, of which at least 2–3 years in a

marketplace (third-party seller) model.

Proven track record of owning a category P&L and delivering vendor monetization (events,

advertising or seller services revenue).

Experience managing a large vendor/seller base and negotiating commercial terms.

Good-to-Have

Fashion or lifestyle e-commerce experience.

Exposure to retail media / ad-tech monetization, endless-aisle or omni-channel partnerships.

Experience leading a small team of category managers or executives.

Required Skills:

Must-Have

Strong command of marketplace unit economics (take rate, CM1 / CM1.5 / CM3) and P&L

Advanced Excel and analytical skills, including funnel and conversion analysis.

Negotiation, vendor management and stakeholder management skills.

Structured problem-solving with a bias for execution and ownership.

Good-to-Have

Working knowledge of SQL and BI tools (Power BI, Tableau or similar).

Understanding of Gen-Z fashion trends and digital consumer behavior.

Comfort using AI tools for analysis, forecasting and reporting.