Category Advisor - Toys

ZURU Toys; Bentonville (AR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

ZURU Toys seeks a seasoned Category Advisor to partner with Walmart US across Exploratory, Plush and Blasters. You will guide assortment, space planning, and shopper strategy using POS and syndicated data, while remaining vendor-neutral and building trust with Walmart merchants and planners.

You will translate insights into actionable recommendations for line reviews, modular resets, and seasonal plans, influencing both in-store and Walmart.com strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or analytics degree is a plus.
• 5+ years in category management, advisory, or analytics in toy/CPG or retail.
• Toy industry experience preferred, esp. Plush, Blasters/outdoor play or STEM.

Responsibilities

• Build and own annual category plan for Exploratory, Plush and Blasters with Walmart buyers.
• Lead Walmart line reviews, recommending adds/deletes and productivity improvements.
• Develop space, planograms, and modular layouts for inline, seasonal, and feature space.
• Understand shopper behavior to guide category navigation, adjacencies, and pricing.
• Combine POS and syndicated data to size opportunities and monitor share.
• Plan seasonal and trend strategies for Summer, Back-to-School and Holiday.
• Coordinate online assortment and content with Walmart.com and Walmart Connect.
• Produce category scorecards and dashboards for leadership reviews.
• Lead data-led walk-throughs with Walmart teams and assess in-store execution.
• Maintain confidentiality of category data per Walmart guidelines.

Skills

Walmart experience

Data storytelling

Influence senior buyers

Retail analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree; MBA/Analytics advanced degree advantageous

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Power BI

Tableau

JDA / Blue Yonder

Job description

About ZURU

ZURU is a reimagination company. We look for categories that have stood still, then we build next-generation products and brands that set the new standard. ZURU Toys is reimagining play. ZURU Edge is reinventing everyday consumer brands. Rhodes Pet Science is reimagining pet science. ZURU Tech is leading the next building revolution.

About ZURU

ZURU started in 2003 with two brothers from New Zealand, and we're still founder-owned and operated today. Since then we've become the world's second-biggest privately held toy company, and nearly half of all Gen Y and Gen Z households with kids in the US own a ZURU product. Today we're 5,000 people in 34 offices, selling into more than 150 markets, backed by over 100 acres of fully automated manufacturing. And we're only getting started.

Position Overview

ZURU Toys has been appointed Category Advisor to Walmart US for three toy categories: Exploratory, Plush and Blasters. As our dedicated Category Advisor, you will work side by side with Walmart’s toy buying, merchandising and planning teams in Bentonville as their trusted, category-first partner, shaping assortment, space and shopper strategy for the whole category rather than just ZURU’s brands. You will turn Walmart, POS and syndicated data into clear recommendations for line reviews, modular resets and seasonal plans, and help grow all three categories in stores and on Walmart.com.

Position Impact

A category advisorship is won on objectivity and insight, and you will be the person who keeps it. Walmart’s buyers will lean on your point of view to decide what goes on shelf, how much space each category earns and how the aisle works across the year, from the summer outdoor peak in Blasters to the holiday and gifting peak across Plush and Exploratory. By bringing balanced, fact-based recommendations that grow the total category, you will build lasting trust with Walmart’s merchants and planners, protect and extend the advisorship for ZURU, and give our brand teams a sharper read on where these categories are heading.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Category Strategy: Build and own the annual category plan for Exploratory, Plush and Blasters with Walmart’s buyers, defining each category’s role, growth priorities and seasonal calendar.
• Line Reviews & Assortment: Lead the analysis behind Walmart’s line reviews across every supplier in the three categories, recommending adds, deletes and item productivity improvements from a vendor-neutral, total-category view.
• Space & Modular Planning: Build and recommend modulars and planograms for in-line, seasonal and feature space, including the summer outdoor and Blaster sets and the Q4 toy reset, using space-to-sales and store-cluster analysis.
• Shopper Insights: Understand how kids, parents and gift-givers shop each category, from licensed, collectible and trend-driven plush, to age and price-point ladders in Blasters, to discovery and creative play in Exploratory, and translate that into navigation, adjacencies and price architecture.
• Data & Market Analysis: Combine Walmart Scintilla (formerly Luminate) POS, syndicated toy tracking data and competitive insights to size opportunities, monitor category share and flag risks early.
• Seasonal & Trend Planning: Read fast-moving trend cycles, particularly social-driven plush crazes and blaster innovation, and help Walmart plan buy depth, in-stocks and feature timing for Summer, Back to School and Holiday.
• Omnichannel: Partner with the Walmart.com and Walmart Connect teams to align online assortment, item content and search and browse navigation with the store strategy and lift online conversion.
• Reporting & Dashboards: Run a regular cadence of category scorecards, dashboards and post-season reviews that give buyers, planners and ZURU leadership a clear, shared view of performance.
• Walk-Throughs & Store Visits: Lead data-led modular walk-throughs with Walmart’s teams and get into stores to check execution, compliance and the shopper experience.
• Confidentiality & Governance: Keep a strict firewall between category advisor data and ZURU’s own commercial teams, in line with Walmart’s category advisor guidelines, so every supplier in the category is treated fairly.

Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree essential; an MBA or advanced degree in Analytics is highly advantageous.
• 5+ years of experience in category management, category advisory/captaincy, shopper insights or merchandising analytics, ideally with a toy, entertainment or CPG supplier or a major retailer.
• Toy industry experience strongly preferred, particularly in Plush, Blasters/outdoor play or STEM, learning and creative play.
• Hands-on Walmart experience, including Walmart Scintilla, modular cycles and line reviews.
• Strong command of retailer POS and syndicated data; experience with Circana toy tracking data is a plus.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; Power BI or Tableau and JDA / Blue Yonder space planning experience are a plus.
• Proven ability to influence senior retail buyers through objective, fact-based storytelling, with the judgement to stay vendor-neutral across the category.

Who Thrives At ZURU

This isn't a 9-to-5. We move fast, think big and set goals most companies would call impossible, then go after them. The people who thrive here are entrepreneurs at heart. They own their work, chase bold ideas and never stop raising the bar.

At ZURU, you drive your career, and we give you the platform to take it as far as you can. There are opportunities here that you won’t find anywhere else, and you'll be surrounded by talented people who make things happen. We're a true meritocracy: we reward impact, not tenure.

How We Work

Big ideas happen when great people work side by side, so we're office-first by design. Being together means faster collaboration, sharper decisions and stronger teams, and it's where the real learning happens. Some flexibility may be available depending on the role, location and business needs, but most roles are office-based.

ZURU – Reimagining tomorrow

Want to see what life at ZURU really looks like? Follow LIFE@ZURU on Instagram or www.zuru.com