Category Advisor - Toys

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

Benefits offered by this job

Culture for Growth

Health Benefits

Global Opportunities

Competitive Remuneration

Fresh fruit & snacks

Job summary

ZURU Toys seeks a Category Advisor to Walmart US in Bentonville, partnering with Walmart's toy buyers to shape assortment, space and shopper strategy across Exploratory, Plush and Blasters.

You will translate POS data, market insights and line reviews into objective recommendations, lead seasonal planning, and ensure a category-first partnership that grows the total category while protecting ZURU's interests.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree essential; MBA or advanced analytics degree advantageous.
• 5+ years in category management, advisory/captaincy, shopper insights or merchandising analytics, ideally in toy/CPG or major retailer.
• Toy industry experience preferred, especially Plush/Blasters/outdoor play or STEM/creative play.
• Hands-on Walmart experience including Walmart Scintilla, modular cycles and line reviews.
• Strong command of retailer POS and syndicated data; Circana toy tracking data a plus.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; experience with space planning tools is a plus.
• Proven ability to influence senior retail buyers with objective, fact-based storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the annual category plan for Exploratory, Plush and Blasters with Walmart's buyers.
• Lead Walmart line reviews and recommend assortment changes from a total-category view.
• Develop space, modulars and planograms for inline, seasonal and feature space.
• Translate shopper insights into navigation, adjacencies and price architecture.
• Combine POS, syndicated data and competitive insights to size opportunities and flag risks.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Data interpretation

Storytelling

Influencing senior buyers

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or Analytics degree

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Power BI

JDA / Blue Yonder space planning

Job description

About ZURU

ZURU is on a mission to disrupt industries and challenge the status quo through innovation and automation. Our brands reflect this vision: ZURU Toys re-imagines play, ZURU Tech leads the next building revolution, and ZURU Edge creates modern CPG brands for today's consumers.

Founded in 2003 by EY Entrepreneur of the Year brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray, ZURU has grown to over 5,000 team members across 30+ international locations.

As one of the world's largest toy companies, our award-winning brands include Bunch O Balloons, Mini Brands, XSHOT, Rainbocorns, and Smashers. Our CPG portfolio features MONDAY Haircare, Rascals, NOOD, BONKERS, Gumi Yum Surprise, and more.

For more information, visit www.zuru.com.

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.

LIFE@ZURU

ZURU is on a quest to reimagine tomorrow. Founded in 2003, ZURU Group has rapidly grown and now spans three core divisions - ZURU Toys, ZURU Edge (consumer goods) and ZURU Tech (construction).

At ZURU, we have cultivated a high-performing culture that encourages excellence. Our team works towards ambitious goals, learning, performing, and improving together, all while having fun. We empower talented individuals to do their best work every day.

At ZURU, you get out what you put in. You are responsible for driving your own career and we provide the platform to achieve it. As ZURU is on such a fast growth trajectory, there are opportunities here that you won't find anywhere else.

Get to know us a little better by checking out @lifeatzuru on Instagram or www.zuru.com.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Culture for Growth

• Health Benefits

• Global Opportunities

• Surrounded by an A Player Team

• Competitive Remuneration

• Lots of fresh fruit, coffee, pals fridge and more (optional)

ZURU - Reimagining tomorrow

ZURU may use AI tools to help screen, assess or select applicants.