Category/Merchandise Manger

Valley Vet Supply; Marysville (WA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Vet Supply is seeking a Category Manager to lead assigned product categories, driving sales, margins, and inventory objectives. You will shape the product mix, support private label launches, and leverage data to optimize pricing and stock levels.

You will collaborate with e-commerce, marketing, and procurement to ensure strong online presentation, SEO, cross-selling, and sustainable profitability. A minimum of 3+ years in category-related roles and strong Excel/BI tool proficiency are

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in business, marketing, animal science or related field.
• 3+ years in Category Management, Merchandising, Buying or related retail/e-commerce role.
• Experience in a DTC e-commerce environment preferred.
• Knowledge of the Animal Health, Equine or Farm industry preferred.
• Strong Excel skills (Pivot, lookups, basic modeling).
• Familiarity with BI tools (Sigma, Tableau, PowerBI, Looker) and pricing intelligence software.

Responsibilities

• Drive P&L for assigned categories and hit sales, margin and inventory targets.
• Monitor competitors and adapt pricing and merchandising to strengthen market position.
• Collaborate with e-commerce to improve online category presentation and conversion.
• Curate assortment with national brands and private label products.
• Identify gaps for private label development and manage lifecycle from sourcing to liquidation.
• Partner with marketing to support subscriptions and retention strategies.
• Negotiate with vendors and manage supply chain to prevent stockouts and protect margins.
• Lead cross-functional teams and represent brand at industry events.

Skills

P&L accountability

Competitive execution

Digital merchandising

Portfolio management

Private label development

Trend monitoring

Lifecycle management

Pricing execution

MAP governance

Subscription focus

Vendor planning

Supply chain resilience

Financial negotiation

UX & discovery

Content excellence

Performance marketing support

Catalog evolution

Unified pricing

Demand forecasting

Aged inventory control

Team collaboration

Industry presence

Hands-on leadership

Cross-functional agility

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Animal Science, or related field

Tools

Excel

BI visualization tools (Sigma, Tableau, PowerBI, Looker)

ERP systems

Pricing intelligence software

Job description

Job Classification: Exempt, Full-Time

Reports To: Chief Commercial Officer

Role Summary

The Category Manager is responsible for managing assigned product categories and delivering sales, margin, inventory, and customer experience goals. This role executes category strategies that strengthen market position, curate a high-performance product mix, support private label expansion, and leverage data to optimize pricing and inventory.

Primary Accountabilities

• P&L Accountability: Manage assigned categories to achieve sales revenue, gross margin dollars, and inventory turn targets.
• Competitive Execution: Monitor major e-commerce and retail competitors; recommend and execute actions that strengthen Valley Vet’s competitive position while maintaining the specialized trust and authority of the brand.
• Digital Merchandising: Effectively collaborate with the e-commerce team to continuously improve the online presentation, searchability, and conversion optimization of your categories.

Major Duties

Strategic Assortment & Product Mix

• Portfolio Management: Curate a balanced assortment of national brands and high-margin private label products.
• Private Label Development: Identify assortment gaps and support the development and launch of Owned Brand products that protect margins and build customer loyalty.
• Trend Monitoring: Utilize external market data, vendor insights, and internal analytics to identify emerging shifts in the industry and recommend category actions.
• Lifecycle Management: Manage the entire product lifecycle from sourcing and onboarding to maturity and eventual liquidation/discontinuation.

Pricing, Profitability & Intelligence

• Pricing Execution: Utilize pricing intelligence tools to monitor competitor movements and execute pricing recommendations and approved strategies that balance Top-Line Sales with Margin protection.
• MAP Governance: Monitor and maintain compliance with Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies to protect brand integrity.
• Subscription Focus: Collaborate with marketing to identify, enroll and retain Auto-ship customers to increase Lifetime Value (LTV).

Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Partnerships

• Vendor Planning: Build productive vendor relationships and participate in Joint Business Planning (JBP). Identify and negotiate opportunities such as promotional support, exclusivity periods, and first-to-market opportunities, escalating complex agreements as appropriate.
• Supply Chain Resilience: Work with vendors and the internal purchasing team to ensure supply chain diversity, mitigating out-of-stocks on critical supplies.
• Financial Negotiation: Improve backend profitability through negotiation of rebates, MDF/co-op (Market Development Funds), short-dated opportunities, and volume incentives, partnering with senior category managers on complex or high-impact negotiations.

E-Commerce & Digital Marketing

• UX & Discovery: Collaborate with the e-commerce/marketing team to optimize site taxonomy, internal search ranking, and cross-selling (product recommendations) algorithms.
• Content Excellence: Collaborate with the e-commerce/marketing team to ensure all PDPs (Product Detail Pages) are optimized for SEO/GEO/AEO and conversion, enhanced imagery and dynamic assets, and soliciting User Generated Content (reviews/photos).
• Performance Marketing Support: Provide high-intent product information to the Marketing team for Paid Media Shopping, Social Ads, and Email flows.

Catalog & Omnichannel (Retention)

• Catalog Evolution: Curate the Equine, Farm, and Pet catalogs/print pieces not just as sales vehicles, but as brand-building retention tools. Select high-ROI items that drive customers to the web.
• Unified Pricing: Ensure seamless pricing and promotional alignment across online and offline/print channels.

Inventory & Operations

• Demand Forecasting: Utilize modern demand planning tools and historical trends to support forecasts for seasonality, disease outbreaks, and other demand shifts.
• Aged Inventory Control: Proactively partner with Purchasing to manage inventory levels and execute exit strategies for slow-moving SKUs with a strategic mark-down approach.

Leadership & Community Engagement

• Team Collaboration: Partner effectively with Category Managers, Category Assistants, Merchandise Coordinators and cross-functional teams, sharing category knowledge and supporting a culture of data literacy, accountability, and agility.
• Industry Presence: Represent the brand at major industry trade shows and sponsorship events as requested.
• Note: This role involves \"hands‑on\" leadership, including setup and direct selling at select premier events to maintain connection with the core customer.
• Cross-Functional Agility: Collaborate closely across Category Management, Marketing, Warehouse Operations, and Customer Service (Call Center) to execute category priorities and resolve issues.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Animal Science, or related field.
• Experience:
• 3+ years in Category Management, Merchandising, Buying, or a related retail/e-commerce role.
• Experience working in a DTC e-commerce environment is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of the Animal Health, Equine, or Farm industry is highly preferred.
• Technical Proficiency:
• Proficient Excel skills (Pivot tables, lookups, basic modeling and analysis).
• Familiarity with BI visualization tools (Sigma, Tableau, PowerBI, Looker) is preferred.
• Familiarity with modern ERPs and Pricing Intelligence software.
• Soft Skills: Strong analytical and communication skills, sound negotiation ability, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt execution based on market data.

Physical Demands (Trade Show & Operational)

• This role requires active participation in industry events.
• Must be able to lift up to 75 pounds (trade show setup/tear down).
• Ability to travel up to 15% (Trade shows, vendor summits), including weekends on occasion.
• Mobility to navigate large warehouse environments and expansive trade show floors.

Work Environment

• Hybrid professional office setting with periods of warehouse interaction.
• Dynamic trade show environments (indoor/outdoor arenas).
• Professional and deadline-oriented environment in an office setting
• Interaction with staff, customers and vendors
• The employee occasionally works near a warehouse environment and must be cautious of moving forklifts, WAVES and other mechanical equipment

Additional Duties:

Additional duties and responsibilities may be added to this job description at any time.