Director of Merchandising & Category Management

Our client is one of the leading automotive service and tire dealers in the United States, with millions of vehicles serviced per year. The company powers many highly respected tire and auto service brands, supporting each company’s regional strength and community connections.

The Director of Merchandising and Category Management is responsible for executing the strategic direction of merchandising plans across a portfolio of high-volume auto parts and supplies categories to drive sales and profitability. This position plays a critical role in advancing growth in the aftermarket automotive retail landscape, bringing deep expertise in assortment strategy, go-to-market strategy, supplier management and margin optimization.

This role will align product offerings with major customer requirements and collaborate on pricing strategies and portfolio optimization to ensure scalable commercialization across the company’s retail and online footprint. This role will collaborate across functions, including inventory planning, marketing, finance and retail operations to drive commercial success and deliver on long-term category vision. This position will lead a team of Category Managers and Analysts to ensure financial, operational and customer-focused outcomes in alignment with the company’s overall business objectives.

Reporting directly to the Vice President – Merchandising, this role will be responsible for synthesizing and analyzing data in the ordinary course of business and reporting on performance against stated KPIs while making data-backed recommendations on meeting and exceeding those KPIs.

This role can be remote based with frequent travel to corporate headquarters.

Responsibilities

• Build and execute category strategies and business plans that align with short and long-term business objectives, including sales, margin and volume targets
• Develop holistic assortment strategies and product screens, utilizing good/better/best frameworks and in-store execution plans to drive customer purchase behavior in retail stores
• Analyze and report on category performance, including revenue, volume, margin, competitive gaps, and product mix (good/better/best), adjusting strategy based on commercial, operational, and customer feedback
• Synthesize consumer insights, market intelligence, and performance data to shape actionable merchandising strategies and guide business decisions at the category level
• Foster and manage strategic vendor partnerships, owning negotiations and contract oversight to drive competitive cost structures, promotions and exclusive offerings to create long-term value
• Manage inventory productivity through SKU assortment and purchasing improvements
• Develop joint business plans with key suppliers to align and drive coordinated execution of growth strategies
• Own and facilitate critical merchandising touchpoints, including high-impact line reviews, vendor meetings, and executive-level presentations to secure vendor partnerships and growth
• Ensure supplier performance, as well as compliance with the company’s standards and expectations; productively and effectively address all issues to ensure sustainable go-forward performance improvement
• Create and own integrated go-to-market plans in collaboration with marketing and sales leaders
• Leverage competitive and trend analyses to proactively inform pricing decisions and promotional strategies, ensuring in-store executability and relevant brand positioning across the assortment
• Collaborate with marketing teams to ensure promotional activity and retail pricing supports guest traffic, conversion, and outlet loyalty
• Own accountability for category and brand level objectives, including sales, margin and GMROI and inventory targets
• Continuously monitor and analyze KPIs, including sales growth, margin improvement, inventory turnover, customer traffic and promotional performance
• Collaborate with store operations to optimize back-room productivity, in-store merchandising, product knowledge and training, and customer engagement strategies
• Partner with Inventory Planning & Management team to drive inventory efficiency by ensuring alignment between demand forecasts, supplier capabilities and production cycles, distributor inventory positioning and sell-through expectations. Work with supply points to develop a constant reverse logistics program reducing slow-moving inventory
• Work with Inventory Planning & Management team to ensure consistent and timely distribution and delivery of both assorted and on-demand products via a just-in-time supply chain model
• Implement efficiency improvements in product sourcing, supply chain logistics and inventory replenishment
• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of Merchandising & Category Managers
• Foster a culture of empowerment, collaboration, continuous learning and accountability for results
• Effectively manage and integrate both onshore and offshore team members, ensuring collaboration, clear communication, performance accountability and aligned priorities
• Provide clear direction, performance feedback and coaching to direct reports
• Contribute to the adoption of new tools, systems and ways of working across the Merchandising & Category Management teams
• Own the identification and development of data analysis and cadence of reporting up to the VP - Merchandising and Senior Leadership Team to track merchandising KPIs
• Effectively delegate, prioritize and refine output of direct reports to meet to deliver data-backed output to the VP – Merchandising.
• Collaborate with leaders across the business to create shared buy-in and accountability for cross-functional objectives and initiatives
• Collaborate with the VP-Merchandising and the Senior Leadership Team on high-priority merchandising and category management initiatives

Education, Experience & Skills

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Merchandising, Category Management or purchasing with leadership responsibility in high-volume retail or distribution; experience in automotive aftermarket a plus
• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, or equivalent experience in supply chain and vendor sourcing
• Proficient in business tools including Excel, PowerPoint, and merchandising analytics platforms, with the ability to create compelling business cases and data-backed recommendations
• Exceptional verbal, written and presentation skills
• Strong experience building and managing vendor relationships, with specific experience in effectively negotiating merchandising programs and managing vendor SLAs
• High level of business acumen with a strong understanding of retail fundamentals and business levers
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and indirect leadership abilities
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills
• Strong leadership and demonstrated team development skills
• Critical thinking and decision-making skills grounded in data and business understanding
• Demonstrated success in leading the development and execution of comprehensive assortment purchasing and go-to-market strategies, including good-better-best frameworks and portfolio optimization
• Excellent leadership, communication and change management skills