Senior Category Manager
- Saint Cloud, MN
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Lead multi-year strategic planning for assigned categories that align with company goals.
- Define and evolve category roles across fresh and center-store assortments.
- Represent category objectives in annual planning and executive-level discussions.
- Use data analytics to drive pricing, promotions, and assortment strategies.
- Develop strategic recommendations based on loyalty data, market share, and predictive modeling.
- Mentor team in analytics literacy and data-based decision making.
- Monitor competitors and emerging trends to identify innovation opportunities.
- Act as a thought leader on food retail innovation and shopper behaviors.
- Partner with private brand teams to launch differentiated offerings.
- Lead pricing strategy design for everyday low price, promotions, and high-low segments.
- Balance price perception, profitability, and promotional cadence across all store formats.
- Partner with pricing analytics to run competitive scans and elasticity models.
- Design integrated promotional programs that align with the guests' shopping behavior and sales targets.
- Partner with marketing and store teams to ensure alignment of plans and executional excellence.
- Leverage vendor funding and co-marketing to amplify reach.
- Maintain a balanced mix of core, seasonal, local, and new products across stores and banners.
- Remove redundancy while offering variety, ensuring merchandising presentations are aligned to guest preferences and engagement.
- Ensure alignment across in-store and online channels.
- Own strategic vendor relationships and contract negotiations, unlocking value and innovation.
- Develop business plans that integrate private and owned brands.
- Influence supplier investments in pricing, marketing, and innovation.
- Collaborate and serve as the voice in strategic projects that include pricing architecture, omnichannel strategy, and digital merchandising.
- Partner with operations, marketing, supply chain, and finance to ensure seamless execution and alignment of goals and priorities.
- Act as the liaison between merchandising and the executive teams and provide clear communication to support field and operational success.
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Category Managers and support roles, providing direction, feedback, and coaching to ensure clarity of priorities and deliverables.
- Lead by example by directly managing a high-impact category while coaching team members on execution, prioritization, and strategy development.
- Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Merchandising, or related field preferred.
- 7+ years’ experience in areas of category management, merchandising, or retail strategy; grocery experience preferred but not required.
- 2+ years’ experience in a leadership position.
- Strong data analytical and negotiation skills.
- Experience using tools such as Excel or Power BI to make data-driven decisions.
What's In It For MeOur remarkable employees are at the heart of everything we do. At Coborn’s, we’re committed to creating a supportive and rewarding workplace—one that offers a vibrant, team-oriented environment, ongoing career growth, and meaningful benefits. As an employee-owned company, we believe in investing in our people and their futures.We’re proud to offer a variety of benefits to both our full-time and part-time employees, including:
- 10% Employee Discount (for the employee and their immediate household) at our grocery and franchise locations (Ace Hardware, Caribou Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert’s, and Pet Supplies Plus)
- Get Paid Daily with DailyPay – for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
- Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
- Paid Floating Holidays & 1 - ½ time for hours worked on a company-recognized holiday!
- Paid Military Leave
- Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources – to assist our team members in living a life of wellbeing!
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year
- Tools, resources and opportunities for career growth and development
- 401(k) plan options – we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
- Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) – yes, we’re employee-owned! Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
- Additional Voluntary Benefits – such as vision, accident and critical illness insurances
- Flexible scheduling - We understand that many of our employees are trying to juggle school, practice, family time, errands and personal hobbies, all with only about 16 hours of awake time in a day.
- Recognition - We celebrate a culture of recognition, encouraging employees to recognize and thank one another for remarkable behavior. We even have an app for that!
- Growth Opportunities - We're always looking for motivated, high-potential employees who want to be part of our next generation of leaders! There are opportunities to grow within our company to positions you may not yet even know exist. Coborn's, Inc. offers a variety of development programs for employees who want to grow their careers with us.
Pay RangeUSD $95,000.00 - USD $150,000.00 /Yr.
Company IntroductionAre you friendly, dependable, and passionate about working with people? At Coborn’s, Inc., we love serving our guests, supporting our communities, and helping our team members grow their careers. If you’re looking for a place where you can build a future while making a positive impact every day, we’d love to talk to you about joining our team!Coborn's, Inc. is a fast-growing, employee-owned grocery retailer proudly serving communities across the Midwest. Our family of grocery stores includes Coborn's, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher's, Tadych’s Marketplace Foods, Sullivan’s Foods, and Kessler’s. We offer our guests an elevated shopping experience—both in-store and online—focused on freshness, value, and convenience. Guided by our company vision to inspire happiness, healthy living, and simplicity, this principle has fueled our growth for more than 100 years and is at the heart of everything we do.Coborn’s, Inc. also owns and operates liquor stores under the Coborn’s Liquor, Cash Wise Liquor, Andy’s Liquor, and Captain Jack’s brands. In addition, we operate fuel kiosks and convenience store locations under the Little Dukes and Coborn’s Express names. Many of our grocery stores also feature full-service pharmacies to support the health and wellness of our guests. We manage a variety of other retail businesses in markets where the fit is right, including Ace Hardware, Country Floral Gifts & Greenhouse, Caribou Coffee, Dunn Brothers Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert’s, Godfather’s Pizza, and Pet Supplies Plus. To support our diverse retail operations, we operate our own central bakery, fresh foods commissary, and grocery warehouse and distribution center.