SALES AND MERCHANDISING MANAGER

Department: Retail FLSA Status: Exempt Reports To: Jon Koontz Job Category: 4 (Management) Purpose The Sales & Merchandising Manager is responsible for driving profitable sales growth through effective merchandising, purchasing, advertising, vendor management, and commercial strategy. This position has P&L ownership and is accountable for sales, gross profit, margin, inventory, and operating profit performance. The Director serves as the primary commercial leader connecting Store Operations, vendors, distribution centers, Finance, Marketing, and company leadership. The role requires a hands-on grocery retail leader who can identify opportunities, negotiate effectively, develop compelling sales and merchandising programs, and translate strategy into measurable store-level results. Key Responsibilities P&L, Sales & Merchandising Leadership Own the P&L and develop strategies to achieve sales, gross profit, margin, inventory, and operating profit objectives. Develop sales, merchandising, pricing, promotional, and assortment strategies based on customer demand, competitive activity, seasonality, and financial objectives. Monitor results against budget, forecast, and prior year; identify performance gaps and implement corrective actions. Identify opportunities by store, department, category, and item to increase customer count, sales, gross profit dollars, and profitability. Regularly evaluate market and competitive conditions and adjust strategies accordingly. Deal Buying & Purchasing Serve as the company’s primary deal buyer, actively identifying opportunistic purchases that can generate incremental sales and gross profit. Develop sourcing relationships with manufacturers, brokers, distributors, wholesalers, and other suppliers. Evaluate opportunities based on landed cost, retail pricing, margin, expected movement, inventory requirements, distribution capabilities, and overall financial return. Negotiate pricing, quantities, freight, payment terms, allowances, markdown protection, and other financial considerations. Coordinate product allocation and merchandising to maximize sell-through and profitability. Measure deal performance and apply results to future buying decisions. Vendor Management & Negotiation Own relationships and negotiations with key vendors. Negotiate product costs, promotional allowances, rebates, incentives, payment terms, freight, advertising support, and other vendor funding. Conduct vendor business reviews focused on sales, pricing, service levels, financial support, and growth opportunities. Hold vendors accountable for agreed-upon pricing, service levels, promotional commitments, and financial terms. Evaluate new vendors and products based on customer relevance, financial potential, operational requirements, and strategic fit. Rebates, Allowances & Reimbursements Maintain a disciplined process for tracking rebates, promotional allowances, bill-backs, reimbursements, credits, incentives, and other vendor funding. Ensure vendor agreements and financial commitments are documented and communicated to Finance. Partner with Finance to reconcile expected versus received funding, resolve discrepancies, and ensure claims and reimbursements are collected timely. Incorporate vendor funding appropriately into financial reporting, forecasting, and merchandising decisions. Distribution & Inventory Collaboration Work closely with internal and third-party distribution centers to align purchasing, inventory, product availability, promotions, and merchandising plans. Coordinate inventory requirements, allocations, deal purchases, promotional quantities, and seasonal needs. Proactively address shortages, overstocks, discontinued items, service-level issues, and other inventory risks. Consider distribution costs and operational constraints when making purchasing and merchandising decisions. Store Merchandising & Assortment Develop and manage store merchandising programs, promotional features, displays, seasonal programs, and …

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