Full-Time
Toys and Hobbies Category Manager
AMain Hobbies
No salary listed
Chico, CA, USA
In Person
Travel estimated at 5%–10%.
Bachelor's
Category
 Operations & Logistics (2) |
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Required Skills
Financial analysis
Marketing
Excel/Numbers/Sheets
Requirements
- A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, or a related field, or equivalent experience, is required.
- At least 3–5 years of merchandising, category management, or buying experience is required.
- Strong negotiation and vendor relationship management skills are required.
- The candidate must be a data-driven decision-maker with strong Excel and reporting skills.
- A strong understanding of eCommerce merchandising and retail fundamentals is required.
- The role requires repetitive office work involving typing, a computer mouse, and telephone use.
- The role requires sitting for 75% or more of the work time and using the hands for 75% or more of the work time.
- Meeting and phone use accounts for 25% or more of the work time.
- The role is performed in a moderately noisy office environment with computers, printers, and light traffic.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute category strategies aligned with company goals for sales growth, margin, and customer experience.
- Identify assortment gaps, emerging trends, and customer needs within the toys and hobbies market.
- Create seasonal and annual category plans covering pricing, promotions, and product lifecycle management.
- Issue purchase orders according to category plans.
- Source, select, and manage products that resonate with the customer base.
- Partner with vendors and distributors to secure competitive pricing, terms, and exclusive offerings.
- Ensure online and in-store product content, descriptions, and merchandising are accurate, engaging, and optimized for conversion.
- Analyze sales, margin, and inventory performance to inform decisions.
- Develop forecasts and manage open-to-buy budgets to balance demand and supply.
- Monitor and improve category health using key performance indicators including sales growth, gross margin, in-stock rates, sell-through, inventory turns, inventory levels, and gross margin return on investment.
- Implement action plans to address category performance gaps.
- Partner with Marketing on promotions, campaigns, and product launches.
- Work with Inventory Planning, Operations, and Customer Experience teams to ensure smooth execution of category initiatives.
- Provide training and product knowledge support for store teams and customer service.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience in toys, hobbies, consumer goods, or related retail/eCommerce industries is preferred.
- Passion for toys, hobbies, collectibles, or related categories is desirable.