Category Manager- Home

ABOUT THE GROUP

From a small store in Turin to a large, internationally recognized group: we are present in 90 countries around the world, with over 4,000 employees and 30 companies, managed directly and indirectly by the Luigi Lavazza Spa parent company, which distribute and market our products and coffee machines. In addition to Lavazza, the following brands are also part of our Group: Carte Noire, Merrild, Kicking Horse, Eraclea and Whittington tea.

Joining Lavazza means doing business with passion, knowing that the impact of our work goes beyond the quality of the production chain. We are a big family and we are constantly looking for new talents who share our values and can enrich our team. We combine competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility as we create superior quality products available for consumption both at home and out of home, and distributed through all channels: Retail, Foodservice, Office Coffee Service (OCS), and Vending. Our strong, diversified presence enables us to offer consumers and clients perfectly suited solutions, for any occasion and time of day.

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OVERVIEW

The Category Manager – Home will be key in setting and executing the strategy of the Home Channel in terms of category vision, Lavazza portfolio assortment, price guidelines, and shopper selling stories. The position will liaise closely with other Home Channel counterparts, Commercial Strategy, Sales, and HQ teams to foster collaboration and communication across teams. This individual will be crucial in developing category management capabilities within Lavazza for the Home (Retail, eComm & eRetail) Channel for US & Canada. The Category Manager will also be responsible for leading and developing a direct report focused on innovation and portfolio management.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Setup shopper & consumer studies and manage the related Consumer Research budget together with the Commercial Strategy team.
• Direct responsibility over shopper understanding and the Consumer Research budget: forecast, actual monitoring, tracking and tactical variations over the year.
• Identify main shopper trends to build Lavazza Category Vision and Development.
• Build the Selling Story around Category Development and support Category Project implementation at local level.
• Analyze sell-out market data (both for online and offline Business) to gain insights on performance of Lavazza, the market, and competitors; look for tactical and strategic opportunities and develop action plans to address.
• Build Assortment guidelines (both for online and offline business), providing the local activation team and Commercial Strategy the base to build customer assortment priorities and distribution targets.
• Build the Lavazza portfolio pricing strategy (both for online and offline retail channel) with the objective of maximizing Lavazza marginality and boosting assortment velocities.
• Build Sell-Out Promo guidelines and to support Commercial Strategy team in maximizing promo plan efficacy, focusing on potential opportunities in terms of pricing/frequency/mix.
• Constantly interact and build relationships with Global Headquarters counterparts; share with them local North America results, evidences and insights.
• Supervise the portfolio management and innovation perimeter.
• Responsible for leading a direct report.
• Objective setup and responsibility over their target, coaching, training and constant support.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• BA required, MBA preferred
• 5-7 years of work experience in Trade Marketing, RGM, 4P Strategy setup and Category Management
• Familiarity with Sales Value Chain, Portfolio Strategy Setup, and Customer Management
• Ability to setup consumer & shopper research, interacting with agencies and managing main research tools
• Ability understand and manipulate syndicated data such as Nielsen, Numerator, IRI, Nielsen Spaceman
• Strong communication skills
• Strong proficiency in PPT, Excel
• Strong project management skills
• Ability to work within an international matrixed environment
• Previous experiences in Retail Sales/Sell-Out is considered a strong plus
• Previous experiences within coffee industry is a plus

PHYSICAL/TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to travel as needed up to 25% of time 
• Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds
• Ability to sit for extended periods of time

BENEFITS/PERKS

• Competitive Medical, Vision, Dental Benefits 
• 401K Package 
• Employee Assistance Program 
• Onsite Cafeteria and Gym (West Chester location)
• Hybrid Work Schedule 
• Ability to be barista certified
• Monthly Lunches provided by Lavazza
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Performance Development Plans 
• Employee Discounts 
• Flexible business casual dress code - jean friendly! 
• Free coffee, anytime!

 
Lavazza is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Lavazza prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.