Dedicated to telling stories and creating experiences, Indigo is always looking for bright, energetic and customer-focused people who can help bring our exciting mission to life in one of our more than 170 Indigo, Indigospirit, Chapters and Coles stores across Canada. We offer a variety of exciting opportunities at our retail stores, distribution centres, and home office for people who share our passions and want to be part of a dynamic and enriching culture.

WHO WE ARE

• We love books and all things beautiful
• We are Canada’s Cultural Department Store
• Books are our heart and our soul and Great Books are JUST the Beginning…

We play by the following rules:

• We exist to add joy to our customers’ lives each and every time they interact with us and our products
• Our job is to create joyful moments for our customers
• We treat each other the way we’d treat a valued friend
• We inspire each other to do our best work
• We seek to ignite creativity and innovation every day
• We give back to the communities in which we operate

MISSION

The Assistant Category Manager is responsible for supporting and executing product category strategy, for both online and retail sales channels.  This role effectively communicates and engages cross functionally to gain support for execution of product category plans and objectives.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Sales
• Net Margin dollars and rate
• Turns
• Inventory
• Conversion
• Traffic
• NMROI
• Heat ticket resolution

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Functional

Provides direct support to the Category Manager (CM) in the execution and administration of activities associated with the following:

• Support the CM to execute the category strategic goals in order to meet and exceed sales, margin and inventory targets.
• Support with day-to-day category administrative responsibilities, including item setup, reporting, store issue resolution, sample management and purchase order management.
• Support Open-to-Buy (OTB) process, ensuring appropriate stock levels
• Assist in product development and assortment planning
• Collaborate with Planning & Inventory Management team to ensure sales and inventory plans are aligned with strategic initiatives
• Drive category markdown strategy and execute the markdown process in collaboration with the Planning Manager to maximize sales and margin
• Seek out and identify new opportunities to grow and expand category by benchmarking competition and finding new categories, products and best practices
• Create vendor meeting agendas, analysis and recaps 
• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all decision-making and design processes
• Proactively identify and anticipate customer expectations and needs
• Embrace and seek out technology that creates high tech and high touch solutions for Indigo’s customers
• Challenge the status quo by consistently identifying areas for improvement, diagnosing issues and working to resolve them.

People

• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback

Cultural

• Model Indigo’s beliefs and convey a positive image in everything you do
• Celebrate diversity of thought and have an open mindset
• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes
• Embrace, champion and influence change through your team and/or the organization

SCOPE

Reports to: Category Manager

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

• Finance
• Planning
• Marketing & Online
• Retail & Store Teams
• Creative Studio
• Supply Chain

External:

• Vendors

QUALIFICATIONS

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• Post-secondary education in business or related field
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in buying and category management or related field.

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Proven ability to build productive business relationships with both internal and external partners
• Proven ability to negotiate effectively with external business partners
• Strong organizational skills with ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines and reacting quickly to shifting priorities
• Effective communication skills
• Passion for product & trends
• Results driven

Other (travel, Bilingual, etc.)

• 10% travel required to trade shows, regional stores and promotional events

#LI-Hybrid

At Indigo, we are committed to our communities, our customers, and each other; together we can make a positive impact. We know that fostering diversity and inclusion brings out your full potential and creates a joyful and welcoming environment for everyone. We are driven to be an equitable employer, which highly values your diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that you, in all your uniqueness, belong at Indigo. We welcome all applicants and encourage applications from individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, a person of colour, LGBTQ2+ and people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request to individuals who self-identify as having a disability or special need. Please contact Human Resources at [email protected] if you require an accommodation at any time during the recruitment process. 

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