Category Merchant Jobs

Staples is business to business. You’re what binds us together.

Our merchandising team aims to deliver the best value and selection to our customers through products, services and solutions all centered around our customers’ needs. We are driven by customer insights and analytics to bring products and solutions to market seamlessly. We are inclusive, well-rounded professionals who have deep experience in buying, selling, negotiating, operations, design, innovation, finance and more.

The Category Merchant is responsible for the end-to-end performance of their categories. This individual will be responsible for the vendor partnership and cross functional product strategies to meet revenue, margin, inventory and market share goals for both the B2B (Staples Advantage) and B2C online business.

This individual must be an independent, creative thinker, able to understand a cross functional environment and analyze data to develop strategic plans and execute against these to drive meaningful results.

What you’ll be doing:

• Own delivering sales, margin, and inventory goals for ~$180M across two channels.
• Responsible for selecting vendors, brands, and products to be sold; negotiate for lower net costs through volume incentives, rebates, advertising or promotional price support.
• Define then accelerate emerging trends in the technology space and how our strategy should evolve based on industry, competitor, and technology trends.
• Leverage data insights to develop an understanding of their business, identify opportunities and gaps in the current strategy and to drive decision making.
• Demonstrate clear ownership and knowledge of strategy and assortment, be able to communicate and answer questions of senior leadership.
• Ensure products are optimally represented online for all customers to create an optimal shopping experience.
• Drive a team atmosphere that is empowering and engaging on a daily basis.
• Develop plans and partner cross functionally with marketing, sales, supply chain, pricing, site merchandising and more.
• Has a real time pulse on the performance of their business and takes proactive action to address issues.
• Develop deep understanding of customer needs and shopping behaviors.

What you bring to the table:

• Deep understanding of tactics to drive eCommerce sales and human sales force
• Demonstrated ability to build strategic partnerships (internal and external)
• PC literate with the strong abilities in Excel
• Expertise in site metrics, such as visits, conversion, AOV, frequency, engagement
• Exceptional time management, prioritization, and organizational skills
• Accomplished in holding a team accountable to achieve measurable results
• Demonstrated in-depth proficiency in financial acumen and analysis
• Proven ability to drive sales and margin results
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to influence at multiple levels
• Multiple category experience including large P&L management

Qualifications - External

What’s needed- Basic Qualifications:

• 6 years total experience in buying related functions (buying/ merchandising)

What’s needed- Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

We Offer:

• Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays)
• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups
• Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more perks and benefits