Category Manager

Are you passionate about merchandising, analyzing trends, and building strong relationships? If yes, join the Coborn’s Merchandising Team as a Category Manager! As we continue to stay competitive in the grocery retail industry, Coborn’s is in search of category merchandisers who can own a product category – optimizing product assortment, negotiation with suppliers, enhancing sales, while driving growth of our organization.

With a team of expert merchandising professionals, you will have the opportunity to make an impact on our employee-owned business and the communities that we serve! Strengthening our understanding of consumer trends are what we aim to do, and we are committed to hiring category managers to help us get there.

If you are not familiar with grocery retail, it’s not a problem! We encourage all category managers, of diverse backgrounds, to apply!

• Category Strategy: Develop and execute category growth strategies to maximize sales, market share, and profitability with a guest-centric approach aligning with the consumer needs, preferences, and shopping behaviors.
• Product Assortment Optimization: Manage product assortment ensuring the right mix of products, including core, seasonal, and new items to minimize redundancy, enhance category performance and maximize sales.
• Pricing Strategy: Establish competitive pricing models, including everyday pricing, promotional pricing, and value perception.
• Merchandising & Placement: Decide how products are displayed and organized to enhance visibility and increase purchases.
• Supplier & Vendor Relationships: Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and vendors to negotiate pricing, secure exclusive deals, promotional planning, and develop strategic partnerships.
• Promotional Planning: Design and execute marketing and promotional campaigns to drive category growth, brand awareness, and maximize sales and profitability.
• Data & Performance Analysis: Analyze key performance indicators (KPI’s) to include sales, guest insights, and market trends to make data driven decisions that will improve margins, market share, and other areas of improvement within the category; continuously refine the category strategy.
• Trends & Innovation: Monitor competitor activities and emerging trends to identify opportunities and introduce new products and programs to keep the category competitive and relevant.
• Collaboration & Execution: Work with suppliers, vendors, and internal marketing and operations teams to ensure effective category execution on programs that are high impact and easy to execute.
• Financial Forecasting & Planning: Manage category budgets and forecasts for sales, profit, inventory, and in stocks to deliver on the established annual performance targets.

Qualifications Include: 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Merchandising, or related field preferred.
• Five years’ related experience in areas of category management, merchandising, or retail strategy; grocery experience preferred but not required.
• Strong data analytical skills with experience using tools such as Excel or Power BI to make data-driven decisions.

We believe that building a team of people with different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and perspectives inspires fresh thinking and opens us up to new possibilities. We are an EEO/AA Employer - All qualified individuals, including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Our remarkable employees are at the heart of everything we do. At Coborn’s, we’re committed to creating a supportive and rewarding workplace—one that offers a vibrant, team-oriented environment, ongoing career growth, and meaningful benefits. As an employee-owned company, we believe in investing in our people and their futures.

We’re proud to offer a variety of benefits to both our full-time and part-time employees, including: 

• 10% Employee Discount (for the employee and their immediate household) at our grocery and franchise locations (Ace Hardware, Caribou Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert’s, and Pet Supplies Plus)
• Get Paid Daily with DailyPay – for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
• Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
• Paid Floating Holidays & 1 - ½ time for hours worked on a company-recognized holiday!
• Sunday Premium Pay – an extra $1 per hour for hours worked on Sundays (some exclusions apply)
• Paid Military Leave
• Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources – to assist our team members in living a life of wellbeing!
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year
• Tools, resources and opportunities for career growth and development
• 401(k) plan options – we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
• Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) – yes, we’re employee-owned! Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
• Additional Voluntary Benefits – such as vision, accident and critical illness insurances

If you’re hired or promoted into a full-time position with our company, you will also be eligible for: Medical & Dental Insurance, Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Tuition Reimbursement, Adoption Reimbursement, Paid Family Caregiver Leave, as well as company-sponsored Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance, and Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance!

As a member of our team, you can also expect:

• Flexible scheduling - We understand that many of our employees are trying to juggle school, practice, family time, errands and personal hobbies, all with only about 16 hours of awake time in a day.
• Recognition - We celebrate a culture of recognition, encouraging employees to recognize and thank one another for remarkable behavior. We even have an app for that!
• Growth Opportunities - We're always looking for motivated, high-potential employees who want to be part of our next generation of leaders! There are opportunities to grow within our company to positions you may not yet even know exist. Coborn's, Inc. offers a variety of development programs for employees who want to grow their careers with us. 

Our culture celebrates employee ideas and encourages creative innovations. We're growing, learning, and overflowing with energy. In a dynamic atmosphere that welcomes diversity, we are investing in our employees, along with the growth of our company. We invite you to join us in carrying out our vision to “Be Remarkable!” Apply today!

Starting pay is determined based on several factors, which can include the candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, education, and geographic area. 

retail customer service Part-Time Full-Time Part Time Full Time Hourly Sales Entry level cashier coborns coborn's

Are you friendly, dependable, and passionate about working with people?  At Coborn’s, Inc., we love serving our guests, supporting our communities, and helping our team members grow their careers.  If you’re looking for a place where you can build a future while making a positive impact every day, we’d love to talk to you about joining our team!

Coborn's, Inc. is a fast-growing, employee-owned grocery retailer proudly serving communities across the Midwest. Our family of grocery stores includes Coborn's, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher's, Tadych’s Marketplace Foods, Sullivan’s Foods, and Kessler’s. We offer our guests an elevated shopping experience—both in-store and online—focused on freshness, value, and convenience. Guided by our company vision to inspire happiness, healthy living, and simplicity, this principle has fueled our growth for more than 100 years and is at the heart of everything we do.

Coborn’s, Inc. also owns and operates liquor stores under the Coborn’s Liquor, Cash Wise Liquor, Andy’s Liquor, and Captain Jack’s brands. In addition, we operate fuel kiosks and convenience store locations under the Little Dukes and Coborn’s Express names. Many of our grocery stores also feature full-service pharmacies to support the health and wellness of our guests. We manage a variety of other retail businesses in markets where the fit is right, including Ace Hardware, Country Floral Gifts & Greenhouse, Caribou Coffee, Dunn Brothers Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert’s, Godfather’s Pizza, and Pet Supplies Plus. To support our diverse retail operations, we operate our own central bakery, fresh foods commissary, and grocery warehouse and distribution center.

Salary : $82,000 - $130,000