Category Manager

Job Details

Job Location:

Body Art Alliance Support Center - HANOVER, MD 21076

Salary Range: $ - $ Salary/year

Category Manager, Body Jewelry & Piercing

Reports To:

Director of Product Development

Body Art Alliance (BAA) is home to some of the most recognized and respected brands in the professional body art industry. Through industry-leading brands including Anatometal, Neo Metal, Tilum, and Painful Pleasures, we serve professional piercers, studios, distributors, and artists around the world with products known for quality, craftsmanship, innovation, and performance.

The Category Manager, Body Jewelry & Piercing serves as the category expert and strategic business leader responsible for driving growth, innovation, profitability, and portfolio performance across BAA's body jewelry brands. Reporting to the Director of Product Development, this role will own the category roadmap, lead new product initiatives, optimize product assortments, identify emerging opportunities, and ensure the portfolio remains aligned with customer needs and industry trends.

This position works closely with Product Development, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, Inventory Planning, Marketing, Ecommerce, Sales, Finance, and Executive Leadership to bring innovative products to market and strengthen BAA's position as a global leader in professional body jewelry and piercing products.

The ideal candidate possesses a strong understanding of the professional piercing industry, body jewelry materials and standards, product lifecycle management, and category management best practices, coupled with exceptional analytical, communication, and project management skills.

• Develop and execute comprehensive category strategies that drive revenue growth, increase market share, and improve profitability.
• Create and manage short and long-term category roadmaps aligned with company objectives, customer demand, and emerging industry trends.
• Define and execute brand-specific strategies for Anatometal, Neo Metal, Tilum, Painful Pleasures, and future portfolio brands.
• Identify opportunities for category expansion, assortment growth, new product development, and market differentiation.
• Serve as the internal subject matter expert on body jewelry, piercing trends, customer behavior, and competitive activity.
• Build business cases and strategic recommendations for new product launches, assortment expansion, and portfolio investments.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance category performance and operational effectiveness.

• Own and drive the end-to-end product development roadmap from concept through commercialization.
• Lead the development of new products, collections, materials, finishes, exclusive designs, and innovation initiatives.
• Partner with internal development teams and external vendors to identify opportunities that strengthen BAA's competitive position.
• Develop comprehensive product briefs outlining customer needs, market opportunity, pricing strategy, material requirements, design direction, technical specifications, and competitive positioning.
• Lead category participation in the New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) process to ensure successful product launches.
• Evaluate product opportunities through customer insights, market research, financial analysis, and competitive benchmarking.
• Establish launch success metrics and monitor product performance post-launch.
• Drive improvements in speed-to-market and product commercialization processes.

• Conduct ongoing market research to identify customer needs, emerging trends, competitive threats, and growth opportunities.
• Monitor trends across piercing techniques, jewelry styles, materials, anatomy-specific jewelry, fashion influences, and professional studio preferences.
• Analyze competitor assortments, pricing strategies, product launches, and market positioning.
• Attend and represent BAA at industry events, trade shows, conferences, and professional association gatherings, including APP, JCK, and other global industry events.
• Build strong relationships with professional piercers, studio owners, distributors, and key industry influencers to gather actionable market intelligence.
• Translate market insights into strategic category recommendations and product development opportunities.

• Maintain expert knowledge of body jewelry materials including implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136), implant-grade steel, niobium, solid 14k and 18k gold, and other biocompatible materials.
• Ensure product offerings align with ASTM, ISO, APP, and other applicable industry standards and guidelines.
• Stay current on emerging materials, manufacturing techniques, jewelry technologies, and industry best practices.
• Develop expertise in jewelry sizing conventions, threading systems, anatomy-specific jewelry applications, and professional…