Category Manager

URM Stores, Inc. is looking for a talented Category Manager to join our ever-growing team. As our Category Manager, you will be responsible for the development of category specific business plans for retail Member Owners by managing assortments, promotions, and markdowns for assigned categories within all stores. Responsible for supporting retail Merchandising teams across all ad groups by driving relevant retail growth initiatives.

The key to success in this role will your ability to combine soft skills with analytical skills, convey research findings and drive actions with your key business partners.

You will work closely with our buyers and Vendor/Brokers to negotiate maximum promotional offerings, cost savings for retailers and URM. Additional planning to build strategies to develop incremental sales through additional sourcing of new programs and managing SKU mix within their responsible categories.

• Development of category specific plans for URM member owner retail groups by assisting in determining and managing assortment decisions, promotional activity, and markdowns.
• Evaluate category specific strategies and business plans to assist member owners mutually agreed upon results.
• Interact collaboratively with supplier partners and retailers through the joint business planning processes.
• Effectively leverage internal and syndicated data to analyze weekly, monthly, and quarterly sales results.
• Develop best practice schematics and layouts utilizing software for retail merchandising execution.
• Accurately assesses problems and effectively and efficiently arrives at solutions.
• Establish an environment that encourages aggressive, yet fair, negotiation with all vendors, brokers, and stores.
• Attend and participate in many supplier and retailer meetings.
• Oversee the development and facilitating of Category Analyst training for new hires.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by management and adhere to all company policies and procedures.
• Responsible for guiding and signing off all schematics for their categories and managing any member specific requests regarding customized schematics.
• Other Duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, or other related field or equivalent of five+ years related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proven track record of successful category management experience.
• Planogram software experience preferred.
• Retail Grocery and or Category Management experience required.
• Strong analytical experience and solid Excel skills.
• Hands on experience creating planograms, ideally with JDA (Space planning software) or other software is a plus.
• Source new suppliers, negotiate pricing/terms, assess supplier performance and request actionable improvement.
• Strong knowledge of assortment planning, space planning & promotional planning.
• Strong Knowledge of forecasting, planning / scheduling, logistics and manufacturing principles.
• Ability to collaborate with a wide range of personalities.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, good judgment, time-management skills, and creativity.
• Excellent organizational skills/ability to prioritize is highly required for this position
• Limited local travel required to assess competition and work on instore resets. Will also attend multiple Trade Shows as per your category representation.

For over a century, URM has been the powerhouse behind independent grocers, operating as a proud retailer-owned cooperative. Our mission? To fuel the success of local, community-focused grocery stores by handling everything from purchasing and warehousing to timely delivery of top-quality merchandise.

What sets us apart? Our unique cooperative model means our Member-Owners aren’t just customers—they’re shareholders. We reinvest in their success by returning net earnings from Patronage Department activities as patronage dividends.

Today, URM has grown into a billion-dollar enterprise, employing more than 3,000 dedicated team members across URM and our thriving subsidiaries—Rosauers Supermarkets and Peirone Produce. And we're just getting started.