Category Manager - Kalamazoo, MI

If you are not already on the Imperial Beverage career page, Apply Here:https://imperialbeverage.com/careers/

Are you awesome at analyzing data to create plans for the future? Do you love being part of a winning team? We are a top beverage sales company looking for a proven professional to interpret multiple data points to assist in creating selling stories and driving profitable business solutions for our vast portfolio and customers. Our Category Managers tell us they love the sense of accomplishment this role brings, the ability to analyze beverage trends and their awesome co-workers!

Will work for beer? Great! Working for a beverage distributor has its perks:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus HSAs, FSAs, and more. (Full time employees)
• 401(k) with Traditional and Roth options, employer match, and immediate vesting
• 3.5 weeks of PTO starting in year one, accruing from day one with rollover
• Ongoing training and career development opportunities
• Paid volunteer time to give back to the community
• Paid parental leave to welcome your newest family member. (Full time employees)
• Weekly pay
• Uber, Lyft, or taxi reimbursement when you need a safe ride home
• Kick ass events and fun across Michigan
• Domestic and international trip opportunities to learn about the beverage industry
• Referral bonuses for bringing great people to the Imperial Beverage family

The minimum total compensation for this role is listed below; pay will be determined based on experience:

$80,000 - $90,000 per year

Eat. Sleep. Analyze Beverage Trends. Repeat: Our Category Manager not only monitors trends to guide continuous improvement, but they also build sales presentations, develop planograms, visit store sets, lead projects, and use their beverage knowledge to help make decisions. We choose Category Managers who feel the need to stay organized, love solving problems, and have strong communication and analytical skills. This full-time position requires Monday-Friday availability.

A Day in the Life

• Monitor and analyze competitive activity, customer and market trends to provide actionable insights to guide continuous improvement
• Build sales presentations using sources of data that provide solutions and recommendations to address business issues
• Develop planograms and organize products based on sales strategies and consumer trends
• Visit store sets to see where improvements can be made in category management
• Identify opportunities for process improvement and standardization related to sales
• Lead the planning and execution of assigned department projects
• Keep sales staff up to date on data trends and opportunities

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent education and experience) in Business Administration or related field
• Three or more years' analyst experience required
• Two or more years' beverage sales experience preferred
• Proficient in some technical software: Circana (IRI), Nielsen, 84.51, Market 6, Stratum and retailer specific POS/Panel software
• Proficient in planogram software tools
• Strong analytical skills and numeric ability
• Basic understanding of SQL preferred
• Understanding of maintenance of ERP systems/software database
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to prioritize, set goals and accomplish responsibilities with limited supervision
• Must possess good communication and customer service skills, confidentiality and professionalism
• Experience developing and managing projects
• Critical-thinking skills to develop, adjust and recommend changes

Like a fine wine, Imperial Beverage has been getting better with age since 1933. We are a Michigan family-owned beverage distributor and we are passionate about helping others succeed at work and in the community. We only hire those with passion, integrity, customer focus and the desire for hard work. Once all the work is done at our fast-paced company, we also like to have fun and lots of it!