Senior Manager Category Management Football, Brand adidas
Skills
About the role
Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization
Drive, manage and deliver the Go To Market (GTM) strategy against global priorities; lead category management team to bring the strategy to life as well as manage local team sports business through local mi-uniform service.
Key Responsibilities
Responsible for overall Football and Team Sports category management as well as act as category manager for Football Footwear.
Drive and deliver business strategy and success of the football & Team sports category directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Develop category initiatives to meet key commercial goals directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team (Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Support BU head for the development of business mid-long term strategy for football & team sports category in alignment with global vision
Be the interface between Global Business Unit (BU) middle management and market stakeholders
Collaborate with relevant cross functional teams to develop and execute plans
Deliver end to end (E2E) market strategy and execution from Integrated Business Planning, Commercial Input to in season trade and exit directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Deliver quality delivery toward each GTM milestones directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Deliver go to market planning excellence in compliance with targets for forecasting, pricing, profitability, range size, range flow, range adoption, Article Performance Review (APR) etc. including system, catalogue and master data maintenance directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Define the category range by sales channels, by stores or trade zone where necessary, within guidelines or alignments for the category directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Deliver key franchise lifecycle and inventory level to ensure brand health directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Perform category insights and analytics including market/consumer/competitor insights and sales analysis and leverage for planning
Deliver the input of local product and allocation demand to global directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Responsible for Creation Center Tokyo (CCT) creation from brief, delivery and sell through and exit directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Deliver cross category and functional specific initiatives directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Present range internally and externally with sufficient sample availability directly (Football Footwear) and indirectly through the team(Football Apparel & Team Sports)
Participate to customer interaction in planning phase
Lead the Football & Team Sports Category Management team, drive performance and development culture.
Drive employee engagement, leading by example.
KPI’s
Category Net Sales (NS), Net Margin and Contribution
Sell-out
Forecast & data accuracy
Market share
Key Relationships
GTM Head Office
Category comms
Brand Activation
Demand Planning/Finance
Sales Channel leads
Creation Center Tokyo
Global BUs
Local Sports Federations, Pro and Amateur sports teams
Local team sports service providers
Knowledge, Skills And Abilities
Ability to develop and implement the strategy.
Developing presentation/communication, negotiation and influencing skills
Distinct track record of success and high-level range management knowledge
Cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, etc.) and support functions (finance preferred), as well as different organizational levels (Global, Market, etc.)
Football footwear business experience is must
Strong industry knowledge, across divisions—footwear, apparel and accessories.
Expert understanding of markets’ consumers, accounts, economic environment and commercial needs
Ability to Manage, Coach and Develop People
Results Oriented Mindset
Strong team player with high level of integrity & attention to detail
Strong data analysis skills and ability to translate and articulate data results into clear business actions.
Requisite Education And Experience / Minimum Qualifications
5 years of experience in range management/product required.
2-3 years of experience as people manager
University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing
Sporting goods industry experience required
Fluent in Japanese and Business level English required
Has substantial experience working with local customers and international stakeholders
Developing Business Acumen
Strong PC Skills including Outlook, Word, Excel (Pivot), Powerpoint, etc
Passion for sports and belief that through sports we have the power to change lives
Questions about this role
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