Role Summary
The General Merchandiser (GM) is the end-to-end business owner for the product category. The GM owns category P&L performance and is accountable for strategy, assortment, pricing parameters, and in-market results. Acting as the single point of accountability, the GM leads a cross-functional pod (Product Development, Design, and Brand), working with Sourcing, from concept through commercialization and performance management.
The GM can incorporate market data, trends, and sales data to drive innovation within the product category. The GM must effectively work with various stakeholders (e.g., Sales, Finance, Operations) to communicate and execute the product strategy, aligned with the overall company and financial objectives. The GM owns deep understanding of the end consumer, retailer buyer, and customer use case, ensuring assortments solve real consumer needs and create clear value propositions.
Key Responsibilities
Category Strategy & Line Planning
- Own and define the category strategy, including growth objectives (increasing market share), retail targets, SKU guardrails, and innovation priorities.
- Synthesize customer, market, trend, and performance insights into a clear line strategy.
- Lead the line planning process, ensuring alignment to brand, customer, and financial objectives.
- Present category strategy and line plans for executive and cross-functional approval. Line plans will align with the new company format
- Institutionalize learnings from in-market performance into future line plans to continuously improve category productivity.
Assortment & Market share Ownership
- Build and maintain the assortment architecture (good/better/best, price tiers, new vs. carryover, brands vs private).
- Understand target margins by category and ensure pricing, working with Sourcing to make product decisions to support financial goals. Support company margin targets by retailer, product, and brand to inform pricing decisions.
- Partner with Sourcing and Sales to validate cost feasibility and margin integrity.
- Serve as the final decision authority on assortment inclusion, pricing guardrails, and category trade-offs.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Lead the category pod, aligning Product Development, Design, Sourcing, Sales, and Brand.
- Set priorities, timelines, and decision cadence across the pod, scheduling regular reviews with key stakeholders.
- Serve as the escalation point for trade-offs between cost, design, timing, and customer needs.
- Responsible for ensuring data in PLM is updated and accurate so other functions can effectively perform their roles.
- Develop clear and complete Tech Packs for each collection.
Go-to-Market & Sales Partnership
- Partner with Sales to ensure assortments meet customer requirements and market realities with the objective of driving market share across all customers.
- Join Sales in customer meetings to present product story and support pitching programs.
- Support sell-in with category storytelling, pricing rationale, and product differentiation.
- Adhere to Brand DNA and ensure that product, pricing, and quality standards are met.
- Own final assortment decisions by customer/channel where applicable.
In-Market Performance Management
- Review ongoing performance (sell-through, margin actuals, returns, inventory health), working with Sales to make category decisions
- Lead SKU rationalization and lifecycle decisions (discontinue, refresh, expand).
- Feed performance insights back into future line planning cycles.
Success Measures
- Category revenue, market share, and gross margin performance
- SKU productivity and sell-through
- On-time, on-margin line execution
- Cross-functional alignment and decision clarity
Qualifications
- Possess a creative mindset with excellent commercial and financial acumen; demonstrated P&L ownership a plus.
- Ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
- Deep understanding of consumer product assortments and line planning, ideally in the home goods category.
- Strong executive communication and decision-making skills.
- Skilled with sourcing, production, design and manufacturing processes.
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required
- 8–12+ years of experience in merchandising, category management, or general management within consumer goods or home goods categories.
- Prior experience owning assortment and margin decisions strongly preferred.
