Category Manager - D2C

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About the Role

This is NOT a conventional Category Manager role.

Category Manager with EIR-level ownership

✔ Build categories from 0→1

✔ Scale them from 1→10

✔ Drive both ecommerce + retail growth

✔ Think and operate like a mini-founder

✔ Take full P&L responsibility

✔ Build systems, processes, and playbooks for scale

online (D2C/Marketplace)

Key Responsibilities

1. Category Building from Scratch (0→1 Creation – Core Focus)

• Identify new category opportunities through customer behaviour, gaps & market research
• Build category strategy from scratch across ecommerce + retail formats
• Launch new product lines, collections, combos & sub-categories
• Design full GTM strategy: pricing, assortment, packaging, merchandising, demand planning
• Build launch playbooks, SOPs, and category systems from the ground up
• Innovate across bundles, festival editions, premium lines & cross-category products

2. P&L Ownership (End-to-End Accountability)

• Own complete category P&L for both online & retail channels
• Drive revenue, margins, ROAS efficiency, AOV and profitability
• Plan monthly/quarterly financial forecasts and growth models
• Optimize pricing, discounts, costs, contribution margins
• Conduct deep category analysis: competition, demand cycles, margin gaps

3. Ecommerce Category Management (Growth Focus)

• Improve listing quality, A+ content, SEO & conversion
• Plan category-specific keyword ranking strategies
• Ensure catalogue accuracy, hygiene, and update frequency
• Drive ratings, reviews, NPS, UGC & buyer sentiment
• Run structured experiments to improve CVR, ATC% & traffic

4. Retail Category Building (Offline Growth)

• Build category strategy for our upcoming retail stores
• Develop store-wise assortments tailored to location, demand & demographics
• Own retail merchandising (VM, displays, shelf planning, in-store visibility)
• Analyze offline bestsellers, sell-through & stock movement
• Plan replenishment, DOH, local demand cycles & festive planning
• Launch retail-only product lines & exclusive SKUs

5. Cross-Functional Ownership & Founder-Level Collaboration

Work closely with:

• Founders:

  category vision, new verticals, scaling roadmaps

• Supply Chain:

  forecasting, DOH planning, inventory cycles

• Marketing:

  campaigns, category ads, promo calendar, ROAS alignment

• Creative Team:

  product shoots, banners, landing pages, packaging

• Finance:

  cost sheets, margins, profitability dashboards

• Retail Team:

  store category performance & merchandising execution

Track and improve category health:

• Inventory turnover
• DOS & fill rates
• Stockouts
• Returns & RTO%
• Conversion rate
• Traffic & category visibility

Requirements

• 2–4 years of experience in ecommerce category management or retail category operations
• Strong track record of

  building categories from scratch

• Hands-on experience in pricing, margin planning, forecasting & demand analysis
• Strong analytical skills with command over Excel/Sheets, Unicommerce, Shopify
• Ability to think like a founder—high ownership, creativity, and execution speed
• Ability to manage both digital + retail category dynamics simultaneously

Good to Have

• Experience in spiritual, wellness, lifestyle or niche D2C brands
• Experience with retail setups, merchandising, VM & offline category planning
• Strong understanding of consumer psychology, AOV levers & funnel metrics
• Experience turning underperforming categories into revenue drivers

To Apply

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• Expected CTC
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