Category Assistant

Category Assistant 

Head Office - Wembley 

Who we are: We are regarded as the trusted decorating and DIY retail brand in London, selling paint, tools, plumbing, electrical and woodwork materials throughout our 32 stores. As part of the Grafton Group we have the stability and support of a leader in the field of building materials and DIY Retail. 

Let’s paint the picture for you! 

We are looking for a Category Assistant to assist the category manager to plan and implement agreed strategies and procedures to ensure the smooth ordering of goods to the business while assisting the category manager in building supplier relationships. The role consists of a lot of administrative work through our ERP system ensuring correct buying practices are followed. 

Category Assistant - What will you be doing?  

• Continually reviewing the top 250 products supplied from the warehouse, and direct to store, providing feedback on demand and availability from our suppliers. 
• Monitoring product availability and ensuring temporarily unavailable products are communicated to stores, and if unavailable for over 6 weeks; a replacement product is brought in. 
• Liaising with suppliers where needed to ensure trade agreements are being adhered too. 
• Ensure all trade agreements are continually updated. 
• Look at product exit strategies to ensure deleted products are reduced throughout the business. 
• Create and monitor new products, ensuring it is available and in all stores where required. 
• Reviewing supplier spend and ensuring it meets projected forecast. 
• Manage product deletions ensuring it is cleared through the business following the category managers strategy. 
• Creating new products and making sure the correct attributes are set up to ensure that products go through the supply chain quickly and efficiently. 

Category Assistant - What Skills and Experience will you need to have?  

Essential: 

*        Track record of delivering excellent financial results against budget. 

*        Track record of working within a buying department. 

*        Product benchmarking experience within retail 

*        Excellent communications skills – both written and verbal 

*        Ability to understand Company financial information 

*        Delivery of excellent purchasing standards 

*        Proficient IT Skills especially Excel 

*        Experience creating reports and creating an action plan from this. 

Desirable: 

• Experience of retail management 
• Knowledge of the DIY sector 
• Experience in ERP systems preferably Microsoft Dynamics AX 

​How will we reward you? 

On top of an attractive salary we have an excellent benefits package on offer: 

• Annual bonus opportunity 
• 30 days holiday a year (includes public holidays) 
• Up to 20% discount in Leyland SDM, plus discount across other Grafton Group brands 
• Pension with competitive contributions 
• Health Cashplan – claim money back on everyday healthcare needs and treatments (Dental, physio, prescriptions to name a few) 
• Share saving scheme into our parent company, the Grafton Group 
• Company sick pay 
• Life assurance 
• Cycle2work scheme 
• 100’s of retail discounts available through our flexible benefits portal 

Apply now!