The Category Manager - Books will strategize and manage category performance, negotiate with suppliers, analyze market trends, maintain inventory, and ensure digital availability of books.
As our Category Manager – Books, you will have the rare chance to shape the literary offering for two of Australasia’s most iconic eCommerce destinations: Mighty Ape and Kogan.com. This is an awesome opportunity to be at the forefront of a fast-paced, ASX-listed business, driving growth across the Tasman.
We are looking for a commercially sharp, tech-savvy, and outcomes-focused Category Manager to own and grow our Books category. This role suits an ambitious professional, either an emerging Category Manager or an experienced Assistant Buyer who is ready to take full P&L ownership of a portfolio.
Operating with an "owner’s mindset," you will drive end-to-end commercial performance, from strategic sourcing and publisher negotiations to pricing, inventory management, and promotional planning.
In this role you'll be responsible for:
- Category Strategy & Performance: Develop and execute strategic plans for the Books category. You’ll analyse performance data and market trends to hit sales and margin KPIs.
- Strategic Sourcing: Identify and secure new titles and ranges, negotiating favourable terms with global publishers and distributors.
- Market Relevance: Analyse bestseller lists and competitor trends to keep the catalogue ahead of the curve.
- Digital Availability: Manage and maintain book feeds to ensure our full range is accurately represented and available for purchase across all websites.
- Supplier Engagement: Build strong relationships with key suppliers, run competitive tenders and evaluate total landed costs to ensure unbeatable value for our customers.
- Optimise Stock Integrity: Monitor inventory levels to balance demand with minimal overstock; partner closely with Demand Planning to ensure seamless replenishment and uninterrupted supply.
- Streamline Operations: Oversee import timelines and coordinate with logistics teams to ensure peak efficiency in shipping and warehousing.
- Commercial Execution: Actively negotiate trading terms, drive price changes across multiple sales channels, and partner with Marketing teams to ensure product listings are perfectly merchandised.
- Financial Rigour: Manage rebate and co-op invoicing claims, monitor weekly sales results, and complete range reviews to maximise commercial outcomes.
To be successful in this role, you should be:
- University Degree qualified in a relevant field (Commerce, Business, Engineering, Supply Chain or similar)
- Have experience with Category ownership, at either an Assistant / Junior / Category Manager level, preferably within an eCommerce, Retail or FMCG environment. Experience with Books and/or familiarity with the NZ market will be highly regarded
- You are an expert with Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUPs and Pivot Tables are your second language) and can use data to make quick, impactful commercial decisions.
- A proven ability to influence stakeholders and negotiate the best possible trading terms and prices.
- You are proficient in using various IT and cloud-based tools and demonstrate an ability to leverage AI tools to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and gain deeper category insights
- You are comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where constant change is the norm.
Why Kogan.com?
- Work with an incredible team to solve important challenges, helping to drive Australia and New Zealand’s eCommerce future
- Your role has a lot of ownership, autonomy and little red tape. You’ll be empowered to achieve positive outcomes and your work will have a real impact
- You’ll be at the forefront of the eCommerce industry with us and be part of a company that are the Pioneers of eCommerce in Australia
- Be an Intrepreneur, playing a hands on role in shaping our strategy at our HQ
- A range of employee benefits such as; complimentary Kogan First Membership, team exclusive discounts, Health & Wellness program, Learning & Development and Lunch & Learns, Hackathons, Team member referral program, Company and team events and celebrations, community engagement (volunteering) and extensive career development opportunities plus loads more!
To apply
Express your interest in this opportunity by uploading your CV and Cover Letter, outlining your interest in the position and how you think you can help grow the Kogan business. Hot tip, generic Cover Letters won’t cut it here! Stand out with an application that shows a deep knowledge of the Kogan.com business and how we operate, to allow yours to be looked upon more favourably.
Innovative thinking got our business to where it is now, so it makes sense that we look for like-minded problem solvers! As a first step to our process, all new candidates will be sent testing, so be sure to keep an eye out for it!
About Us
We’re Kogan.com, Pioneers of eCommerce in Australia.
At Kogan.com we offer rewarding careers, where you build your skills, are mentored by the best in the industry and get to share your expert knowledge in an innovative Company where your ideas and opinions count. You get to solve really important challenges to drive eCommerce’s future, and get to do it with a great team culture and benefits!
Join Kogan.com to master your craft, do your best work, make a real difference and work with the best. At Kogan.com, your work will have an immediate impact on transforming the Australian and New Zealand retail environment.
Heads up!
Kogan.com is a fast-paced business - our vacancy close dates are subject to change. We will assess applications as they are received, so don't wait to apply!
All new Kogan.com team members are required to undergo a National Police Record check and must have full-time Australian working rights
Kogan.com Melbourne, Victoria, AUS Office
139 Gladstone Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3205
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