Category Manager jobs in Washington

Our story started at the beginning of the 20th century, when Carl Grundén, the son of a fisherman, grew tired of the unforgiving weather on the west coast of Sweden. He decided to make something for people with passion for fishing, and started manufacturing water repellent garments to withstand the forces of nature – keeping all men and women warm, dry and safe when doing what they love. Today we carry on the tradition of developing products you can trust. We help fishermen, both professional and recreational face any condition on waters across the globe. 

Grundens is searching for an experienced Category Manager to join our Product team. This position will focus mainly on Outerwear & Layering, while working with peer Category Managers and Developers to bring a well vetted product line to market. The Category Manager will harness their technical apparel background to provide transformative vision to the Grundens brand and drive an innovative approach to Grundens Outerwear; creating and managing a high-performance product line that is rugged, innovative, and desired by Grundens customers and those who relate to Grundens values and way of life. This role will leverage their research and fishing market experience to harness consumer insights and market knowledge to create truly aspirational product lines. 

The Category Manager reports directly to Senior Director of Product & Marketing.

• Responsible for ensuring that the multi-year product strategy for the Outerwear and Layering category (including Commercial and Sportfishing Outerwear) delivers financial results to meet or exceed the revenue and margin targets identified.
• Present and sell compelling cohesive merchandising stories to Sales and Marketing teams.
• Develop category strategies that allow Grundens to realize the product/market opportunities in both retail and consumer levels in the marketplace.
• Collaborate with the Operations team to ensure that current and future buy plans are considered in the seasonal new product development strategy.
• Lead the new product creation process by crafting detailed product briefs that are based in market reality and are informed by consumer and retail market research.
• Drive the seasonal color merchandising process by developing a color merchandising plan that delivers on a style/color seasonal strategy to support the overall business plan.
• Actively act as the voice of the consumer throughout the design, development, and commercialization phases of the go-to-market process to deliver market appropriate products at relevant price points that are aligned for the product’s intended distribution channel.
• Act as a champion for Grundéns product quality throughout all aspects. 

• Strong cross-functional communication skills (verbally, written, in-person, & virtually).
• Collaborate with the Sales and Marketing teams to translate technical details from the new product creation process into consumer-facing collateral for the seasonal workbook, web copy, on-product info, and in-store POP. 
• Leverage research and intuition to develop a product line strategy that positions Grundens as the leader in the marketplace.
• Ability to influence others at all levels of the organization without having direct authority.
• Ability to multitask, work with a sense of urgency, and manage competing priorities.
• Ability to provide effective category leadership by coordinating strong teamwork across the Sales and Marketing teams, as well as other internal departments.
• Ability to collaborate with Design and Product Development to effectively translate product vision/concept into commercially successful products that deliver on time, and meet cost targets that are identified in the new product briefing process.
• Ability to track and prioritize multiple areas of the new product creation process simultaneously.

• 3-5 years of apparel experience, line building, and merchandising that has driven measurable growth specifically within Outerwear or Fishing businesses.  
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• A proven track record in selecting, working with, and presenting fabric, color, and trends as they relate to the performance driven Outerwear & Layering categories.
• Experience with bringing new products to market in the specialty fishing, and large format fishing retail, or outdoor channels.
• Strong understanding of key drivers of revenue and profitability within the specialty fishing, large format fishing, and outdoor retail channels.
• Clear written and oral communication skills, with an ability to present in both internal and external presentation environments.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 25% of the time.

• Insurance: All employees have the ability to enroll in medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short term disability, and Life Flight coverage. Benefits begin the first day of the month following your hire date.
• Retirement: Grundens offers a 401(k)-retirement plan with a 5% match at 6% contribution.
• Bonus Program: Grundens offers a profit-based bonus program when revenue targets are and/or exceeded.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) – All Grundens employees earn PTO every pay period, starting at 80 hours per year depending on experience level.
• Paid Holidays – Grundens provides 9 set paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday for a total of 10 paid holidays.

Built by fishermen, Grundens way of thinking today caries this tradition. We are humbled by natures beauty and power and believe if there are no fish there is no fishing, and eventually no us. However, with the right tools, decisions and attitude, we are able to invest in solutions. Working at Grundens is no different. It’s about finding resourceful solutions, working towards a common goal and building trust in the process. Come work with us.

**Grundens is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status. **