Category Manager

Category Manager Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 Hours: Monday – Thursday, 9:00am – 5:30pm, early finish Friday at 4:00pm Bedfordshire Permanent, Office Based We are recruiting on behalf of a well-established and growing sports equipment company, designing and supplying a broad range of own-brand training equipment alongside officially licensed merchandise for major football clubs, national teams, and global entertainment brands. This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially astute Category Manager to take ownership of product strategy and performance across own-brand and licensed ranges, working closely with design, sourcing, marketing, and e-commerce teams to drive category growth and profitability. The successful candidate will be commercially minded, highly organised, and confident managing licensing relationships alongside product development and category performance, within a fast-paced, growing consumer goods business. Key Responsibilities for a Category Manager: * Own the product roadmap and category strategy for allocated categories, from concept through to launch * Manage relationships with licensing partners (sports clubs, leagues, and entertainment brands) to develop compliant, on-brand product ranges * Work closely with design and sourcing teams to develop new products and improve existing ranges * Analyse sales performance, margin and market trends to inform category strategy and identify growth opportunities * Collaborate with the e-commerce team to ensure categories are effectively represented and merchandised online * Manage product lifecycle across the category, including range reviews, discontinuations, and new product introductions * Prepare and present concepts, mock-ups and category performance decks for internal sign-off, licensor approval and key retailer presentations * Work directly with factories on product specifications, technical drawings, pre-production and gold seal samples, and packaging proofs Key Skills for a Category Manager: * Proven experience in a Category Manager, Product Manager, or similar commercial/product role, ideally within retail, e-commerce, or FMCG/consumer goods * Experience managing licensed product ranges or brand partnerships is highly desirable * Strong commercial acumen, including product costing, margin management and pricing, with confidence interpreting sales and performance data * Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to work confidently with internal teams and external partners * Comfortable working with e-commerce platforms (e.g. Shopify) and product data * A genuine interest in sport and sports merchandise would be an advantage If you feel you can be a good fit for this role and want to work for a company that can really add value to you, then please apply now