As Category Lead for Sport, Kids & Underwear you will lead one of the company's most strategically important and commercially impactful divisions, defining the vision, growth strategy, and market positioning across these categories. Operating at the intersection of customer demand, brand partnerships, and market trends, you will drive revenue growth, profitability, and category differentiation within a fast-growing digital retail environment. 

As a member of the Supply Leadership Team, you will shape category and Business Unit strategy, build executive-level brand partnerships, and lead a high-performing team to deliver exceptional commercial results. 

Responsibilities:

• Together with your Planning counterpart, own the commercial and strategic performance of the Sport, Kids & Underwear categories, with accountability for revenue, margin, sell-through, inventory productivity, and investment decisions. 

• Define and execute the long-term category strategy, identifying growth opportunities and shaping priorities across the portfolio. 

• Lead the commercial and buying framework across Sport, Kids & Underwear, balancing customer demand, brand relevance, assortment quality, and profitability. 

• Optimize assortment performance using customer insights, market intelligence, trend analysis, and commercial data. 

• Build and strengthen partnerships with leading Sport, Kids and Underwear brands, leading key negotiations and long-term commercial agreements. 

• Drive performance through analysis of key e-commerce KPIs, including sell-through, conversion, stock availability, pricing, and category profitability. 

• Monitor market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitor activity to ensure a differentiated and commercially successful assortment. 

• Partner closely with Planning, Trading, Marketing, CRM, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to execute category strategies effectively. 

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and commercial excellence. 

• Represent the division within senior leadership discussions, influencing business decisions and strategic priorities. 

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience within Sports, Kidswear, Underwear, Lifestyle Apparel, Fashion, or Consumer Retail, including leadership experience in Buying, Merchandising, Category Management, or Commercial roles. 

• Proven success managing large category portfolios within e-commerce, omnichannel, wholesale, or retail businesses. 

• Strong understanding of sports, kidswear and underwear markets, including consumer trends, seasonal buying cycles, and product innovation. 

• Demonstrated track record of driving commercial growth through assortment optimization, strategic partnerships, and data-driven decision-making. 

• Established experience managing relationships with leading global sport, kids and underwear brands. 

• Strong negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills. 

• Proven ability to build, coach, and develop high-performing teams. 

• Analytical, entrepreneurial, and results-driven mindset with strong commercial acumen. 

• Fluent in English and willing to travel internationally as required. 

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