Vice President of Merchandising

If you're friendly and dependable and you like to work with terrific guests, we'd love to talk about an opportunity on our team!

Coborn's, Inc. is a fast-growing employee-owned grocery retailer located in the Midwest. Our grocery store formats include Coborn's, Cash Wise, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher's, Tadych's Marketplace Foods, and Sullivan's Foods and we offer unique online grocery home delivery services through our CobornsDelivers and Cash Wise Delivers locations.

Coborn's, Inc. also owns and operates liquor stores under the Coborn's Liquor, Cash Wise Liquor, Andy's Liquor and Captain Jack's brands. Additionally, our fuel and convenience division, pharmacy, in-house grocery warehouse and distribution center, in-house Central Bakery, in-house Fresh Foods Commissary, and Tops Cleaners are significant assets to our operations. We also have a handful of other retail entities in the markets where the fit is right: Little Dukes, Ace Hardware, Country Floral Gifts & Greenhouse, Caribou Coffee, Dunn Bros Coffee, and Erbert and Gerbert's.

This position requires on-site presence at the Coborn's Support Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We offer a hybrid work environment with both remote and in-office days. Relocation Assistance is available.

Join the growing team at Coborn's Inc. as we hire for our next VP of Merchandising! In this VP role, you will develop and execute the strategic vision for our Center Store foods departments! Your focus categories will include dry grocery, snacks, beverages, canned goods, condiments, baking supplies, international foods, health and wellness items, and household essentials. Along with strategic vision, you will use your strong background in retail/grocery merchandising to analyze market tends and ensure pricing, promotion planning, and assortment optimization is in line with the overall sales vision.

This pivotal leadership role demands a visionary, results-driven executive with a deep understanding of food merchandising, evolving market dynamics, consumer behavior, product development, and supply chain operations.

Additional Duties Include:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a comprehensive merchandising strategy for center store categories that aligns with company goals and guest expectations. Analyze market trends and competitive landscape to identify growth opportunities and innovate product offerings.
• Category Management: Oversee the selection, procurement, and pricing of center store products to ensure a high-quality, profitable, competitive and differentiated assortment.
• Sales and Financial Performance: Drive sales growth and profitability through innovative merchandising practices, promotional strategies, and effective inventory management. Monitor and manage department budget, ensuring profitability and efficient use of resources. Drive operational efficiency and cost reduction initiatives without compromising quality or guest satisfaction
• Vendor Relations: Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and vendors to ensure product quality, competitive pricing, and timely delivery.
• Market Analysis: Stay abreast of market trends, guest preferences, and competitive landscape to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
• Guest Focus: Ensure that all center store food offerings meet or exceed guest expectations in terms of quality, freshness, and value. Implement initiatives to improve in store presentation, freshness and convenience, driving a positive guest experience.
• Operational Excellence: Oversee the execution of merchandising plans and ensure adherence to company standards, food safety regulations, and best practices in center store food departments.
• Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop a team of merchandising professionals, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture. Partner with cross functional teams to advance work.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree (B. A.) in Business Management, Merchandising, Food Science or a related field. An advanced degree or relevant certifications are a plus.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in food merchandising, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and analytical skills. Proven ability to drive sales and profitability through effective merchandising strategies.
• Deep understanding of center store food categories, market trends, and guest behavior. Experience with inventory management and vendor relations.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic and cross functional environment and adapt to changing market conditions and business needs.

We believe that building a team of people with different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and perspectives inspires fresh thinking and opens us up to new possibilities. We are an EEO/AA Employer - All qualified individuals, including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Our remarkable employees strive to inspire happiness, healthy living and simplicity one guest at a time. With a vibrant and fun work environment, ongoing opportunities for career growth, and generous benefit packages, Coborn's offers a bright future for all employee owners.

We're proud to offer a variety of benefits to both our full-time and part-time employees including:

• A 10% Employee Discount (for the employee and their immediate household) and if you work at a location with a coffee shop, you'll receive a discount there too!
• Get Paid Daily with DailyPay - for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
• Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
• Paid Floating Holidays & 1 - time for hours worked on a company-recognized Holiday!
• Sunday Premium Pay - An extra $1 per hour for hours worked on Sundays
• Paid Military Leave
• Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources - to assist our team members live a life of wellbeing!
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year.
• Tools, resources and opportunities for Career Growth & Development
• 401(k) plan options - we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
• Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) - yes, we're employee-owned. Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
• Additional Voluntary Benefits - such as Vision, Accident and Critical Illness Insurances

If you're hired or promoted into a full-time position with our company, you will also be eligible for: Medical & Dental Insurance, Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Tuition Reimbursement, Adoption Reimbursement, Paid Family Caregiver Leave, as well as company-sponsored Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance, and Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance!

As a member of our team, you can also expect:

• Flexible scheduling - We understand that many of our employees are trying to juggle school, practice, family time, errands and personal hobbies, all with only about 16 hours of awake time in a day.
• Recognition - We celebrate a culture of recognition, encouraging employees to recognize and thank one another for remarkable behavior. We even have an app for that!
• Growth Opportunities - We're always looking for motivated, high-potential employees who want to be part of our next generation of leaders! There are opportunities to grow within our company to positions you may not yet even know exist. Coborn's, Inc. offers a variety of development programs for employees who want to grow their careers with us.

Our culture celebrates employee ideas and encourages creative innovations. We're growing, learning, and overflowing with energy. In a dynamic atmosphere that welcomes diversity, we are investing in our employees, along with the growth of our company. We invite you to join us in carrying out our vision to "Be Remarkable!" Apply today!

Starting pay is determined based on several factors, which can include the candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, education, and geographic area.

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