Location: Markham, Ontario

Job Description:

At Pet Valu we understand that your pet is a part of the family because we’re devoted pet lovers too. We have been providing pets with everything they need to live healthy, happy, and active lives for more than 40 years.  

 

Our employees are the key to our success! As a growing organization, our employees apply their creativity and innovative ideas as they take ownership of their projects and growth. We pride ourselves in providing an open environment by managing with approachability and providing support to allow for career development.  

 

From distribution centers to stores to home office, we're supporting pets and their owners, and together we're making a difference! 

Job Summary

Top Executive with overall responsibility for merchandising, private brands development, and inventory demand and replenishment for the entire organization. Oversees, plan, and directs all aspects of a retail organization’s merchandise buying activities. Develops overall product assortment strategies to meet customer demand, maximize sales and profiles.  Establishes and maintains programs, procedures, and guidelines to ensure brand and financial objectives are achieved.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Safety – Operate in a way that builds trust with our customers, pets, and ACEs.Make the physical and mental safety of team, others, and customers a top priorityEnsure an inclusive environment for team, others, and customers to feel safe asking questions without judgementFollow the safety requirements of the role to ensure a safe workplace for self and teamEnsure the safety of the products sourced

Compassion – Communicate and act from the heart with genuine care and courtesy.  Models compassion for each other and our pets

Expertise – Provide knowledge in an understanding and informative way. Long range planning and development of merchandising strategiesDevelopment of sales promotion plansDirecting team in the purchase and pricing of merchandiseDevelopment of private brands portfolioOversee layout plans for stores and maintain store shelves and inventoryAccurately forecasts profits/sales and plan budgetsAnalyze market trends to anticipate product needsOversee monitoring of stock movement and consider markdowns, promotions, price changes, clear outsBuild strategic relationships and team with channel partners to build pipeline and negotiate dealsRemain up to date with industry’s best practices

Efficiency – Use time and resources responsibly.Ensures that work is distributed among the team in the most efficient and productive mannerEnsure that the systems and work flows are working efficientlyDevelopment of tools that ensure productivity

Skills, Experience, Education, Certifications

Proven experience leading merchandising departments or retailers in similar categoriesUp-to-date with the latest merchandising trends, technologies and best practicesExcellent verbal and written communications skillsStrong listening, presentation and decision making skillsCommercial acumen and the ability to understand our customersFinancial analysis and budgeting skillsBS degree or MBA preferredBrand management skills preferred

Competencies

Building Effective Teams
Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.Strategic Agility
Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.Process Management
Good at figuring out the processes necessary to get things done; knows how to organize people and activities; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient work flow; knows what to measure and how to measure it; can see opportunities for synergy and integration where others can't; can simplify complex processes; gets more out of fewer resources.Problem Solving
Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers.Customer Focus
Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.

Pet Valu is the largest specialty retailer of pet food and supplies in Canada, with over 700 store locations across the country.  

 

The Pet Valu family of stores includes Pet Valu, Paulmac's Pet Food, Bosley's, Tisol and Total Pet and together we are one of the largest retail operations in North America dedicated to providing families with food and supplies for dogs, cats, companion birds, wild birds, fish, reptiles and small animals.  

All of our stores are dedicated to helping local pets in need, and we partner with local shelters, rescues and charities for adoption events, in-store adoption (select stores only) and pet food bank programs, as well as through our national donation drives and fundraising campaigns.  

 

At Pet Valu, we're Pet Experts, and we're pet lovers, too.