Category Manager Hardgoods

About Mayesh

Mayesh Wholesale Florist has been a leader in the floral industry since 1938 and family-owned since 1978. With approximately 400 team members and locations across multiple states, we provide fresh flowers, floral supplies, and hardgoods to professional florists and floral businesses nationwide.

As Mayesh continues to grow, we are investing in stronger purchasing strategies, smarter inventory management, and consistent product offerings across our branches. Join us in shaping the future of our hardgoods category and making a measurable impact on our business.

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the Category & Purchasing Manager – Hardgoods leads the strategy, purchasing, and performance of Mayesh’s hardgoods and floral supplies category across multiple locations. This role combines strategic sourcing, vendor negotiations, product assortment planning, pricing, inventory optimization, and data-driven decision-making to improve profitability, product availability, and operational consistency.

Working closely with Branch Managers, Hardgoods Leads, Operations, and Business Systems, this position establishes purchasing standards, strengthens supplier partnerships, and builds scalable processes that support company growth, new branch openings, and acquisitions.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Product Management

• Develop and execute category strategies that drive sales growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
• Manage product assortment, pricing, promotions, and product lifecycle decisions.
• Research market trends, competitor offerings, and emerging products relevant to professional florists.
• Identify opportunities to expand high-performing products and eliminate underperforming items.

Purchasing & Inventory Optimization

• Oversee purchasing strategies, replenishment practices, forecasting, and inventory investment across branches.
• Improve inventory turns, product availability, and working capital while minimizing excess, obsolete, and slow-moving stock.
• Establish consistent purchasing guidelines and recommend appropriate stock levels based on demand and seasonality.
• Coordinate with branches to balance inventory, reduce stockouts, and improve fulfillment.

Vendor & Supplier Relationships

• Develop and maintain strategic supplier partnerships.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, freight, rebates, volume discounts, and promotional programs.
• Evaluate supplier performance, product quality, lead times, and reliability.
• Identify alternative sourcing opportunities and mitigate supply chain risks.

SKU Governance & Standardization

• Manage company-wide SKU creation, product data, naming conventions, units of measure, and assortment standards.
• Review new product requests, substitutions, and assortment exceptions.
• Partner with Operations and Business Systems to maintain accurate product data and improve purchasing processes.

Branch Partnership & Leadership Reporting

• Collaborate with Branch Managers and Hardgoods Leads to improve merchandising, purchasing practices, and category performance.
• Visit branches as needed to assess inventory, identify opportunities, and support training.
• Develop and report key performance indicators, including sales, gross margin, inventory turns, stock availability, and vendor performance.
• Present data-driven recommendations to executive leadership and support new branch openings and acquisitions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in category management, purchasing, merchandising, inventory management, or strategic sourcing.
• Experience negotiating vendor contracts, pricing, and supplier programs.
• Proven ability to analyze sales, margins, inventory, and purchasing data to drive business results.
• Experience managing large product assortments or SKU portfolios across multiple locations.
• Proficiency with ERP, inventory management, and reporting systems; NetSuite experience is a plus.
• Strong communication, negotiation, analytical, and project management skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive change without direct authority.
• Experience in floral, wholesale distribution, retail, agricultural products, or related industries preferred.
• Willingness to travel periodically to branch locations and suppliers.

What Success Looks Like

• Improved gross margins and purchasing profitability.
• Higher inventory turns and reduced excess or obsolete inventory.
• Stronger supplier performance and more favorable purchasing terms.
• Consistent product assortments, pricing practices, and SKU data across branches.
• Better product availability and support for branch growth.

Why Join Mayesh?

At Mayesh, you’ll have the opportunity to take ownership of a key business category and influence purchasing and inventory strategy across a growing, multi-location organization. You’ll work directly with executive leadership and collaborate with teams throughout the business to turn insights into measurable results.

We value initiative, collaboration, and continuous improvement. This is an opportunity to make a lasting impact on how we source, manage, and deliver the products that professional florists depend on every day.

Benefits include:

Health insurance, Dental insurance, Vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan