Category Head/Product Head/Business Head - Retail/Textile

Category Head/ Head of Product/ Head of Business

Description: This role owns the commercial engine of the brand.

Core Responsibilities:

Merchandising Rulebook & Product Architecture:

Define and implement clear SKU classification:

- Core / Volume / Newness / Fashion / Experimental

- Build price ladders by category, silhouette, and channel

- Define depth vs width logic by line and channel

Create rules for:

- When a SKU becomes core

- When a SKU is scaled, replenished, discounted, or exited

- Eliminate emotional decision-making through systems

Channel-wise Assortment Strategy (D2C / Marketplaces / Retail):

- Decide which products go where and why

Build hard rules for:

- Marketplace accelerators vs brand builders

- D2C and retail exclusives

- Discount ceilings by channel and SKU type

- Protect brand while maintaining marketplace rank and volume

- Ensure channel conflict is controlled, not accidental

Sales, Margin & Inventory Ownership:

- Own key commercial metrics:

- Sell-through %

- Weeks of cover

- GMROI

- Markdown efficiency

- CM2 contribution

- Balance growth vs profitability with discipline

- Drive inventory health and prevent cash lock-ins

- Decide markdowns proactively, not reactively

OTB Planning & Replenishment Systems:

- Build and run channel-wise OTB plans

Decide:

- Initial buy depth

- Replenishment triggers

- Seasonal vs evergreen buys

- Align buying decisions with supply lead times

- Work closely with supply chain to ensure availability without overbuying

Operating Cadence, SOPs & Systems:

Establish weekly and monthly review cadences, including:

- Weekly Business Review (WBR)

- Trade & Sell-through Review

- Monthly Range & OTB Review

- S&OP alignment with supply chain

- Build SOPs and working tools (not decks):

- Product master & SKU tagging

- Channel tagging & discount guardrails

- Replenishment & exit logic

- Ensure systems survive beyond individuals

Team Enablement & Decision Frameworks:

- Train and upskill merchandising and planning teams

- Define decision rights and approval thresholds

- Act as a commercial thought partner to the founder

- Build a culture of data-backed merchandising discipline

Who This Role Is For (Must-Have Background):

You are likely:

- A Category Head / Head of Merchandising / Business Head

- From Myntra, Reliance Retail, Aditya Birla Fashion, Landmark Group, Shoppers Stop, Tata Cliq, AJIO, or a scaled fashion brand

- Someone who has owned sales, margin, and inventory together

- Comfortable working hands-on, building systems from scratch