Category Manager

Name of the Company: KISAH Apparels Pvt Ltd Job Description: Category Manager Function: Business / Merchandising Reporting To: Co-founder / CBO Role Level: Manager / Senior Manager (based on experience)

About Us: Kisah is a fast-growing men’s fashion brand redefining occasion-wear for Next-Gen and Gen Z consumers. Born digital, Kisah is now scaling as an omnichannel brand with presence across e commerce, D2C, offline retail, both in India and globally. Our edge lies in bold, unique, and fashion-forward designs that reflect the evolving tastes of young consumers—while staying simple, comfortable, and affordable.

Role Purpose The Category Manager owns end-to-end growth of assigned category/categories at Kisah. This role is responsible for demand forecasting, pricing, new launches, and seasonal planning, backed by a deep understanding of customers, regions, and buying behaviour. The Category Manager is the business owner of the category P&L, working closely with BI, supply planning, design, marketing, and operations to drive sustainable, profitable growth.

Key Responsibilities 1. Category Growth & P&L Ownership • Own GMV, net revenue, margins, sell-through, and inventory turns for the category • Drive profitable growth across D2C, marketplaces, retail, and quick commerce • Identify growth levers by channel, region, price band, and product type 2. Demand Forecasting & Supply Alignment • Own SKU-level and style-level demand forecasts • Work with BI to translate historical sales, seasonality, and trends into forecasts • Partner with supply planning to: o Avoid stock-outs on winners o Control excess inventory on slow movers • Continuously improve forecast accuracy through learning loops 3. Pricing, Discounting & Margin Strategy • Define pricing architecture by: o Channel o Region o Occasion & season • Plan discounting strategy across full price, events, clearance, and end-of-season • Balance growth vs margin while maintaining brand positioning 4. New Launch & Range Planning • Plan season-wise launch calendars in collaboration with design and supply • Define: o Number of styles o Depth per style o Size and color mix • Track new launch performance and activate early reorders or corrections 5. Customer & Market Understanding (Core Differentiator) • Develop a deep understanding of the category customer: o Who they are o Why they buy from Kisah o Price sensitivity o Regional preferences o Occasion-led demand • Analyze returns, cancellations, and customer feedback to identify product gaps • Translate customer insights into actionable product and pricing decisions 6. Seasonal & Campaign Planning • Own category-level planning for: o Key festivals o Micro-events (Eid, Rakhi, Onam, wedding season, etc.) o Clearance & liquidation events • Work with growth, marketing, and merchandising teams to ensure: o Right assortment o Right pricing o Right inventory availability 7. Cross-Functional Collaboration • Work closely with: o BI – for data enablement and forecasting o Design – for product inputs and range correction o Supply Chain – for production planning and replenishment o Growth & Merchandising – for visibility and conversion • Act as the single point of accountability for category performance Key Metrics (What Success Looks Like) • Category GMV growth • Sell-through % • Inventory turns & aging • Forecast accuracy (MAPE) • Gross margin % • Return & cancellation rates • New launch success rate

Skills & Competencies Must-Have • Extremely analytical & data-driven • Strong business and logical thinking • Comfortable working with large datasets and dashboards • Excellent Excel / Google Sheets skills • Ability to connect numbers with customer behaviour Good-to-Have • Experience in fashion / lifestyle / ecommerce categories • Understanding of demand planning & inventory economics • Exposure to BI tools (Power BI / Tableau / Looker) Experience & Background • 5–7 years experience in category management, merchandising, or business roles • Experience in ecommerce, D2C, marketplaces, or retail strongly preferred • Prior experience owning category-level decisions is a big plus What This Role Is NOT • Not a reporting or dashboard role • Not a design-only or buying-only role • This is a business ownership role powered by data

Why Join Kisah • Opportunity to build categories at scale, not just manage them • High ownership, high impact role with direct influence on revenue • Strong BI backbone enabling smart decision-making • Fast-growing brand with ambition to scale 5–6x over the next few years One-Line Summary (Internal) The Category Manager is the CEO of their category owning growth, demand, pricing, launches, and customer understanding.