Category Manager- Christmas (Lighting, Trees & Decorative Categories)

Position: Category Manager – Christmas (Lighting, Trees & Decorative Categories)

Location:  Enfield (3 days per week) with 2 days per week based at a local centre

Reporting to: Head of Department

Are you a commercially driven Category Manager with a passion for seasonal retail and delivering profitable, high-impact ranges? We are looking for a Category Manager – Christmas to take end-to-end ownership of our Christmas Lighting, Trees, Indoor Animation, Wreaths and Garlands categories.

This is a newly created role, driven by continued business growth and an increased focus on commerciality, sell-through and profit delivery. You will play a key role in shaping a category that delivers strong performance, a clear point of difference, and consistent execution across 52 stores.

Why Join Us?

Blue Diamond is the leading name in Garden Centre retail, celebrated for our commitment to quality, style, and exceptional customer experience. We believe in nurturing talent, providing growth opportunities, and celebrating our team's successes.

Blue Diamond is the UK’s largest Garden Centre Group in terms of turnover, having grown from £187 million in 2019 to over £400 million in 2025. With 52 centres across the UK and Channel Islands, we are constantly evolving and expanding — and we want YOU to grow with us.

Our target demographic is AB1 customers, and we attract this calibre of customer through inspirational retailing with a clear point of difference — style, emotion and innovation — alongside exceptional customer service.

Our Managing Director, Alan Roper, has led the Group since 1999, and we are proud of our strong staff retention, empowered culture, and focus on long-term careers.

The Role:

As Category Manager – Christmas, you will have full ownership of a high-value, highly visible seasonal category, from initial range development through to in-season trading and post-season analysis.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• End-to-end category ownership from sourcing (domestic and FOB) through to in-season trading

• Cost price negotiation, EPOS cost landing and retail price setting

• Curating commercially strong, customer-led ranges in collaboration with the Head of Department and Category Committee

• Building clear, shopable ranges with improved SKU efficiency

• Creating store best practice alongside Visual Merchandising and Store Support teams

• Monitoring sell-through, rate of sale and weekly trading performance throughout the season

• Leading detailed end-of-season, SKU-level reviews analysing sell-through, sales, margin and profit to inform future range decisions

Commercial Accountability:

• Ownership of the category budget

• Forecasting and intake planning in partnership with the Head of Department

• Weekly trading ownership, identifying risks and opportunities in season

• Delivering against profit, margin and sell-through targets (target 80% sell-through)

• Driving profit growth through improved rate of sale, margin optimisation and supplier strategy

• Reducing residual stock through clearer ranging and proactive in-season decision-making

Supplier & Sourcing Responsibility:

• Direct supplier management and commercial negotiation

• FOB sourcing as a core part of the role, alongside domestic supply

• Building strong supplier partnerships to improve margin, availability and differentiation

• Developing ranges with a clear focus on customer need, innovation and commercial performance

About You

We are looking for someone who is:

Essential:

• An experienced Category Manager within retail

• Commercially minded, with proven ownership of sales, margin and stock KPIs

• Highly confident using Excel and data to drive decisions

• Comfortable presenting trading performance to senior stakeholders

• Able to work at pace and manage ambiguity

• Ownership-led, with an entrepreneurial mindset

Desirable:

• Experience in multi-site retail

• Background in seasonal or fast-paced trading environments

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary

• Generous staff discount

• A high level of autonomy and influence

• Exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making

• A dynamic, growth-focused environment that values commercial thinking and accountability