Jeffrey LaLonde most recently worked for SpartanNash in Byron Center, Michigan, where he applied his nearly 8 years of experience as a category analyst. Among Jeffrey LaLonde’s responsibilities as a category analyst for SpartanNash was managing the bi-weekly markdown pricing process as well as facilitating annual category business plan meetings, which led to an average sales increase of 4 percent.
Category management is a specific area in retail and manufacturing focused on managing clusters of items in order to help the company save money in the long term. A key element in category management, the analyst is typically responsible for one or more categories of products, for ensuring the presence of the mix of products within this category, and often, for ensuring that contract terms with different manufacturers are honored.
The category analyst working in a very large company might have additional responsibilities, such as monitoring and reporting of sales performance data, for example. While some companies also have category managers to which the category analyst needs to report, others do not. In this case, the analyst may also be responsible for delivering schedules, negotiating contracts with individual manufacturers and wholesalers, and creating and monitoring a merchandising plan.
Jeffrey LaLonde 