Director Private Brands

Looking for a company that treats associates with respect, understanding, and appreciation? Looking for a company that is passionate about teamwork and the growth of it's associates and communities? That's WEIS!

1000 S. 2nd Street

Job Description:

The Director of Private Brands is pivotal in driving sales growth, increasing margins, and enhancing customer loyalty through a strong, differentiated private brand portfolio to create a competitive advantage and differentiate Weis Markets in the retail grocery marketplace. The director is responsible for building and maintaining strong working relationships with multiple business units within the organization as well as external suppliers to manage the private brand development and sourcing process to aid in the stability and growth of the company’s portfolio.

The Director will champion innovation, identify marketplace trends, manage portfolio performance and support new item development to drive profitable growth. This role works closely with merchandising, marketing, advertising, pricing, operations, procurement, and vendor partners to influence strategy, align priorities, and ensure successful execution across the business.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the overall private brand strategy, assortment, innovation pipeline, and packaging portfolio while providing leadership, expertise, and cross-functional influence to support sales, margin, and penetration objectives.
• Manage the private brand portfolio through analysis of sales performance, market trends, customer insights, penetration results, and competitive activity.
• Partner with merchandising directors, category managers, pricing, procurement, marketing, and advertising teams to influence and align on sourcing, creative, pricing, promotional, and execution strategies for fresh and center store private brand items, while direct ownership of those functional activities remains within the respective business areas.
• Oversee private brand packaging design to ensure products and programs meet Weis Markets’ quality, brand, regulatory, and value standards.
• Manage supplier relationships, contractual agreements, external partnerships, and third-party service providers to ensure quality execution, cost effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
• Identify and recommend new item opportunities, product enhancements, and packaging updates that improve assortment productivity, customer relevance, and portfolio performance.
• Develop financial forecasts, monitor performance against budgets and objectives, and recommend actions to improve sales, unit growth, penetration, and profitability.
• Lead innovation efforts through trade shows, market visits, supplier engagement, product evaluations, and competitive market reviews.
• Foster a collaborative, results-oriented team environment that promotes accountability, partnership, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Education, Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, merchandising or a related field required.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in category management, private brands or merchandising with progressive levels of responsibility.
• Thorough understanding of retail operations, preferably within the supermarket or grocery industry.
• Experience managing a private brand portfolio, including product development, supplier relationships, packaging, sourcing, procurement, and promotional planning.
• Demonstrates strategic thinking and long-term planning capabilities, leveraging creativity and innovation to differentiate private brands in a competitive marketplace.
• Strong merchandising and field operations background in a customer-focused environment, with a proven track record of delivering financial results.
• Proven ability to develop productive partnerships with co-ops, suppliers, brokers, and third-party vendors to drive efficiency, enhance service levels, and maximize value.
• Strong negotiation and vendor management skills, with a comprehensive understanding of the supplier community.
• Demonstrated knowledge of P&L management, budget development, forecasting, and business performance analysis.
• Working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local regulations related to product development, labeling, packaging, sourcing, and retail food operations preferred.
• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoin