Category Associate Manager - Marketplace (Accessories) | Hybrid Work Setup

We’re looking for an Associate Manager based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to help accelerate growth within ZALORA’s Accessories category. In this role, you’ll lead and grow ZALORA’s Accessories marketplace business by acquiring accessories brands, optimizing assortment and merchandising, driving supplier partnerships, and managing a team of account managers. You will translate brand expectations into marketplace success — delivering commercial growth, margin expansion, and premium customer experience.

This role is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and follows a hybrid working arrangement.

This is a unique opportunity to influence decisions, shape brand success on ZALORA, and make a real impact in one of Southeast Asia’s leading fashion e-commerce platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Category strategy & assortment planning: Develop and execute the 12–24 month category strategy for accessories (e.g., bags, small leather goods, watches, sunglasses, jewelry), defining assortment gaps to drive revenue, margin and brand credibility.
• Supplier acquisition & negotiation: Identify, pitch and onboard brands for marketplace models. Negotiate commercial terms (commission, margins, returns, marketing co-investment) 
• Account management & brand experience: Own relationship management for strategic accessories suppliers — conduct regular business reviews, present performance insights, advise on assortment and pricing, and ensure premium presentation (content, imagery, brand pages).
• Merchandising & inventory health: Monitor weekly/monthly sales, margin, sell-through, inventory days, and returns. Implement assortment, pricing and promotional levers to improve product performance and inventory turnover.
• Go-to-market & marketing activation: Partner with Marketing and Growth teams to design and execute campaigns (seasonal drops, brand exclusives, boutique launches) and measure ROI. Ensure luxury and accessories supplier participation in ZALORA marketing calendar.
• Competitive & market intelligence: Continuously analyze competitor activity, luxury and accessories market trends, fashion calendar, and pricing strategy to ensure a differentiated and competitive assortment.
• Team leadership & cross-functional collaboration: Lead, coach and develop a team of account managers. Work closely with Buying, Merchant Ops, Content, Logistics, Customer Service, and Finance to deliver brand-level service and seamless customer and seller experience.

Requirements :

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Marketing, Finance, or related field from a reputable university.
• Minimum 4 years in key account management or supplier management in fashion, premium accessories, department stores, or online marketplace retail. 
• Experience working in e-commerce marketplace platforms or multi-country commercial teams.
• Commercial acumen: Strong negotiation skills and experience setting commercial terms (consignment/marketplace); ability to drive margin improvement.
• Analytical skills: High proficiency with MS Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic formulas) and experience interpreting sales, inventory and margin reports.
• Familiarity with marketplace tools (seller onboarding platforms, PIM, OMS) and analytics dashboards.
• Project management: Demonstrated ability to run cross-functional projects (launches, campaigns, onboarding) with tight timelines.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written English; ability to present performance and strategy to senior stakeholders and brand partners.
• Leadership: Experience managing and developing a small team; coaching and performance management skills.
• Personal attributes: Results-driven, detail-oriented, proactive self-starter, and comfortable working in a multicultural fast-paced environment.

The ZALORA Story

ZALORA is Asia’s Online Fashion Destination. Founded in 2012, the company has a presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. ZALORA is part of Global Fashion Group, the world's leader in online fashion for emerging markets. ZALORA offers an extensive collection of top international and local brands and products across apparel, shoes, accessories, and beauty categories for men and women. Offering up to 30-day free returns, speedy deliveries as fast as 3 hours, free delivery over a certain spend, and multiple payment methods including cash-on-delivery, ZALORA is the online shopping destination with endless fashion possibilities.

ZALORA is not obligated to accept resumes from any third parties on behalf of potential candidates for any position (advertised or otherwise) by any means, unless ZALORA has executed a written agreement with such third party and has expressly requested such third party for candidate referrals. Third parties who provide unsolicited resumes of candidate(s) shall waive and forfeit all rights to claim for any placement fees or referral fees in the event that such candidate is eventually engaged or employed by ZALORA or Global Fashion Group