Category Lead - Accessories
1000 Brompton Bicycle Ltd
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Brompton Bicycle seeks a Category Lead — Accessories to own the global accessories and clothing category, from strategy and range planning to partnerships and pricing. You’ll work with product, brand, marketing and regional teams to drive profitable growth while maintaining Brompton’s design-led, premium positioning.
This senior role requires strong commercial acumen, cross‑functional leadership and a track record in branded lifestyle or cycling products.
Qualifications
- Significant commercial experience managing a branded accessories, apparel or lifestyle product category.
- Proven ownership of category P&L, including revenue, margin and cost lines.
- Experience setting pricing, promotional and markdown strategy across multiple markets.
- Experience in premium, design-led or lifestyle consumer brands.
- Background in the cycling, outdoor, or sports industry.
Responsibilities
- Define and lead the global Accessories category strategy, including range architecture and brand partnerships.
- Translate strategy into category-level commitments across markets.
- Lead consumer and market trend research to identify new product opportunities.
- Develop pricing architecture and margin strategy across the category.
- Sponsor partnerships and licensing opportunities and manage relationships end-to-end.
- Drive category trading performance in online store and flagship retail locations; monitor revenue, margin and sell-through.
Skills
Education
Job description
Brompton Bicycle is a British icon. Since 1975 we have designed and hand-built the world’s most refined folding bicycle in our London factory, selling in over 45 countries to riders who refuse to compromise between city living and genuine cycling pleasure. We are a company driven by craft, engineering obsession and a belief that urban mobility should be both practical and joyful. As we scale our global ambitions — expanding our product portfolio, entering new markets and investing in our next generation of platforms — we are creating this senior commercial leadership role to own the category that is at the very heart of everything we do.
The Category Lead — Accessories is a leadership role with end-to-end accountability for the global success of Brompton’s Accessories category — spanning bags, luggage, locks, lights, helmets, urban cycling apparel, lifestyle wear and branded gifting. As part of the whole category team under the Go to Market department, you will be the single global owner of category performance, integrating product, brand and partnership inputs into clear commercial decisions that drive profitable, sustainable growth. This is a role for a commercially rigorous, creatively minded leader who is equally comfortable curating a desirable, brand‑enhancing range and holding themselves accountable for near‑term trading performance. You will work across the full commercial cycle — from range architecture and partnership strategy through to pricing, trading and regional execution — influencing senior stakeholders across Product, Brand, Marketing, Retail, eCommerce and regional teams worldwide.
You will define and lead the global Accessories category strategy, making clear choices about where and how Brompton competes.
- Owning the end-to-end commercial strategy for the Accessories and Clothing category, including bags, luggage, locks, lights, helmets, urban cycling apparel, lifestyle wear and branded gifting
- Defining and managing the range architecture — balancing Brompton-designed own‑brand product with carefully curated third‑party brand partnerships — ensuring the full offer is coherent, desirable and profitable
- Translating business strategy into category‑level commercial commitments that are coherent across all markets
You will lead Brompton’s view of the global Accessories market, ensuring commercial decisions are grounded in rigorous insight.
- Conduct consumer and market trend research to identify new product opportunities — drawing on urban fashion trends, cycling culture, sustainability movements and Brompton’s global community
- Translate insight into clear strategic choices about where to compete, where not to compete, and which customer segments and use‑cases to prioritise
- Ensure the category strategy is driven by data and commercial reality, not assumptions
- Identify, evaluate and negotiate strategic brand partnerships and licensing opportunities that complement the Brompton brand, managing relationships with partner brands end‑to‑end
- Develop the pricing architecture and margin strategy across the full category, including promotional planning, seasonal markdowns and clearance protocols
- Challenge and refine range and partnership plans to ensure credibility, consistency, and alignment to category strategy
- Support the expansion of the Accessories and Clothing category into new markets, working with regional commercial teams to adapt the range where necessary for local tastes and climates
- Align regional delivery with global category strategy, working directly with regional leaders to validate plans and identify risks early
- Be the connective tissue between global commercial ambition and local market execution
- Lead the product development process for own‑brand accessories and apparel, collaborating with Brompton’s in‑house design team and external manufacturers to bring new products from concept to market
- Own range structure and complexity management across own‑brand and partner‑brand lines
- Ensure the range remains coherent, differentiated and commercially viable at all times
- Provide clear commercial guardrails to design and partnership discussions — including margin requirements, market timing constraints and demand assumptions
- Lead commercial input into new product and partnership business cases and investment decisions
- Ensure every product and partnership decision is commercially viable, aligned to category strategy, and supported by credible demand
- Drive accessories and clothing performance in the Brompton online store and flagship retail locations, optimising product placement, bundling strategies and cross‑sell opportunities with bicycle purchases
- Monitor category performance through regular trading reviews, tracking revenue, margin, sell‑through, returns and customer ratings, and taking decisive action to manage underperforming lines
- Work closely with Marketing and Brand teams to ensure accessories and clothing are showcased compellingly across all touchpoints — including product photography, social content, in‑store displays and event activations such as Brompton World Championship
- Champion sustainability in product development — working with supply chain and design teams to increase the proportion of sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing in the category
- Ensure partner brands and licensing relationships are held to Brompton’s standards of quality, ethics and sustainability
- Balance commercial performance with Brompton’s broader sustainability commitment
- Final owner of: Accessories category strategy, range architecture, and brand partnership decisions; Pricing, promotional and margin strategy across the category; Product and partnership trade‑offs and exit decisions within the Accessories category.
- Accountable for: Revenue, margin and overall contribution of the Accessories category; Range health — clarity, differentiation, and brand fit; Pricing and promotional discipline and consistency across markets; Commercial success of new product launches and brand partnerships; Trading performance, sell‑through and management of underperforming lines; Quality of regional range adaptation and delivery against targets.
- Design & Product Development Team – Joint owner of new own‑brand product commercial success; Provides commercial guardrails; receives product concepts and development plans
- Brand & Marketing Teams – Aligns range and partnership plans with brand storytelling, content and activation; Works within category positioning and brand guardrails
- Regional Go to Market Teams – Provide market insight and support local range adaptation; Held accountable for delivery against agreed targets
- Retail & eCommerce Teams – Partner on merchandising, bundling and cross‑sell execution; Key channel for category trading performance
- External Brand Partners & Manufacturers – Negotiated and managed end‑to‑end by the Commercial Lead; Key partner on product quality, ethics and delivery; Supply Chain Partner on sourcing, sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing; Provide constraints and capability inputs
- Finance – Financial modelling, financial performance, business case appraisal and provides challenge to the category team
- Commercial Experience: Significant commercial experience managing a branded accessories, apparel or lifestyle product category
- Proven ownership of category P&L, including revenue, margin and cost lines
- Experience setting pricing, promotional and markdown strategy across multiple markets
- Experience in premium, design‑led or lifestyle consumer brands
- Background in the cycling, outdoor, or sports industry
- Range & Partnership Management: Track record managing a broad, multi‑SKU range spanning both hard goods and soft goods
- Experience identifying, negotiating and managing third‑party brand partnerships or licensing agreements
- Skilled at balancing own‑brand development with curated external partnerships
- Experience working across both hardware and apparel/textile supply chains
- Existing network of relevant lifestyle or sports brand contacts
- Product Development: Track record bringing new products to market by collaborating with design, development and supply chain teams
- Comfortable owning a product from concept through to launch and lifecycle management
- Strong aesthetic sensibility aligned to a premium, design‑led brand
- Experience with sustainable materials or ethical manufacturing programmes
- Exposure to apparel or technical product design processes
- Market & Customer Insight: Able to translate consumer and market trend research into concrete range decisions
- Comfortable working with sales and consumer insight data to guide investment
- Understanding of urban lifestyle, cycling culture and sustainability movements relevant to the brand
- Experience commissioning or interpreting primary consumer research
- Knowledge of global urban mobility or lifestyle trends
- Trading & Commercial Operations: Experience running regular trading reviews — revenue, margin, sell‑through, returns
- Able to take decisive action on underperforming lines
- Comfortable owning merchandising, bundling and cross‑sell strategy across online and retail channels
- Experience with DTC/eCommerce channels and digital merchandising tools
- Experience supporting category expansion into new international markets
- Leadership & Influence: Proven ability to work cross‑functionally with design, marketing, retail, eCommerce, supply chain and finance
- Confident managing external partner and supplier relationships end‑to‑end
- Comfortable presenting commercial decisions and category performance to senior stakeholders
- Experience managing direct reports and developing commercial talent
- Exposure to working across both developed and emerging markets
- Communication & Judgement: Clear, concise communicator able to operate with senior stakeholders and external partners; Strong analytical judgement — comfortable making decisions under uncertainty; Able to simplify complexity and create clarity for stakeholders at all levels
- Experience presenting business cases for product or partnership investment
- Education: Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience; MBA or postgraduate business qualification
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to build a diverse and inclusive workforce at our company. At Brompton we aspire to engage with diverse individuals, communities, and organisations in order to continue to nurture a rich diverse culture.
- A competitive salary and performance‑related bonus
- Generous pension contribution
- Private medical insurance
- 25 days' annual leave plus UK public holidays
- A Brompton bicycle through our employee hire scheme (naturally)
- Employee discount on all Brompton products and accessories
- Access to our London headquarters and a vibrant, passionate team
We Take Pride - Quality is born in the details We Build Community - A Brompton brings people together We Are Human - Being ourselves create magic We Are Curious - Inspiration is everywhere We Bring Energy - Our movement and momentum are infectious
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