Senior Product Manager – Apparel & Fashion

Next Sourcing Limited; Gurugram District; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Next Sourcing Limited is seeking a Senior Product Manager to lead a team of PMs and designers, owning select product categories and delivering cohesive, high-quality seasonal ranges. You will work with UK Buying and Design teams to align product offers with customer needs, while ensuring deadlines and critical path milestones are met.

Candidates must have extensive apparel/fashion industry background, with emphasis on women’s woven apparel.

Qualifications

• Mandatory background in apparel/fashion design, garment buying, or fashion product development for UK market.
• Experience in women’s woven apparel is highly preferred.
• Excellent project management and interpersonal skills to develop competitive product offers.
• Strong communication skills with Merchandising and Technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop a cohesive product strategy and seasonal ranges aligned with critical path deadlines.
• Own selected product categories and drive strategy, execution and business outcomes.
• Lead range building from research to supplier engagement and costed product offers.
• Oversee product development timelines, samples, fittings and lead times.
• Coach and develop the team, conduct performance reviews and manage career progression.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and travel to the UK as required.

Skills

Product strategy

Team leadership

Merchandising

Project management

English communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

We’re so much more than just a British retailer. From Istanbul to Shanghai, our Sourcing teams live

and work in some of the most iconic cities in the world.

They're at the heart of finding, developing and delivering the apparel our customers love, wear and use every day. Located across the globe, our Next Sourcing teams specialise in all different parts of the sourcing operation, from design to product development. If you’ve always wanted to live and work abroad, this is the opportunity you’ve been looking for.

From identifying new trends to sourcing exciting new suppliers, our Product Managers are there to

lend expert direction at every stage of the design process.

This is senior position in the company and reports into the General Manager. You will manage and guide a team of PMs, APM, designer and a Sample Room Supervisor. In addition to managing the team, the role will directly own and manage selected product categories, similar to other Product Managers, ensuring successful product strategy, execution, and business outcomes.

Responsibility:

Please Note: This role requires extensive knowledge of fashion range building. Do not apply if you do not have a background in the apparel industry.

Strategy and Key Accountabilities

• Develop a product strategy that delivers cohesive and exciting, high quality seasonal product ranges in line with critical path deadlines.
• Set sales budgets for each relevant product category / department.
• Establish a strategy to achieve the sales target.
• Monitor status of sales against the budget on a continual basis and make strategic adjustments as necessary.

Range Building

• Conduct research, gather data, analyse competition and capture customer requirements to identify gaps in the company’s offer, address critical success factors, and key issues in determining which products to bring to market
• Work with the UK Buying and Design teams to understand the needs of the Customer. Use this information and your understanding of the Product Offer from the Country / Region to develop strategies to grow the business further

Product Development

• Stay updated with UK fashion trends and product direction of our customer. This will involve regular travel to the UK (and inspirational travel elsewhere) and communications with UK Buying and Design teams.
• Work with category teams to ensure that initial sample, final ‘salesman’ samples and critical path development deadlines are adhered.
• Manage the product offer from the Country / Region. This will require developing a good understanding of local mills and garment makers in terms of their product range, prices and lead times to ensure we have a competitive edge.
• Fabric being key, constantly look at fabric developments and sourcing to ensure a great range of textured to basic fabric is offered to the customer throughout each season.
• Manage the strategy and critical path to give direction to internal designers, heading sketch reviews, fabric selections and proto fitting to ensure strategic balance in the range along with beautiful ready-to-buy developments.

Team Development

• Work with the Merchandising and Technical teams within the local office to ensure the Product Offer is backed-up by excellent service and quality. In particular, development samples and price quotes must always be fast and accurate.
• Work with fashion designers to develop their wider business vision, encouraging shared thinking and ideas regarding sourcing, range building and creativity; help them to understand the importance of working with various business partners.
• Coach and motivate team members to work efficiently and maintain high levels of quality in their range development and everything they do
• Set expectations and standards for attitude, behaviour and teamwork within the category teams
• Manage the functions and career development of team members by conducting Performance Reviews and recommending changes to team structure and roles if required

Relationships and Communications

• Ensure Customer visits to the Country / Region are well prepared
• Plan to visit the customer in the UK minimum 3 times a year to offer new products from the country / region.
• Develop strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders and suppliers
• Attend and conduct product overviews at Business Review Meetings as and when required
• MANDATORY: Proven background in apparel/fashion design, garment buying, or fashion product development for the UK market. Applicants without direct experience in the fashion or textile industry will not be considered.
• Experience specifically in women’s woven apparel is highly preferred
• Excellent project management and interpersonal skills to develop strategies to offer the brand a competitive edge
• Excellent communication skills to work with the Merchandising and Technical teams to ensure the excellent Product Offer
• Strong calibre to push the sales business and work on price
• Resourceful, energetic, analytical and competent
• Loads of energy, real self-starter and great problem solver
• Proficient in both written and spoken English