Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:
Establish and manage the Lifestyle & SEA apparel operations in Asia, ensuring strategic alignment and implementation across functions according to the overall Business Unit and Brand direction. Develop industry-leading creative solutions for assigned concepts or categories to create a highly relevant, desirable, and clear adidas brand image, from sell-in to sellout (consumer-facing). Focus on Inline, Speed & Rapid Creation opportunities to align with customer behavior and market trends. Leverage factory proximity to optimize processes. Collaborate on technical aspects, materials, and speed to market, driving efficiency and margins. Manage projects and cross-functional interactions with HQ Design, Product Marketing, PD&S, T1 & T2 ensuring strategic alignment and effective implementation. While supporting the implementation of a carryover strategy for Lifestyle.
Key Responsibilities:
- Change agent /management: Be an integral part of a team that will continue to evaluate and evolve the end-to-end process for this new operating model, emphasizing strong partnerships and collaboration with suppliers. Pilot new ways of working, ensuring seamless integration and optimization of processes to enhance speed, efficiency, and product value.
- Manage M-3 systems with information that helps take a product/concept through the creation and Go-to-Market process, own FOB target setting and GIM for SEA projects.
- Take ownership from HQ following customer approval, leading the end-to-end product execution through commercialization while safeguarding design intent, quality, cost, and delivery timelines.
- Participate and coordinate large groups/meetings, whether from HQ or with sourcing/T1/T2 partners. Ensure effective communication, agenda setting, and follow-up actions. Drive alignment on project goals, timelines, and deliverables. Address and resolve any issues or roadblocks. Foster collaboration and maintain strong relationships across all stakeholders to achieve strategic objectives.
- Research and formulates options to deliver price/value whilst maintaining core product brief through allocation and best practice on previous collections.
- Consumer & Market Research - analyse market trends, gathering consumer insights, collaborating with Markets & key accounts, identifying gaps, and developing strategic plans.
- Manages and develops relations with T2 supply base to support localization, speed to market, meeting material pricing targets and materials quality. Work closely with material team to build a best in class toolbox.
- Close relationship and working with T1 generating new working practices to advance delivery against timelines
- Generates and provides technical support and training for junior members participating in STA/LTA.
- Devises and drives the product process and leverages allocation blueprint to deliver new material and design innovation while meeting gross margin/ profitability objectives
- Nurtures, guides and challenges cross functional departments to ensure product excellence
- Manage tools, range plans and create product overviews during creation processes and communicate changes to all involved partners.
- Create seasonal analysis and present learnings and opportunities.
- Ensures all product milestones are achieved in a fast-paced creation process and establishes better working practices to advance processes
- Develops and improves processes with a goal to drive leading product process with speed and efficiency. Always innovating with speed and flexibility
Key Relationships:
- Global Strategic Hub
- HQ Product Marketing & Design
- PD&S
- Factory Groups
- T2/T3 Suppliers
- Planning
- Materials
- Costing
- Go-To-Market
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Extensive Apparel product knowledge scope across Apparel, Pattern, Apparel construction, Material and Trims, working knowledge of product marketing, costing, materials and how to work best with T1 and T2 suppliers
- Ability to work with and influence all levels of the organization as well as aligning external partners with Core strategy (factory, suppliers)
- Comprehensive knowledge of product life cycle from design sketch phase to ex-factory
- Strong business acumen in channel distribution, net sales, margin, profit and inventory (commercially driven trade channel)
- Thrive in a fast-paced product creation environment
- Knowledge of Apparel concepts in construction/development a necessity
- Excellent analysis & numerical skills with the ability to negotiate
- Seeks to redefine processes and find new and innovative angles to product creation with an emphasis on speed
- Ability to effectively present to large groups, including members of all organizational levels
- Skill in MS Office applications (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word) Co pilot and other AI platforms.
- Ability to travel internationally for T1&T2 supplier visits and internal meetings and presentations
Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:
- University degree or above.
- Minimum 3 years related experience
- Equivalent education and/or experience may be substituted for degree
- Experience in Apparel Product marketing, Development, Sourcing a necessity and an advantage