Director Product Management, Apparel & Accessories
(Business Unit - Originals L.A.)

Area adidas brands
Department BU Originals, Basketball & Partnerships
Direct Reporting Line SVP, General Manager - BU Originals L.A.
Location Los Angeles, CA
GSMS Grade M2
Number of Personnel Managed 1-5

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization
Recognize sport, lifestyle, consumer, & cultural insights – especially those uniquely relevant to women & diverse communities
Heavily influence overall Originals L.A. Apparel & Accessories product category direction and drive its implementation across product development, creation, & life cycle franchise management
Evolve strategies to tactical plans for effective consumer and cultural adoption
Steer a cross-functional product creation team to deliver the category vision, capitalizing on white-space opportunities
Lead and develop the Apparel & Accessories category team and cross-functional colleagues
Support the Footwear category team across head-to-toe collections and range plans across women’s and unisex lifestyle collections

Key Responsibilities
Manage a team and develop their functional and social skills using available resources to create a top performing Originals L.A. Apparel & Accessories team
Set and manage strategic Apparel & Accessories category direction; ensure cross-functional alignment across key KPIs, i.e. margin, sell-thru, ideal range size, net sales, market share, etc.
Identify new business opportunities to drive innovation and / or commerciality across key consumer segments and retail channels
Develop an "Win As One" within the team to ensure smooth cooperation with cross-functional departments across Design, Development, Merchandising, Sales, & Brand Communications
Have full understanding of the product creation process to drive it forward
Be a role model for all team members by co-developing and sharing strategic direction and the product creation process best practices
Show leadership through living the brand values while fostering an empathetic and strong performance culture
Challenge the cross-functional team to ensure creation of industry leading products and optimized operational models
Analyse and report category business performance to ensure achievement of category KPIs
Positively represent the category both internally and externally
Work with the CtC (Concept to Consumer), Brand Marketing, Culture Marketing, and Sports Marketing teams throughout the season to define strategic product marketing & franchise direction and Talent involvement when needed
Be a competent partner for category and ranging discussions with markets, sales leads, and retailers
Define projects to optimize category performance and steer to conclusion
Build an understanding of product information systems and interdependent internal functions to align on timelines and creation milestones

Authorities
Personnel managed – yes

Key Relationships
Steer a strong relationship and ensure constant dialogue/feedback with
Apparel & Accessories category across all functions, including alignment with other categories and creation centers, when applicable
Cross-functional team (Design, Development, CtC, Materials, Costing, Planning)
Markets and relevant key retailers
Originals Apparel and Footwear global leads

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Manage a team to create industry leading products
Inspire, coach and lead; set framework for performance and growth
In-depth knowledge of respective product category
Advanced analytical skills, be solution driven and result oriented, strong business orientation
Ability to thrive in a fast paced environment
Strong communication skills
Lateral thinking and challenge status quo
Profound consumer, market, and retail knowledge…especially unique needs and interests of female & diverse consumers
Step up to conflicts and work towards a diplomatic solution
Execute change management
Cooperate effectively to maintain and develop trustful relationships
Ability to travel
Passion for sports, women’s fashion & lifestyle category, streetwear, music & culture

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:
College degree, preferably in marketing/business/textile/fashion
Minimum of 7 years Product Marketing experience with Apparel, Accessories, & Footwear or comparable lifestyle product creation background
Experience in managing and developing direct reports
Strong leadership skills
Experience in trade or sales is helpful
Fluent in English
Strong understanding of North American & global streetwear, athleisure, & fashion industry & trends
PC skills (MS Office programs & related Project Management tools)