Apparel Department Manager
NHS has been home to the most iconic brands in skateboarding for 50 years. We continue to build on our position as the #1 Skateboard company with our passion for innovation and creativity while leveraging our DNA of the most memorable art in skateboarding’s history. We’re looking for a leader on our Apparel team to take our product from idea to market.
The Role:
We are seeking an Apparel Department Manager at our historic Santa Cruz, CA headquarters. In this role you will lead the apparel development process, ensuring alignment with the brands’ seasonal direction, global business needs, global sourcing capabilities, and quality standards. You will also oversee the apparel purchasing team to ensure an appropriate inventory position. Our brands include Santa Cruz, Independent, Creature, Mob, Bronson, OJ, Slime Balls, Krux, Ricta, and Bullet.
You will foster a collaborative environment that executes on the shared goals of our brands to deliver the most sought-after skate apparel products in the market. You will grow and develop a team, responding rapidly to shifting trends while stewarding the most recognizable brands in the space into the future.
What you will do:
Coach, motivate, and inspire the team. Provide hands-on support to the team in daily tasks.
Lead and implement the development strategy for all apparel categories.
Plan and track the development schedule of all products, including seasonal workload assessment, ensuring the team delivers against the seasonal calendar milestones and product timelines.
Lead sourcing strategy, growing existing relationships and forging new ones.
Be accountable to meet margin and FOB targets and negotiate when needed.
Oversee the Apparel Purchasing team, ensuring appropriate inventory level and turn.
Set the Merchandising strategy through seasonal analysis, planning sku count, maintaining line lists and targeting optimum wholesale price structure.
Support Licensing department with design and sample reviews, ensuring consistency in quality and branding.
What you need to succeed:
6-8 years of experience in Apparel Product Development, Purchasing, and/or Merchandising with 3-4 years of experience in people management.
Demonstrating knowledge of fit, construction expertise, and knowledge of manufacturing processes and cost.
Proficient PC skills (MS package, Adobe Illustrator)
Demonstrated aptitude in process improvement and problem solving.
Excellent communication skills (oral and written), strong interactive skills, collaborative approach to work.
What's in it For You:
We offer competitive salaries based on experience with an incentive program for recognizing and rewarding goal achievement. We want our employees to share in the success of the company, so we offer a profit-sharing program that provides a portion of the company's profits to employees. We know the importance of maintaining good health and offer a range of health benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as a wellness program and paid time off. Our 401(k) plan with matching contributions helps employees plan for the future. We also offer an employee discount program for all NHS products and many industry partners.
Salary Range:
This compensation package will be dependent on experience, qualifications, industry experience and the interview with a potential range of up to $100,000 to $120,000