Assistant Manager – Merchandising (OB)

Role Description

The Assistant Manager – Merchandising oversees the end‑to‑end product creation cycle for athleisure and knitwear categories. The role integrates trend insights, material expertise, vendor management, and commercial planning to deliver high‑performance, margin‑optimized assortments aligned with brand identity.

Key Responsibilities
1. Product Development & Line Building

• Build and execute seasonal line plans aligned with brand direction, trend analysis, and margin goals.

• Lead end‑to‑end development across knit and athleisure categories such as polyester interlock tees, double‑knit joggers, fleece‑back hoods, ribbed sets, and mesh performance layers.

• Conduct wear‑tests and evaluate pilling grade (4+), stretch recovery, shrinkage (±3%), breathability, and silhouette stability.

• Drive prototype → fit → PP → TOP stages ensuring zero calendar slippage.

2. Vendor Management & Production Execution

• Manage domestic and international vendors for sampling, costing, fit approvals, and bulk execution.

• Negotiate pricing, MOQs, lead times, and construction efficiencies while maintaining brand quality standards.

• Maintain structured documentation for proto, size‑set, PP, TOP, trims, and fabric approvals.

• Track vendor capacity, performance scores, and allocate styles based on capability mapping.

3. Costing & Commercial Ownership

• Build detailed cost sheets including fabric, trims, labor, overheads, duties, logistics, and landed cost.

• Achieve margin targets through GSM optimization, yarn selection, yield improvement, and consumption accuracy.

• Identify seasonal cost‑saving levers such as fabric consolidation and gauge optimization.

• Collaborate with Finance on simulations and seasonal profitability reviews.

4. Fabrication & Material Development

• Source and develop performance knits including polyester interlock, mesh knits, rib structures, fleece‑back knits, and poly‑spandex blends.

• Maintain swatch library with GSM, yarn content, pilling rating, shrinkage %, stretch %, recovery %, and cost.

• Ensure all materials pass testing: pilling ≥ grade 4, shrinkage ≤ ±3%, colorfastness, seam strength, and recovery thresholds.

• Align with Design to match materials with silhouette intent, functionality, and cost direction.

5. Governance, Compliance & Cross‑Functional Alignment

• Maintain lifecycle dashboards for visibility across development, production, and approvals.

• Enforce structured approval stages for fits, fabrics, trims, PP, and TOP.

• Partner with Supply Chain, Retail, E‑commerce, and Marketing to align assortment strategy and product stories.

• Ensure 100% accuracy of tech packs, BOMs, costing sheets, and development trackers.

Core KPIs (Quantifiable)

• 95%+ On‑Time Delivery across prototypes, fits, PP, TOP, and bulk approvals.

• Achieve planned gross margins through accurate costing, negotiation efficiency, and consumption optimization.

• Seasonal cost reduction of 3–5% through fabric consolidation, gauge optimization, and yield improvements.

• Vendor performance score ≥85% for on‑time delivery, sample accuracy, quality, and responsiveness.

• Reduce markdowns by 8–12% and improve inventory turns through data‑driven line planning.

• Zero tolerance quality metrics: Pilling grade ≥4, shrinkage ±3%, stretch recovery meeting category standards.

• 100% compliance of all fabrics and trims with testing, documentation, and pre‑booking approvals.

Minimum Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in Merchandising/Product Development for sportswear, athleisure, or knitwear.

• Strong knowledge of performance knit constructions, polyester blends, trims, GSM mapping, and garment engineering.

• Proficiency in Excel, PLM systems, costing tools, and data interpretation.

• Excellent communication, vendor negotiation, and project management skills.

• Strong aesthetic sense for modern athleisure silhouettes and technical materials.

• Detail‑oriented, structured, and comfortable working in fast‑paced, high‑growth environments.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: Rs100,000.00 - Rs150,000.00 per month

Work Location: In person