Manager - Sourcing (Apparel)

Deeply ingrain into the role of understanding the Max brand & target customer for whom we are catering to.
Drive, develop, implement, and manage sourcing strategies in order to meet the company objectives relating to quality, volume, delivery, and cost of sourced products.
Build and maintain business relationships between Max Sourcing, its vendors, and other internal and external stakeholders are maintained at the highest level of trust and integrity in order to achieve desired performance outcomes.
Be a key contributor to growth and profitability by gaining a full understanding of its business potential, anticipating requirements, and proposing cost-based solutions to achieve required objectives.
Strategically manage globally assigned cost drivers and develop an E2E costing framework to enable saving opportunities and ensure cost optimization by creating a fact based and predictable costing environment, specific to optimize product value and align target and cost of products.
Support development or enhancement of systems and process to ensure costing requirements are met and to improve costing performance.
Develop strong relationships with the relevant Buying and Design team to ensure the sourcing strategy is fully aligned with the needs of the brand.
Form and maintain the appropriate organizational structures for end-to-end process performance. Identify and develop future talent and ensure appropriate leadership skills are present at every level through effective motivation, coaching, training, and development of direct reports and teams in the location.

Roles & responsibilities

1) Strategy & Governance

Own the COGS savings strategy by category and country of origin, aligned to pricing and margin goals.

Set annual/quarterly savings targets (hard & soft) and convert them into a prioritized pipeline with clear owners and timelines.

Establish governance rhythm

2) Savings Pipeline & Execution

Build and maintain a living pipeline of initiatives with quantified baselines, expected benefit, and milestones.

Drive stage-gated execution (identify validate pilot scale sustain) and remove roadblocks early.

Ensure benefits realization tracking with Finance sign-off and SKU-level linkages where applicable.

3) Cost Engineering & Should-Cost (Digital)

Create should-cost models (materials, trims, CM, overheads, logistics) for top styles/categories.

Benchmark process times, yield, wastage with factories; deploy line balancing, cut plan optimization, and marker efficiencies.

4) Supplier Strategy & Commercial Excellence

Segment suppliers (strategic/volume/opportunistic) and set differentiated engagement models.

Run competitive events (multi-round bids, negotiations, e-auctions where suitable).

Consolidate spend to unlock scale, long-term agreements, and raw material programs.

5) Country-of-Origin & Network Optimization

Continuously evaluate sourcing mix across regions for FOB, duties, lead time, and risk.

Develop near-shore vs. offshore strategies based on demand volatility, speed-to-market needs, and duty/tariff changes.

Manage vendor onboarding/offboarding to optimize footprint and avoid dilution of leverage.

6) Specification & Demand Management

Partner with Design to engineer-to-cost early (pre-commit sampling, costed BOMs, cutable widths, tolerance bands).

Improve forecast accuracy & MOQ alignment with Planning to reduce premiums and waste.

7) Data, Analytics & Digital Tools

Build a single source of truth for cost breakdowns, quotes, and purchase decisions.

Use analytics for price variance, mix, FX, and inflation/deflation attribution.

Deploy RFQ tools, e-sourcing, should-cost calculators , and dashboarding for transparency and speed.

8) Cross-Functional Leadership

Partner with Design/PD (cost-conscious design), Quality (first-time-right and rework reduction), Planning (volume bundling), Logistics (freight & consolidation), and Finance (governance).

Align critical path to land savings without delaying range sign-offs and calendar adherence.

9) Risk, Compliance & Sustainability

Dual-source critical programs and maintain contingency options.

Ensure ethical sourcing, technical compliance, and testing do not get compromised by cost initiatives.

10) Capability Building & Ways of Working

Train buyers, designers, and vendor managers on cost drivers and negotiation playbooks .

Coach suppliers on lean, efficiency, and yield improvements tied to shared gains.

Our journey started in 1973 with a single store in Bahrain. Since then, we have grown into a global retail and hospitality group. The proud creator of 25 plus value led, own-built brands across retail, hospitality, food, and leisure.

Over the years, our UAE - based group has evolved into a comprehensive retail and hospitality entity, with over 2200 retail stores, leisure, and hospitality outlets, panning the GCC, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Today, Landmark Group is one of GCC's largest omnichannel retailers and India's top home and fashion retailer.

We take immense pride in the organic growth of our retail brands, which have blossomed into household names. From Max, Splash, Babyshop, Centrepoint, Shoemart, Homecentre, Emax, Fitness First, to Funcity, to name a few, our brands span across a multitude of categories, enriching the lives of countless families over the past decade.

Max Fashion is a prominent retail brand based in Dubai, is part of the Landmark Group, a renowned retail conglomerate in the Middle East.

Launched in 2004 in the UAE, Max caters to both the value conscious and fashion savvy consumers - offering clothing and accessories for women, men and children along with footwear, accessories, toys and home décor.

The brand offers an inspiring and shopper friendly experience for its consumers every day. The range of clothing and accessories are designed in-house and marketed to a very widespread demographic across the Middle East and GCC. Max also offers an Omni-Channel proposition for the customers through stores and online shopping platform.

Max Fashion is well-regarded for its blend of style, value, and convenience, making it a popular choice for fashion-conscious shoppers in Dubai and beyond. It has also made a strong presence in India and South East Asia. Our team is passionate about empowering creativity and fostering innovation. We believe in nurturing a dynamic and inclusive work environment that encourages continuous learning and values diverse perspectives, thereby achieving collective success.

With a commitment to Landmark Group values, we are dedicated to making a meaningful impact on our customers, employees, and the community at large.

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