What You’ll Do:
• Lead white label sourcing, product development and commercialization from initial assortment opportunity through production and launch.
• Partner closely with Merchandising and Creative teams to identify gaps and opportunities within the existing assortment and translate those needs into actionable product and sourcing strategies.
• Research global markets, suppliers, manufacturing regions, trade shows, and emerging product categories to identify new products, materials, constructions, and vendor capabilities.
• Identify and onboard new suppliers capable of filling specific assortment needs while meeting Ruggable standards.
• Evaluate existing supplier product lines and capabilities to identify products that can be customized, or adapted to align with Ruggable’s design sensibility and customer expectations.
• Develop clear product briefs for suppliers that communicate aesthetic direction, target costs, quality expectations, performance requirements, and key commercial objectives.
• Own the development process with global suppliers, including sampling, revisions, costing, testing, approvals, pre-production requirements, and final production specifications.
• Ensure product is fully commercialized and all critical product information is finalized prior to bulk PO issuance.
• Build detailed development calendars and critical paths, ensuring suppliers and internal stakeholders remain aligned to key milestones and launch dates.
• Negotiate product costs, MOQs, lead times, payment terms, and other commercial requirements while protecting the intended product value and quality…
• Evaluate samples for aesthetic execution, construction, quality, functionality, performance, and overall alignment with the intended product brief.
• Partner with Quality, Testing, and Compliance teams to ensure white label products meet applicable Ruggable, customer, regulatory, and performance standards.
• Proactively identify and resolve development, costing, quality, capacity, and manufacturing issues that could impact product launches.
• Conduct supplier and factory visits to evaluate capabilities, review product opportunities, manage development, and strengthen vendor partnerships.
• Maintain awareness of competitive assortments, consumer trends, emerging materials, manufacturing capabilities, and relevant developments within the home furnishings and textile markets.
• Drive continuous improvement within the white label development process, including supplier onboarding, product evaluation, sampling, costing, documentation, and cross-functional workflows.