Head of Merchandising & Product Development

Role Overview

The Head of Merchandising & Product Development is responsible for defining and executing the end-to-end product strategy, ensuring the right products are developed, coordination, and delivered at the right time to maximize sales, margin, and fan engagement.

This role transforms club identity and fan demand into commercially successful merchandise, while driving product innovation and inventory efficiency across all retail channels.

Key Responsibilities

1. Merchandise & Product Strategy

• Define overall merchandising strategy and product roadmap
• Build category structure across:
• Jerseys (home/away/alternate)
• Official kits
• Lifestyle / fashion collections
• Accessories & collectibles
• Special Collaboration
• Set pricing architecture (premium vs mass vs promo)

2. Product Development & Design Direction

• Create strategy development of:
• New season jerseys
• Limited editions (player version, collaborations)
• Lifestyle collections
• etc
• Ensure products reflect:
• Club identity
• Fan trends
• Market demand
• Work closely with design, production and sourcing teams

3. Merchandise Planning & Production

• Develop seasonal production plans and demand forecasts, collaboration with Production & Sourcing team
• Define:
• SKU depth
• Allocation and needed per store / channel
• Ensure optimal balance between:
• Availability (avoid stock-out)
• Efficiency (avoid overstock)

4. Commercial Performance & Margin Ownership

• Own key metrics:
• Revenue
• Gross margin
• Sell-through rate
• Identify opportunities to:
• Increase margin (pricing, sourcing)
• Drive volume (bundling, key items push)

5. Product Lifecycle & Inventory Management

• Manage product lifecycle:
• Drive:
• Fast sell-through of new products
• Clearance of slow-moving items
• Minimize aging stock and markdown loss

6. Speed to Market & Drop Management

• Build agile processes for:
• Fast product launches
• Matchday or event-driven drops
• Ensure quick response to:
• Player and Fans trends
• Team performance spikes

7. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with:
• Visual Merchandising
• Marketing
• Retail Operations
• Production & Sourcing
• Ensure product, campaign, and store experience are fully aligned

8. Data & Performance Analytics

• Analyze:
• Sales by category and SKU
• Size curves and demand patterns
• Store-level performance
• Use insights to:
• Improve future collections
• Optimize production decisions

Key Requirements

Experiences

• 7–10+ years in merchandising and/or product development
• Experience in: Fashion retail / sports retail / licensed merchandise
• Demand planning and inventory management
• Experience in fast-paced, event-driven retail environments
• Proven track record managing:
• Full product lifecycle
• Multi-category merchandise

Skills

• Strong commercial and analytical mindset
• Deep understanding of:
• Product planning
• Inventory management
• Pricing strategy
• Ability to balance creativity and profitability.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams
• Strong stakeholder management

Additional :

• Experience with sports brands
• Understanding of fan behavior and sports merchandising cycles
• Experience in fast product drops or hype-driven retail