Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• Lead adidas China Originals Apparel & Accessories business and merchandising team.  Drive strategic and sustainable category business growth in line with global Original’s long-term strategy

Key Responsibilities:

• Obtain and deliver consumer insights into the global process to deliver local relevant products
• Contribute to the development of business Mid – Long Term division plan in alignment with global vision
• Own and deliver the GCA seasonal GTM strategy against business priorities and lead merchandising team to bring strategy to life
• Responsible for the business success of the category incl. defining product segmentation, range selection per channels, forecasting, pricing, monthly flow, local products creation briefing etc.
• Continually monitor and analyze category range and sales result , share with global and cross-functional partners, to create synergies and drive productivity & profitability
• Act as GCA category interface between Global BU, GCA functions, and country cluster (business opportunities, commercial input process, SMU’s, business performance tracking, market trends/insights, category plans, etc.)
• Manage, develop, coach and motivate team / direct reports, leading by example.
• Drive performance and development culture

KPI’s:

• Category NS, Net Margin and Contribution across GCA
• Sell-out
• Forecast & data accuracy
• Market share
• Achievement of key SBP initiatives

Key Relationships:

• Global CTC ( Concept-to-Consumer) and Product Marketing Teams
• China Channels/Buying Teams
• GCA CTC team
• CCA ( Creation Center Asia)
• GCA Brand Activation
• GCA Demand Planning/Finance
• GCA MOPS

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Expert understanding of China and Asian markets’ consumers, accounts, economic environment and commercial needs and ability to interpret insights against strategy
• Strong presentation/communication, negotiation and influencing skills, especially with senior stakeholders within a global matrix organization
• Strong data analysis skills and ability to translate and articulate data results into clear business actions
• Distinct track record of success and high-level Category Management & Merchandising knowledge
• Strong cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, etc.) and support functions (finance preferred), as well as different organizational levels (Global, Market, etc.)
• Strong industry knowledge, across divisions—footwear, apparel and accessories.
• Ability to manage, coach and mentor team and peers
• Solution- driven, results-oriented mindset
• Positive and organized work ethic, ability to organize teams and processes cross functionally
• Strong team player with high level of integrity & attention to details

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• 8-10 years of experience in Category Management/product required.

• University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing, MBA preferred
• Sporting goods industry or Lifestyle Fashion industry experience required
• Has lived and worked in different cultures or has substantial experience working in international teams
• Passion for sports and belief that through sports we have the power to change lives
• Fluent in English
• Strong Computer Skills including Outlook, Word, Excel (Pivot), PowerPoint, etc
• Willingness to travel up to 10% of time