Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

Lead the strategic direction and cultural positioning of the adidas Originals Footwear business in Greater China. This role is responsible for ensuring Originals maintains its leadership at the intersection of sneaker culture, streetwear, and fashion-forward consumer expression—translating global brand equity into locally resonant product and storytelling strategies that drive commercial success.

He/she will achieve this by:

• Defining and executing the seasonal product and go-to-market strategy for Originals Footwear, balancing heritage icons with new franchises to meet the expectations of a discerning, trend-led consumer base
• Bridging global brand direction with GCA market nuances—ensuring product assortments, creations, and narratives reflect the unique cultural dynamics of the region

Key Responsibilities:

Merchandizing:

• Develop and drive the 3–5 year Originals Footwear category strategy in alignment with Global BU and GCA brand priorities, ensuring a clear roadmap for cultural relevance and financial growth
• Provide category leadership across all functions—setting vision, strategic objectives, and financial targets (Net Sales, Margin, Contribution) that balance brand equity with commercial performance
• Deliver financial commitments across all channels—Retail, eCom, and Wholesale—while maintaining the brand's premium positioning
• Establish and monitor pricing architecture and go-in margin targets, working in partnership with cross- category teams to ensure profitability while maintaining competitive market positioning
• Define channel allocation strategies that optimize product placement—ensuring the right balance of exclusivity, accessibility, and brand expression across door types, informed by store segmentation and target consumer
• Act as the key liaison to Global BU, representing GCA consumer insights, product needs, and market opportunities to influence global range decisions
• Lead seasonal range and concept selection, curating assortments that balance global direction with local relevance, trend intensity, and consumer demand—leveraging store and product segmentation frameworks to tailor assortments by door tier and format
• Define category marketing investment (MWB) and allocation by key concepts in partnership with GCA Brand Marketing
• Own the Originals Footwear forecast within IBP across all channels, managing monthly flow to ensure right product, right place, right time—balancing newness with continuity and reacting to in-season trends
• Drive inventory management excellence, optimizing stock turn, reducing aged inventory, and ensuring healthy sell-through across all channels
• Develop and own the seasonal marketing calendar, aligning product drops with cultural moments, brand campaigns, and channel activations
• Drive sell-through performance across GCA, developing dashboards to track product performance, consumer response, and inventory health—sharing insights with Global BU and adjusting plans as needed
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of key footwear franchises, solidifying leadership in Classics and Court silhouettes while accelerating growth in Lifestyle Running to capture new consumer segments and emerging trends
• Influence cross-functional partners—including Brand Communications, Channel Buying, Retail, and Visual Marketing—to align on seasonal and annual strategies, ensuring cohesive storytelling and execution across all consumer touchpoints
• Lead the strategy to win with Gen-Z by embedding streetwear culture into merchandising decisions, ensuring product and marketing strategies resonate with youth communities and digital-native behaviors

Creation:

• Shape the strategic category direction for Originals Footwear, working closely with Global BU and BU lead to define range architecture, product priorities, and seasonal narratives
• Identify new business opportunities—including emerging categories and SMUs—that drive innovation, commercial growth, and cultural relevance
• Drive the product creation process from Product Management to Design, serving as the voice of the GCA consumer and sneaker community throughout the development cycle
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with cross-functional teams and Creation Center Shanghai to enable an efficient product creation process with a focus on local relevance and speed-to-market
• Lead the validation and initiation of SMU requests for GCA, leveraging CCS to fulfill local market needs and capture unique opportunities
• Prepare consolidated range overviews and business presentations tailored to different audiences—combining commercial logic with clear product storytelling
• Collaborate closely with the Partnerships team to identify and execute strategic collaborations with artists, designers, and cultural institutions that elevate brand heat and drive consumer engagement
• Partner with Apparel Merchandising to unlock head-to-toe storytelling opportunities, ensuring cohesive seasonal narratives across footwear and apparel categories

Leadership:

• Drive performance and development culture, fostering an environment of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Lead by example with deep product passion, cultural curiosity, and a commitment to excellence
• Identify and develop high-potential talent to build a strong succession pipeline, providing cross-functional experiences and growth opportunities
• Manage category OPEX and T&E to fulfill business priorities within budget

KPI’s:

Financial & Commercial:

• Net Sales achievement (by channel, by franchise, by key concept)
• Standard Margin and Contribution Margin vs. targets
• Go-in Margin (GIM) by product category and channel
• Market share within lifestyle sneaker segment in GCA

Product & Inventory Performance:

• Sell-out performance across all channels (Retail, eCom, Wholesale)
• Sell-through rate (velocity) by key franchises, concepts, and door tiers
• Inventory turnover and aged inventory (slow-moving and obsolete)
• Stock-to-sales ratio and weeks of supply
• Forecast accuracy by product category and month
• Monthly flow execution—OTB adherence and in-season reactivity
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Strategic & Brand:

• Achievement of the 3–5 year category strategic plan and key initiatives
• Franchise health: growth and vitality of Classics, Court, and Lifestyle Running franchises
• Execution excellence in seasonal concepts, campaigns, and product drops
• Collaboration performance: sell-out rates, brand heat, and cultural impact

Key Relationships:

• Global BU adidas Originals (Footwear, Brand Marketing)
• GCA Originals Brand Marketing
• GCA Originals Partnerships
• GCA Originals Apparel Merchandising
• GCA Product Planning & Operations
• GCA PMO
• Channel Buying, Product Sales
• Retail Operations & Visual Marketing
• Demand Planning, SCM, Finance (marketing ROI)
• Creation Center Shanghai

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proven ability to develop and implement category strategy that balances long-term brand building with in-season commercial agility
• Strong leadership and people management abilities, especially in managing a diverse team and fostering a high-performance culture
• Strong presentation/communication, negotiation and influencing skills, especially with senior stakeholders within a global matrix organization
• Broad Marketing experience, with a distinct track record of success and expert Merchandising knowledge, including:
• Range planning and assortment architecture
• Pricing strategy and go-in margin management
• Channel allocation and store/product segmentation
• Franchise lifecycle management
• Open-to-buy (OTB) management and monthly flow planning
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing Net Sales, Margin, inventory turnover, and forecast accuracy targets
• Strong cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, retail) and support functions (finance, supply chain, demand planning), as well as different organizational levels (Global, Market)
• Strong industry knowledge, across divisions—footwear, apparel and accessories—with specialized expertise in lifestyle footwear and sneaker culture
• Expert understanding of Asian markets' consumers, accounts, economic environment and commercial needs, with deep intuition for GCA sneaker consumer behavior, trends, and hype cycles
• Thorough understanding of Originals Footwear market and passionate about sneaker culture, streetwear, and the broader lifestyle landscape
• In-depth knowledge of Originals Footwear products, including heritage silhouettes, contemporary franchises, collaboration dynamics, and competitive landscape
• Strong analytical capabilities with the ability to translate sell-through data, consumer insights, and market trends into actionable merchandising strategies
• Ability to influence without direct authority, aligning cross-functional teams around a shared seasonal and annual vision

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in merchandising/product, marketing, sales/retail required, with significant experience in lifestyle footwear, streetwear, or fashion-led categories. Regional experience in GCA or Asia preferred
• University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing; MBA preferred
• Previous experience in managing a global matrix organization required
• Sporting goods or premium lifestyle/fashion footwear industry experience required
• Fluent in English
• Fluent in Mandarin (required for local market engagement)
• Has lived and worked in different cultures or has substantial experience working in regional teams
• Willingness to travel upwards of 20% of time