Product Manager - Menswear & Womenswear RTW Full-time position Location: Ahluwalia, Soho, London.
Ahluwalia's Mission: Ahluwalia's mission is to create, innovate and design whilst driving social and environmental change.
The Role
As the Product Manager, based at the Ahluwalia headquarters in Soho, London, you will play a key role in sourcing, organising, and overseeing the development and production of Ahluwalia's ready-to-wear collections and direct-to-consumer samples.
Your responsibilities will include managing the entire critical path, maintaining communication with factories, overseeing administrative tasks, and ensuring the quality of the product delivered, all while upholding sustainable standards.
You will align Ahluwalia's creative and commercial strategies, contributing to the achievement of the brand's mission, objectives, and budgets across both menswear and womenswear.
You will have the support of assistants and interns to manage, delegating tasks and ensuring daily standards are met.
Responsibilities: Development Critical Path Management: Oversee the critical path for wovens, knitwear, denim, swimwear, and accessories from sketch submissions to final samples for menswear and womenswear, covering two seasons per year, capsule projects, and VIP orders.
Tech Packs: Collaborate with the Design team to create and update tech packs across all categories, ensuring accuracy through fittings and up to production.
Fitting Attendance: Attend all fittings for menswear and womenswear, providing detailed reports and feedback to factories.
Material Sourcing: Work with the Design team to source raw materials across categories.
Supplier Research: Identify new suppliers and factories that meet quality and cost targets.
Product Costings: Input accurate product costings into Zedonk for both menswear and womenswear.
Budget Management: Monitor and manage budgets for product development, ensuring cost efficiency across all categories.
Communication: Act as a key point of contact between external suppliers and internal teams.
Invoices: Manage the invoicing process for development tasks.
Production Critical Path Management: Oversee critical path management for production across all factories.
PPS Fitting Attendance: Attend pre-production sample (PPS) fittings and provide feedback to factories.
Tech Packs: Ensure production tech packs are updated as required.
Material Sourcing: Source raw materials as needed to support production.
Purchase Orders and Supplier Management: Create and manage purchase orders (POs), maintaining strong relationships with suppliers and factories.
Raw Materials Management: Monitor stock levels and coordinate bulk orders to meet production timelines.
Negotiation: Negotiate MOQs, lead times, and payment terms with factories.
Grading and Artwork Management: Manage grading processes, embroidery, and print artworks.
Labelling and Packaging: Oversee management of wash care labels, branding labels, and packaging materials.
Quality Control: Collaborate with factories on quality control processes, addressing technical queries and issues.
Deliveries and Shipments: Coordinate bulk deliveries with the sales team and arrange shipments as needed.
Testing Requirements: Manage product testing for retailers and special packaging requirements.
Customer Service Support: Work with the sales team to address product inquiries and measurements.
Invoices: Manage the invoicing process for production tasks.
Qualifications: Proven experience in product development and production management, preferably in both menswear and womenswear.
Strong understanding of the production process for both menswear and womenswear, including critical path management and quality control procedures.
Excellent organisational and communication skills.
Ability to negotiate effectively with suppliers and factories.
Proficiency in using software such as Zedonk and Microsoft Office Suite.
Attention to detail and commitment to meeting deadlines.