Associate Product Line Manager

Wilson Sporting Goods Co.•Chicago, IL

1d•$75,000 - $85,000

About The Position

At Wilson, we are here to empower every human to live like an athlete. Passion. Creativity. Integrity. Teamwork. Ambition. Innovation. These are the qualities that have made Wilson Sporting Goods Co. the number one sports equipment brand in the world. We come together to win, grow, and celebrate. We all play for Team Wilson. We all have a role to play within our organization and are working towards the same goal. One team, one dream. We believe that being an athlete isn’t something you do, it’s who you are. It’s a universal code of conduct, a way of seeing the world and how you show up every day. We seek out diverse voices and welcome all perspectives. Our team is composed of individuals with unique backgrounds, points of view and experiences. These perspectives create a rich and diverse culture in which we learn from one another through empathy and inclusion. Evolving the sports world and being the best partner for players, athletes, and our community is no small task. We are continually looking to add enthusiastic, ambitious, team-first individuals who desire to make a difference —and who love to help others win. Together, we will create a better world through sport. Join us. The Associate Product Line Manager – Bats is at the heart of developing every piece of Wilson equipment. This individual supports the Baseball Product Team in the creation process while working closely with design and development. Specifically, the Associate Product Line Manager is responsible for all product creation aspects from initial idea phase to commercialization for Wood and Youth Bat products for DeMarini and Louisville Slugger. This role will also support the Baseball Product Team in the development of consumer insights.

Requirements

We are seeking candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 3 years of business experience, including experience with product marketing.
Basic knowledge of product design, development, and commercialization process
Knowledge of the retail landscape for Baseball / Softball products
Superior verbal, written communication and presentation skills with the ability to create and present clear product briefs that outline the business and consumer objectives for creating a new product
Project management experience – the ability to develop and implement a product management calendar and keep all relevant internal teams informed, on track and on budget for multiple projects at the same time.
Consumer Driven - Demonstrated ability to conduct consumer insight studies in a fair and unbiased way for maximum clarity on consumer preferences.
Extreme attention to detail and ability to keep a robust product line plan up to date with relevant product information for use across multiple departments
Proven business planning and analytical skills; ability to track product performance across a sales and commercial matrix to evaluate winning products and key opportunities for growth.
Solid product and industry knowledge
Strong conceptual and creative problem-solving skills.
Ability to travel approximately 20% of the time, mainly domestic. For development meetings and meetings with suppliers, retails accounts, and end consumers

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Baseball and Softball, either as a player or in a professional capacity is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Assess market competition and trends to gather qualitative and quantitative data for purposes of product positioning.
Manage Product Line Management database for the category
Collaborate cross-functionally with Commercial, Marketing, Innovation, etc. counterparts to arrive at product mix details – pricing, positioning, promotion, etc.
Provide feedback and suggestions on an ongoing basis to cross-functional global teams based on your research of trend and market information and maintaining a strong sense and pulse for the wood bats, baseball accessories, and umpire gear markets.
Evaluate on-going in-line products to ensure continuous improvements and identify new category opportunities.
Make formal product presentations to management, the sales force, and key external customers. Present product direction to management, the sales force, and retail accounts at key check points within the product development calendar. Emphasis on presentations to internal (sales force and product team).
Work closely with sourcing and operations as it relates to operational excellence, sales sample and go-to market efficiency in delivery.
Work with key suppliers to create a streamlined product approach that maximizes our organizational efficiencies and leverage our competitive advantages.
Evaluate prototype products and make recommendations for improvement
Responsible for global communications and providing U.S. Market Place, consumer and retailer insights on all bat products
Other duties as assigned