Manager of Channel Strategy (Remote Available)

S&S Activewear • Bolingbrook, IL

208d • Hybrid

About The Position

S&S Activewear is a leading North American, tech-enabled specialty distributor of imprintable apparel, including t-shirts, fleece, athletic wear, headwear, workwear, scrubs and accessories. We pride ourselves on being the “critical link” that enables our 100+ brand partners such as Adidas, Columbia and Gildan to reach our hyper-fragmented base of customers, comprised of apparel decorators, eRetailers and promotional products distributors that embellish apparel items for diverse end consumer use cases (e.g., everyday wear, concerts, fitness attire, life events, team sports, etc.). At S&S, we differentiate in the market through a customer service focus, strategic product portfolio, world-class distribution infrastructure, a collaborative growth culture and a relentless focus on technology and innovation. Our success has compounded since the Company's humble beginnings in 1988 as a regional t-shirt distributor to a leading, multi-billion-dollar value-added distribution platform that drives market penetration for our suppliers while enabling the growth, operations and fulfillment for a diverse range of customers across channels and business sizes. We strive to be the apparel distributor of choice while inspiring and fostering growth for customers, employees and suppliers through our core values of service, deep relationships, innovation, continuous improvement and accountability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, or related field.
• 4+ years of experience in sales support, channel strategy, merchandising, or category management within a B2B or distributor setting.
• Familiarity with customer segmentation and product lifecycle planning.
• Strong understanding of sales enablement, customer segmentation, and go-to-market execution.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, strong understanding of commercial analytics including market performance, growth drivers.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the decorated apparel, promotional goods, or mass customization sectors.
• Understanding of B2B2C value chains and multi-channel sales models.
• Strategic account engagement and joint business planning success.
• Familiarity with CRM tools and processes.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic partner to channel sales teams (Retail, Strategic Accounts, Teams/Uniforms, E-Commerce) by delivering insights, tools, and planning support related to the PPD Channel and Customers.
• Develop PPD channel-specific playbooks, product bundles, and sales enablement materials to help sales teams position offerings effectively.
• Assist in preparing for key account engagements, including top-to-top meetings and joint business planning sessions, by compiling sales data, market trends, and customized proposals.
• Deliver customer solutions that bring to life the unique benefits of S&S.
• Support ongoing refinement of customer segmentation models within each channel.
• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives that align pricing, distribution, and brand strategies with channel goals.
• Track channel-level trends, performance metrics, and competitive movements to inform commercial strategy.
• Identify opportunities to incrementally, and dramatically, grow business within assigned channel customers.
• Partner with the Merchandising team to recommend the optimal product mix and brand assortment for each sub-segment within a channel.
• Analyze product performance by customer segment to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Support seasonal line planning and product launches with segment-specific input from the field and market feedback.
• Work closely with Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams to ensure alignment between commercial objectives and operational execution.
• Coordinate communication and project tracking across teams for large account initiatives or channel-wide promotions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Industry: Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree