New Product Development Specialist

Teso Life•New York, NY

4d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for the entire lifecycle of new product development, from identifying market opportunities and sourcing new products to managing their launch, performance, and eventual discontinuation. The specialist will analyze market trends, evaluate product viability, manage project timelines, coordinate with various departments, and ensure smooth transitions between development phases and regular procurement. This involves detailed tracking, reporting, and cross-functional collaboration to drive successful product introductions and portfolio management.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or above in Marketing, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Statistics/Analytics, or related majors.
2+ years of experience in retail product development, category management, sourcing/procurement, market research, or merchandise operations.
Relevant category experience and chain-retail experience preferred.
Knowledge of market and trend research.
Knowledge of new-product evaluation and selection.
Knowledge of product lifecycle management.
Knowledge of cost, selling-price, and gross-margin analysis.
Knowledge of competitor analysis.
Proficiency in Excel.
Experience with ERP or merchandise systems.
Basic compliance and intellectual-property awareness.

Nice To Haves

Relevant category experience
Chain-retail experience

Responsibilities

Identify gaps in subcategories, functions, usage scenarios, and price bands by considering existing product performance, store feedback, and market changes.
Track industry trends, consumer demand, social-media trends, competitor activity, trade shows, and emerging channels to develop new-product development directions and an opportunity list.
Break down quarterly and monthly plans for new-product development, old-product replacement, and project execution based on the annual new-product plan and business objectives.
Source new products through suppliers, brand owners, factories, agents, trade shows, and other channels.
Evaluate candidate products based on market demand, product differentiation, target customers, price band, gross-margin potential, competition, and store suitability.
Collect quotations, MOQ, carton specifications, lead time, shelf life, supply capacity, compliance, brand authorization, and other information; organize sample requests, trials, and testing.
Prepare new-product evaluation reports and recommendations for Category Manager review.
Prepare new-product project proposals specifying product positioning, target customers, core selling points, cost and selling price, expected gross margin, initial-order needs, and business objectives.
Develop trial-sale plans specifying trial stores, launch date, test period, pricing strategy, display requirements, and success criteria.
Submit project initiation and trial-sale plans through the approval process, establish a project timeline, and drive pre-launch work.
Issue initial purchase orders and follow up on stocking, shipment, arrival, and receiving status.
Resubmit for approval if actual initial-order purchasing conditions differ from the approved proposal.
Follow up on new products arriving, being stocked, priced, and displayed according to plan, and coordinate launch requirements with relevant departments.
Propose display plans based on product positioning and trial-sale requirements.
Track sales, sell-through, gross margin, per-store performance, store coverage, and customer/store feedback during the trial period.
Analyze the impact of various factors on product performance and prepare interim trial-sale conclusions.
Recommend expanded distribution, adjustments, extended testing, additional orders, conversion to regular procurement, or discontinuation based on review results.
Complete the procurement handoff with the Central Purchasing Specialist after a new product meets conversion standards.
Identify products that should be expanded, optimized, replaced, observed longer, or discontinued based on stage reviews and performance before conversion to regular procurement.
Identify existing products with duplicated functions, overlapping price bands, outdated market trends, or products that can be replaced by new products.
Develop new-product optimization or old-product replacement plans.
Coordinate with Central Purchasing, Operations, and Product Assistants on discontinuation, inventory handling, store transitions, and system-status adjustments.
Establish and maintain the new-product development Pipeline, recording status of various stages.
Maintain complete records of new-product evaluations, trial-sale data, approval records, and the basis for project adjustments.
Share approved information on new-product launches, conversion to regular procurement, suspensions, and old-product replacements with relevant departments.
Submit new-product project progress reports, monthly development summaries, and special reviews as required.
Promptly report project delays, supply risks, and matters requiring management decisions.
Follow up on cross-departmental tasks and coordinate timely resolution of project issues.
Confirm completion of procurement, system, and merchandise-management handoff after a new product converts to a regular product.
Close the new-product project after a discontinued product completes inventory and system processing.