Licensing Director, Softlines & Collaborations

About the Role

The Licensing Director, Softlines and Collaborations is responsible for leading the softlines business, securing and managing the relationships in the softlines categories with a focus on apparel, headwear, footwear, bags & accessories, soft home and buzzworthy collaborations which focus on driving social and digital headlines and strong consumer engagement. Developing all product category strategies, go to market marketing as well as partnering with the Retail Development and Product Development to develop near and long-term retail strategies and product roadmaps.

Job Description
What You’ll Do:

Category Management / Product Development

Develop annual category strategies; identify and outline with licensee continuing and new product introductions
Implement quarterly business reviews with partners to ensure objectives are being met
Develop product launch plans to leverage market opportunities, determining category/product line direction via creative brief.

Category Growth

Develop comprehensive category growth strategies, including analyzing current business and competitive environment, evaluating product trends, defining positioning within category, gathering secondary market research.

Target and analyze potential softlines licensees and collaboration partners, evaluating licensee structure, retail relationships and product design capabilities.
Oversee new contract negotiations ensuring terms meet the Licensor requirements and overall business objectives
identifying premium and luxury brand partners

Licensee Management

Partner with licensees in creating annual business plans/reviews, go-to-market plans and quarterly marketing plans.
Oversee all contract negotiation for renewals and monitor licensee in fulfilling contractual obligations.
Financial

Budget and forecast sales and royalty revenue.
Recap quarterly performance, monitoring actual vs. planned performance.
Prepare and analyze quarterly product sell-through reports.

Qualifications
What You’ll Bring:

Significant experience and a demonstrated ability to manage a brand and product line
Marketing and/or sales related experience in softlines categories
Strong relationships with premium, luxury and trend driven brands
Knowledge of fashion / home retail, merchandising, licensing/contracts
Proven ability to drive change and results through influential leadership skills
Demonstrated presentation skills with a persuasive nature
Proven ability to effectively manage multiple projects in a dynamic environment
Proficiency with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint