I am an accomplished Product Director with over 25 years experience and a proven track record working for both large corporations and a more recent focus on consultancy and freelance projects with SMEs and start ups. Demonstrated ability to effectively manage the entire product development lifecycle with extensive product development, sourcing, production, and quality management experience across men’s ready to wear and accessories. Adept at developing strategy, managing calendar, set brief, margin and European/Asian supply bases. Strong history of leading large cross-functional teams and managing the critical path to deliver top-quality collections on time and on budget. My approach is both organised and pragmatic to deliver innovative, relevant and profitable solutions, on time and to brief. For larger projects, I have the ability to draw on a versatile network of talent owing to an extensive international contact list extending across all areas of the luxury & high end menswear and accessories industry.
Brought in by the previous CEO and owners to revitalise their casualwear offer. Design l Product Development l Styling I https://nicolarusted.myportfolio.com/tm-lewin
Set up the supply base and product range for the Trunk own brand offer for clothing & leathergoods. Sourcing l Supplier Management l Design l Product Development l Critical Path Management l Budget Management https://www.trunkclothiers.com
Development of leathergoods for the Kingsman collection. Sourcing l Supplier Management l Product Development l Critical Path Management l Budget Management https://www.mrporter.com/
Working with the owner since the re-launch of the brand in 2016 on all aspects of the business. From sourcing through to distribution and ecommerce. Brand Building I Strategic Planning l Pricing l Sourcing l Supplier Management l Product Development l Retail l Wholesale l Contract Negotiation l Critical Path Management l Budget Management http://www.connollyengland.com
Developed a strategy and then managed the development of leathergoods for the Gieves & Hawkes, Cerruti and Kent & Curwen brands.
https://www.crumpler.com/au/
Developed a strategy for the introduction of golfwear to the Ecco brand. Leveraging their expertise and success in the hybrid golf shoe market. Drawing on my previous experience of managing the Dunhill Links brand.
Develop and deliver a leathergoods and accessories strategy in line with CEO's brief.
Oversaw design, product development and sourcing team of 23 for all men's RTW and leather accessories, from concept through to delivery, with full P&L ownership. Developed and implement a coherent theme and vision across all product areas for seasonal collections while maintaining alignment with short-term and long-term objectives. Create and manage category and seasonal calendars, with a consistent record of meeting schedule, sales, and margin targets.
Managed design, product development, sourcing, quality management, and production of large and small leather goods, belts, and shoes. Consistently met or exceeded year-end sales and margin targets. Collaborated with merchandising team to produce innovative and commercial collections, aligned with brand heritage.
Managed design, product development, sourcing, quality management, and production of large and small leather goods, belts, and shoes. Consistently met or exceeded year-end sales and margin targets. Collaborated with merchandising team to produce innovative and commercial collections, aligned with brand heritage. • Developed and maintained ‘pillar’ collections within the large and small leather collections, which continue to drive the category forward – achieving double-digit annual growth in recent years. • Re-focused the design strategy and consolidated the range plan to make fewer SKUs work harder. • Established and managed a broad range of reliable European and Asian suppliers; negotiated costs to achieve significant margin advantages and maintain world pricing strategy. • Managed critical path to deliver new collections in line with worldwide launch calendar, and presented collections at regional selling shows.
Developed, implemented, and managed retail/wholesale range plans for menswear, leathergoods, accessories, and travel retail throughout Asia Pacific local and regional markets. • Determined appropriate regional pricing structure for all products and partnered with markets to manage the seasonal menswear open to buys. • Managed launch strategies and quantities for new product introductions, directed merchandising set up for new store launches, and managed/developed all Dunhill licensed products. • Managed training programmes, quality control, and seasonal selling shows for Asia Pacific region. • Oversaw regional ‘Dunhill Custom’ service offered in 30 regional retail stores.
Managed design, development, sourcing, and quality of all product categories, and oversaw custom tailoring business. Developed and implemented seasonal product strategy, philosophy, and colour stories, ensuring coherent collection with alignment between all product areas. Managed supply base in Europe and China.
Developed product areas in accordance with brief set, consistently achieving margin and cost targets. Attended trade shows and markets to prepare seasonal analyses of current market and competitor trends. • Managed supply base and collaborated with fabric suppliers to develop exclusive designs. • Arranged and presented seasonal product training brief to all retail staff and wholesale managers.
Developed product areas in accordance with brief set, consistently achieving margin and cost targets. Attended trade shows and markets to prepare seasonal analyses of current market and competitor trends. • Managed supply base and collaborated with fabric suppliers to develop exclusive designs. • Arranged and presented seasonal product training brief to all retail staff and wholesale managers.
Max worked with our brand as a Creative Consultant and delivered exceptional service, insights and direction that were not available to us internally. He helped the brand understand how far we could take our current categories but also how far we could legitimately push into new categories. Max has a great work style that is open, effective and approachable. His ability to enhance existing teams is an asset to any organisation.
Over the many years Max and I worked together, Max was always a great thought partner and supporter of what the business needed to succeed. His skills, product knowledge and commercial understanding of the business helped navigate solutions in a very helpful way.
Max came to Trunk with a great wealth of experience of menswear product development and was instrumental in the first steps of turning the Trunk own label into a significant part of our edit of great brands from around the world. Max is very well connected with the best suppliers and is also a true joy to work with, so can highly recommend.
Max is a true professional with a solid network and strong product knowledge across several clothing and non clothing product categories. He has a strong work ethic and a team spirit. He was an invaluable member of the product team that transformed our product proposition.