Director - Product Development

About the Role

Support Center - Irving The Director – Product Development drives product development for Private Brands, growing sales, margin and ideation at the division level. Directors are closely aligned strategically and collaboratively with the division GMM and Category Directors to achieve company financial targets. This role will execute product development key initiatives and priorities for ideation, design, process management to enable an effective and efficient Private Brand team. This Team Member is the key leader between the external private brand resources and the internal stakeholders (including Merchandising, Trend, Sourcing, Packaging, Legal, etc). The Director is responsible for product development business plans in partnership with Category Management, Sourcing and the execution of those divisional level plans. The primary goal of this role is to enhance Michaels’ ideation, competitive advantage and profitability. At The Michaels Companies Inc., our purpose is to fuel the joy of creativity and celebration. As the leading destination for creating and celebrating in North America, we operate over 1,300 stores in 49 states and Canada and online at Michaels.com and Michaels.ca. The Michaels Companies, Inc. also owns Artistree, a manufacturer of custom and specialty framing merchandise. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Michaels is the best place for all things creative. For more information, please visit www.michaels.com.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the process of product development for the category – driving innovation, ideation & uniqueness.
• Direct, plan, approve & execute private brand programs across the category.
• Interpret & translate trend for the category.
• Supports the Kick Off Meeting preparation with the Category Director.
• Gain alignment with the Category Director to drive merchandising strategy to product development ideation.
• Develop competitive advantage through product development and margin opportunities within the category.
• Ensure Company financial objectives and product quality are achieved.
• Lead product ideation sessions, competitive shops, and identify product opportunities.
• Work closely with Trend and the Category Director to have an active understanding of the market and consumer insights to drive freshness and uniqueness into the product offering.