Adiaha Balewa
Teaneck,USA
Summary
Over 15 years of experience in production and product development for consumer apparel and accessories, with over 10 million dollar annual valuation. Adept at managing the product life cycle and close collaboration with design, logistics, QA and merchants to bring valuable products to market. Excels at visioning solutions, vendor relations, and product ownership from concept to production.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
ASSOCIATE PRODUCT MANAGER
SPARC GROUP LLC
05.2022 - Current
- Manage the product development process for the Aeropostale Women's active/intimates/lounge/sleep/fashion fleece categories for the DTC channel
- Negotiate cost from initial to final confirmed cost, cost engineering where necessary to meet margin goals
- Oversee all facets of development sampling (concept + color, buy samples, red flag samples, tailoring samples) from initial tech pack hand off to floorset build, HLE and IR
- Monitor development ratios to ensure adoption rates remain with 60-70% range
- Align with Fabric R&D team to source knit and woven fabrications, and trims
- Work with planning and merchandising to facilitate reorders/chase orders/OTB
PRODUCTION MANAGER - GINA CONCEPTS
GINA GROUP
06.2021 - 05.2022
- Monitor all facets of production to ensure on time delivery via WIP report
- Work with logistics and import team to build divisional load plans to ensure goods ship according to confirmed vessel date
- Build TNA calendars for all cut-to-orders
- Negotiate costing from initial development to final placement for all brands (Rampage, Kensie, Daisy Fuentes, Halston, Adrienne Vittadini)
- Work closely with design on new handbag, beauty and tech accessory development and proto sampling
- Source new factories and manage factory base for quality, cost, delivery in conjunction with the Director of Production for Gina Concepts
- Confirm final buys and issue POs to respective vendors
PRODUCTION MANAGER - TIMBERLAND SOCKS
CENTRIC BRANDS LLC
02.2019 - 02.2020
- Negotiate deliverables and plan factory capacity for the Timberland Socks DTC and wholesale markets
- Negotiate costing from initial development to final placement to ensure profitability for volume buys
- Work closely with Directors of Sales/Merchandising to review and align seasonal needs
- Manage factory base for quality, cost, delivery with design, product development, and senior management
- Evaluate and manage vendor performance critically based on purchase order history of on-time delivery, lead time, quality acceptance rates, fulfilment, and margins to accurately report on-time performance (OTP) to licensor
- Manage on-time placement of final buys with staff and cross-functional teams, tracking of WIP and production from hand off to final deliveries and ensure all necessary approvals have been obtained
PRODUCT SOURCING MANAGER
CUTIE PIE BABY
10.2016 - 02.2019
- Direct support to VP of Production and Sourcing as point person for cost negotiating and engineering to meet target margin
- Cross-functional collaboration with design and vendors for new development and sourcing
- Assist in incremental revenue opportunities of $2.5 million in core programs
- Increased GM% by 4 basis points
- Successfully land final costs down 3-5% from LY and PY
- Responsible for final placement of all production/sourcing with VP of Production
- Manage private label orders with sales team for big box retailers
ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION MANAGER
DELTA GALIL USA
12.2014 - 09.2016
- Negotiate production deliverables with overseas factories (China, Malaysia, Bangladesh)
- Approve/reject vessel/air bookings via Expeditors OMB site
- Review sales order commits to determine x-factory date and issue PO to overseas vendors
- Work closely with design and product development teams to ensure timely approvals of samples/submits
- Research and analyze debit notes and outstanding debts to submit to AP
- Create/maintain/monitor WIP report to ensure timely delivery to customers
- Work closely with the Bangladesh team to ensure PO's are accurately created with correct cost and deliverables
ASSOCIATE PRE-PRODUCTION MANAGER - BOYS KNIT/WOVEN
SEARS HOLDING CORPORATION
10.2012 - 10.2014
- Successfully reduced initial costing to land within 3-5% of final cost through analysis of historical costing and by working closely with design to cost engineer product as needed
- Facilitate entire pre-production process from VOS fabric development and vendor allocation to final costing and placement for knit/woven categories for all big boys brands: Canyon River Blues, Amplify, Basic Editions, Route 66, SK2, Joe Boxer Fleece (big boys/big girls/infant-toddler)
- Perform retail analysis of the competitive market to determine where merchandising teams can potentially improve IMU through increased retail prices
- Create seasonal reports to highlight the style development ratio in comparison to style adoption ratio for each brand
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST - AXCESS
LIZ CLAIBORNE, INC
01.2010 - 08.2012
- Researched, identified, sourced and negotiated all components of the product to ensure best cost and achieve maximum profit margin
- Coordinated all phases of product development and production: collaborated with design, merchandising, and overseas offices/vendors to adhere to the production calendar
- Monitored early fabric/yarn commits while constantly communicating with sales
- Attended weekly fittings to document design changes for Li & Fung
- Ensured product category/classification and duty rates are correctly identified in the cost
Education
B.A. - Pre-Law
CUNY - The City College of New York
New York, NY01.2004
Skills
- Cost Negotiation
- Cost Engineering
- Product Metrics Tracking
- Project Management
- T/A Calendar Management
- Garment Construction
- Fabric Sourcing
- FlexPLM
- MS Office - Excel / Word / Power Point
Timeline
ASSOCIATE PRODUCT MANAGER
SPARC GROUP LLC
05.2022 - Current
PRODUCTION MANAGER - GINA CONCEPTS
GINA GROUP
06.2021 - 05.2022
PRODUCTION MANAGER - TIMBERLAND SOCKS
CENTRIC BRANDS LLC
02.2019 - 02.2020
PRODUCT SOURCING MANAGER
CUTIE PIE BABY
10.2016 - 02.2019
ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION MANAGER
DELTA GALIL USA
12.2014 - 09.2016
ASSOCIATE PRE-PRODUCTION MANAGER - BOYS KNIT/WOVEN
SEARS HOLDING CORPORATION
10.2012 - 10.2014
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST - AXCESS
LIZ CLAIBORNE, INC
01.2010 - 08.2012
B.A. - Pre-Law
CUNY - The City College of New York
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