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URBN

Multi-brand fashion retail with lifestyle brands

Director of Raw Materials

Procurement & SourcingConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timePhiladelphia, PA, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

  • At least 10 years of experience in textile sourcing or merchandising for a fashion retailer in the United States.
  • Extensive knowledge of fabric, machinery, and fabric manufacturing, including the technical requirements of the brand and the impact of raw materials on fabric economics.
  • Ability to assess mills and extensive international travel to mills.
  • Ability to understand key performance indicator reports and create tools to assess business performance.
  • Ability to work independently and accurately within the product lifecycle management system, understand the ownership chart as a working tool, and make informed decisions on ownership actions.
  • Strong communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

  • Implement a brand raw-materials strategy that meets design vision while adhering to company goals for initial markup, lead time, quality, and efficiency, and manage the fabric team to achieve these goals.
  • Manage raw materials for the brand and ensure fabric information and demands are met by cross-functional partners.
  • Work with brand directors to align the global fabric sourcing strategy with the global vendor sourcing strategy, continuously benchmarking new opportunities.
  • Onboard and assess mills.
  • Manage brand inventory through fabric platforming to benefit from raw-material pricing, quality, and lead time, and monitor inventory usage lifecycle and write-offs.
  • Own brand and department goals for quality, cost, regional penetration, and lead time; develop strategies to achieve them, recommend process-level strategies to positively impact key performance indicators, and identify potential problems.
  • Understand the brand aesthetic and recommend fabric qualities and mills that support it; regularly supply innovative products aligned with the brand aesthetic.
  • Challenge mills on costing and lead time based on extensive knowledge of global fabric costing and lead time.
  • Review test reports and bulk issues, identify problems, and recommend timely solutions.
  • Maintain strong, strategic mill relationships for the brand and URBN.
  • Engineer fabric developments at the mill and yarn level to drive leverage and economies of scale.

About the Company

URBN

Multi-brand fashion retail with lifestyle brands

URBN operates a global portfolio of lifestyle brands, including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Nuuly, Terrain, and Vetri Family. Each brand targets different customer niches with a mix of clothing, accessories, and home goods, and some offerings extend into experiences like dining or a rental model with Nuuly. The multi-brand approach lets URBN serve a wide range of tastes under one umbrella and diversify beyond a single brand. Its goal is to build long-term value by expanding brand offerings, entering related product areas, and exploring services like rental to support a circular economy while reaching new markets.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Philadelphia, PA
Founded
2016

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