New Product Development Specialist

company

About TESO Group

Founded in 2017 in New York, TESO Group is an Asian-inspired lifestyle retail company bringing premium Asian products and culture to the U.S. market. With brands including TESO LIFE, TESO X, and TESO Mini, we offer a curated mix of beauty, snacks, home goods, and trendy collectibles—delivering quality, value, and a unique shopping experience.

role

Job Responsibilities

- Category Planning & Trend Insights
- Based on category positioning, target customers, price bands, and SKU structure requirements, identify gaps in subcategories, functions, usage scenarios, and price bands by considering existing product performance, store feedback, and market changes.
- Continuously track industry trends, consumer demand, social-media trends, competitor activity, trade shows, and emerging channels, and develop new-product development directions and an opportunity list.
- Based on the annual new-product plan and business objectives approved by the Category Manager, break down quarterly and monthly plans for new-product development, old-product replacement, and project execution, and continuously track completion.

- New Product Sourcing & Admission Evaluation
- Continuously source new products through suppliers, brand owners, factories, agents, trade shows, and other channels.
- Evaluate candidate products based on market demand, product differentiation, target customers, price band, gross-margin potential, competition, and store suitability.
- Collect quotations, MOQ, carton specifications, lead time, shelf life, supply capacity, compliance, brand authorization, and other information; organize sample requests, trials, and testing.
- Prepare new-product evaluation reports and recommendations, clearly stating reasons for recommending project initiation, continued observation, additional information, or rejection, and submit them to the Category Manager for review.

- New Product Project Initiation & Trial-Sale Plan
- Prepare new-product project proposals specifying product positioning, target customers, core selling points, cost and selling price, expected gross margin, initial-order needs, and business objectives.
- Develop trial-sale plans specifying trial stores, launch date, test period, pricing strategy, display requirements, and success criteria.
- Submit project initiation and trial-sale plans through the approval process. After approval, establish a project timeline and drive sample confirmation, product information, system setup, initial-order preparation, and all pre-launch work.
- Within the supplier, price, quantity, amount, and cooperation terms approved by the Category Manager, issue the initial purchase order and follow up on stocking, shipment, arrival, and receiving status. For OEM or production-based products, also follow production milestones.
- If actual initial-order purchasing conditions differ from the approved proposal—including price increases, quantity increases, MOQ changes, lead-time changes, or purchase amounts exceeding the approved range—resubmit for approval before execution.

- New Product Launch Testing & Conversion to Regular Procurement
- Follow up on new products arriving, being stocked, priced, and displayed according to plan, and coordinate with Operations, Marketing, New Store Purchasing, and relevant roles to implement launch requirements.
- Propose display plans based on product positioning and trial-sale requirements, specifying recommended display location, quantity, presentation method, and material needs. After confirmation by the Category Manager and relevant display team, coordinate production, delivery, and implementation of materials.
- Track sales, sell-through, gross margin, per-store performance, store coverage, and customer/store feedback during the trial period.
- Analyze the impact of product, price, display, store fit, region, seasonality, and other factors on performance and prepare interim trial-sale conclusions.
- Based on review results, recommend expanded distribution, adjustments, extended testing, additional orders, conversion to regular procurement, or discontinuation, and submit to the Category Manager for approval.
- After a new product meets conversion standards and is approved by the Category Manager, complete the procurement handoff with the Central Purchasing Specialist, transferring supplier, cost, MOQ, lead time, carton specifications, safety-stock recommendations, replenishment cycle, and other regular procurement information. After handoff, routine replenishment is handled by the Central Purchasing Specialist.

- Product Lifecycle & SKU Structure Management
- Based on stage reviews and performance before conversion to regular procurement, identify products that should be expanded, optimized, replaced, observed longer, or discontinued and provide lifecycle-management recommendations.
- Based on category SKU structure requirements, identify existing products with duplicated functions, overlapping price bands, outdated market trends, or products that can be replaced by new products.
- Develop new-product optimization or old-product replacement plans specifying replacement relationships, adjustment measures, transition timing, and recommendations for handling remaining inventory.
- After approval, coordinate with Central Purchasing, Operations, and Product Assistants on discontinuation, inventory handling, store transitions, and system-status adjustments.

- Project Tracking & Cross-Department Coordination
- Establish and maintain the new-product development Pipeline, recording sourcing, evaluation, project initiation, samples, trial sales, reviews, conversion to regular procurement, and discontinuation status.
- Maintain complete records of new-product evaluations, trial-sale data, approval records, and the basis for project adjustments to ensure traceability.
- Promptly share approved information on new-product launches, conversion to regular procurement, suspensions, and old-product replacements with Central Purchasing Specialists, Product Assistants, New Store Purchasing, Operations, and Marketing.
- Submit new-product project progress reports, monthly development summaries, and special reviews as required; promptly report project delays, supply risks, and matters requiring management decisions.
- Follow up on cross-departmental tasks including product setup, purchase orders, arrival, launch, display, marketing support, and system-status adjustments, and coordinate timely resolution of project issues.
- After a new product completes trial sales and converts to a regular product, confirm completion of procurement, system, and merchandise-management handoff. After a discontinued product completes inventory and system processing, close the new-product project.

Qualifications

- Education : Bachelor’s degree or above; Marketing, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Statistics/Analytics, or related majors preferred.
- Professional Experience : 2+ years of experience in retail product development, category management, sourcing/procurement, market research, or merchandise operations. Relevant category experience and chain-retail experience preferred.
- Knowledge & Skills : Market and trend research; new-product evaluation and selection; product lifecycle management; cost, selling-price, and gross-margin analysis; competitor analysis; Excel; ERP or merchandise systems; basic compliance and intellectual-property awareness.
- Core Competencies : Commercial awareness; product judgment; market insight; data analysis; project management; communication and coordination; risk awareness; sense of responsibility.

Compensation

- $28 per hour
- Quarterly Performance Bonus: This position is eligible for a quarterly performance-based bonus, subject to the eligibility requirements, performance criteria, and terms of the Company's bonus program.

Benefits

- 401(k) & 401(k) matching - subject to the eligibility requirements
- Paid Sick Leave
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid Time Off

Job Type: Full-Time (On-Site)