Product Development & Assortment Planning, Home Textiles

Job Title: Product Development & Assortment Planning, Soft Home

Location: Monday – Thursday onsite, Friday remote

Overview

AXNY Home is launching a new premium soft home business spanning bedding, bath, and pet , and we are seeking a highly creative, commercially minded Product Development & Assortment Planning professional to help build and grow the collection.

This role will be heavily focused on product development, assortment creation, product strategy, and inventory planning , working closely with Design, Sourcing, Planning, Sales, and overseas vendors. The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of the home market, a refined eye for product, and the ability to translate trends, consumer needs, customer opportunities, and brand direction into compelling, commercially viable product assortments.

The role will own the development and organization of the product line from initial concept through sampling, costing, final assortment, and order readiness . This includes identifying product opportunities, building SKU assortments, determining product attributes and quantities, managing development timelines, and partnering with Planning to ensure the assortment is aligned with inventory needs, customer demand, and business objectives.

Categories will include bedding, bath, and pet , with the opportunity to expand into additional soft-home categories as the business grows.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Assortment Creation

- Partner with Design, Sourcing, Planning, Sales, and leadership to build seasonal and ongoing product assortments across bedding, bath, pet, and future soft-home categories.

- Develop product concepts and identify opportunities for newness, extensions, and key items within each category.

- Translate trends, consumer insights, customer needs, and brand direction into commercially viable products.

- Build and maintain detailed assortment plans and SKU-level product lineups , including categories, product types, sizes, colors, patterns, materials, fabrications, and price points.

- Identify assortment gaps and recommend new products, product extensions, and opportunities to broaden or deepen the collection.

- Develop cohesive assortments that balance design, quality, price, margin, inventory requirements, and customer demand .

- Determine appropriate SKU breadth and depth based on category potential, customer requirements, and inventory considerations.

- Work with Planning to establish initial inventory needs, SKU quantities, and order recommendations.

- Continuously evaluate the assortment and make recommendations for additions, changes, or exits based on business performance and market opportunity.

Product Development Process

- Partner closely with Design to translate seasonal concepts, trends, color palettes, patterns, and inspiration into commercially viable products.

- Communicate detailed product requirements to vendors, including dimensions, materials, fabrications, colors, prints, finishes, construction, packaging, and labeling.

- Manage products through the development process from initial concept and vendor development through samples, revisions, costing, and final approval.

- Review samples and provide clear, detailed feedback to ensure products meet design intent, quality expectations, target costs, and functional requirements.

- Coordinate with overseas vendors and agents on development timelines, sample submissions, product specifications, and revisions.

- Maintain accurate product specifications and development information throughout the lifecycle of each SKU.

- Identify opportunities to improve product construction, materials, functionality, quality, or cost.

Costing, Pricing & Sourcing

- Partner with Sourcing and vendors to develop products that meet target costs and margin requirements.

- Review and negotiate product costing, MOQs, and pricing with vendors and agents.

- Evaluate product cost in relation to materials, construction, size, packaging, and target retail.

- Work with Sourcing to identify the appropriate factories and vendor partners for new product development.

- Maintain accurate costing, pricing, MOQ, and vendor information for all products.

- Identify opportunities to optimize product costs without compromising design, quality, or customer expectations.

Inventory Planning & Order Readiness

- Partner closely with Planning to translate the assortment strategy into SKU-level inventory and order requirements .

- Help determine initial quantities and inventory needs based on assortment strategy, customer opportunities, historical performance, and expected demand.

- Review inventory plans and make recommendations on SKU depth, breadth, and replenishment opportunities.

- Ensure products are fully developed and have accurate specifications, costing, packaging, dimensions, and other required information before order placement.

- Partner with Planning and Operations on SKU setup and product readiness.

- Monitor the development pipeline and flag products that may impact customer orders, inventory availability, or launch timing.

- Maintain accurate product and assortment data to support forecasting, ordering, inventory management, and customer presentations.

- Analyze inventory and sales information to identify opportunities for new product development, assortment expansion, or SKU rationalization.

Vendor & Cross-Functional Management

- Manage day-to-day communication with overseas vendors and agents regarding product development, samples, costing, specifications, and timelines.

- Review weekly development trackers and proactively follow up on outstanding items.

- Partner with Design, Sourcing, Planning, Sales, Operations, and Packaging to move products efficiently from concept to production.

- Address development, quality, cost, and timing issues and work cross-functionally to resolve them.

- Ensure product information remains accurate and consistent across development, planning, production, and customer-facing materials.

Market & Product Intelligence

- Monitor trends across bedding, bath, pet, and the broader home market , including color, pattern, materials, fabrication, construction, functionality, and product innovation.

- Research competitive assortments, pricing, product offerings, and new launches to identify opportunities for AXNY Home.

- Stay current on consumer preferences, retail trends, and emerging product categories.

- Identify whitespace opportunities and recommend new products or categories that could expand the AXNY Home business.

- Participate in customer and sales meetings to understand customer needs and incorporate feedback into future product development and assortments.

- Support showroom and line presentation preparation by ensuring product information, samples, and assortments are complete and organized.

Qualifications

- 5+ years of experience in product development, assortment planning, merchandising, or a combination of these areas , within home, soft home, bedding, bath, textiles, or related consumer products.

- Strong understanding of product development and building assortments from the ground up .

- Experience developing products with overseas vendors, agents, and manufacturing partners.

- Strong understanding of product costing, margins, MOQs, retail pricing, and product economics.

- Experience working with SKU-level assortment planning and inventory requirements .

- Ability to evaluate product opportunities and determine appropriate assortment breadth and depth.

- Strong product and aesthetic sensibility with an understanding of premium home.

- Ability to balance design, quality, cost, inventory, and speed to market .

- Highly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple categories, SKUs, vendors, and development timelines simultaneously.

- Strong analytical and Excel skills, with experience working with product, assortment, inventory, and costing spreadsheets.

- Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and taking ownership of products from concept through production and order readiness .

- A genuine passion for home, interiors, textiles, and product development .

What We Offer

- Comprehensive Health & Wellness Benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance

- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with company match

- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays

- Half Day Fridays with shortened hours during both Summer and Winter seasons

- Health Savings Account (HSA)

- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

- Tax-free commuter benefits

- Exclusive employee merchandise discounts

Salary: The anticipated base salary is $90k - $120k annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, internal equity, and location.