About Us

LayLo is the Los Angeles based US subsidiary of PADMA, a global apparel design and manufacturing company founded in 1995. PADMA has design offices in London, Barcelona and the Netherlands, and production across owned and partner factories in Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Turkey and other regions. LayLo leads the group's growth in the US market.

We partner with major US brands and retailers on full-package design, development and production. We are now hiring a senior leader to deepen those partnerships and bring our design and production services to more US specialty retailers and brands.

The Role

The VP, Sales & Business Development will manage and grow our US customer business. This includes managing and expanding our largest existing accounts, major US apparel brands and licensees selling into warehouse club, mass market and national retail, and developing new relationships with US specialty retailers and brands to design and produce their private label product.

This is a senior, relationship-driven role. We are looking for someone with a strong understanding of sourcing and production, ideally from hands-on experience, along with a track record of winning and growing business. You will work hand in hand with our overseas factories and offices, so you need to speak their language as fluently as you speak the customer's.

We are looking for someone who can do both: protect and grow large, complex accounts, and open doors to new ones. You will see the programs you sell through from costing to delivery, working with our overseas teams to keep quality and timing on track.

Key Responsibilities

Grow existing key accounts

Manage day-to-day relationships with our largest US brand and licensee customers across their sourcing, product development, merchandising and compliance teams, in partnership with the COO
Build annual account plans with clear volume, category and margin goals
Identify whitespace within existing accounts: new categories, divisions, programs and channels
Lead product presentations and costing negotiations

Win new specialty retail and brand partners

Develop and execute a strategy to win design and production programs with US specialty retailers and brands that develop their own private label product
Build a pipeline of target accounts, open doors through existing relationships, and manage long sales cycles from first meeting to first PO
Present our design, development and manufacturing capabilities in a way that wins new partnerships
Lead new customer onboarding, including vendor setup and compliance requirements

Partner with our factories and overseas offices

Work closely with our overseas offices to deliver on customer programs
Translate customer needs into clear direction on product, cost, quality and delivery
Drive costing and cost engineering to hit customer price points while protecting margin, including accurate FOB, DDP and landed costs
Partner with our overseas offices on pre-production approvals and quality and delivery checkpoints
Make sure factories proposed to customers meet customer and licensor compliance standards

Drive commercial results

Grow sales and margin across your accounts
Forecast volume and revenue, and report on pipeline and performance to senior leadership
Negotiate pricing, terms and program commitments within approved margin guidelines
Protect margin on delivered programs by minimizing chargebacks, airfreight and claims
Bring market and customer insight back to the business to shape product and sourcing strategy

How Success Is Measured

Revenue retained and grown on existing accounts
New accounts opened and first POs received
Gross margin delivered versus margin quoted
Programs delivered to quality and on time

What You Bring

15+ years in the apparel industry, with a background in sourcing and production strongly preferred, and at least 5 years in a sales, account management or business development role
A proven record of winning new business and growing large accounts, with books of business you can speak to specifically
Strong, active relationships with decision-makers at major US brands, licensees and specialty retailers
Experience running high-volume warehouse club programs (Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's or similar), ideally through brand licensees
Deep knowledge of garment construction, fabrication, costing, FOB and DDP negotiation, and global manufacturing
Working knowledge of US duty classification, freight and customs as they affect landed cost
Experience working directly with overseas factories and sourcing offices
A track record of delivering programs on time and to quality
Knowledge of retailer and licensor compliance and factory qualification
Private label experience, either building programs for retailers or supplying them as a vendor
Strong commercial and financial acumen: pricing, margin, forecasting and reporting
Clear, solutions-focused communicator who builds strong working relationships with overseas teams
Entrepreneurial and self-directed, comfortable building a business rather than inheriting one
Willing to travel domestically and internationally to customers, factories and offices

Nice to have

Experience at a full-package vendor, sourcing agent or vertically integrated manufacturer
Knowledge of vendor onboarding and EDI
Existing relationships with factories in Bangladesh, China or Vietnam

Details

Location: Hybrid, Los Angeles based
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Compensation: $175,000 to $225,000 base salary, plus annual performance bonus. Final offer based on experience and book of business.
Travel: Regular domestic travel to customers; international travel to factories and offices

VP, Sales & Business Development

Job Description