About the Role
The Product Manager for Pod 2 owns Canterbury's off-field, training, functional fitness and zero / low-touch product activity, designing rugby apparel built for strength, movement and team identity.
Responsibilities
- Own the seasonal product plan for training, functional fitness, off-field and zero / low-touch product areas.
- Identify product opportunities based on consumer insight, category trends, whitespace and commercial performance.
- Create clear product briefs and product propositions for Design, Development and Commercial teams.
- Manage product milestones, sample reviews and decision points across the critical path.
- Partner with Brand and GTM teams to shape seasonal product stories and launch priorities.
- Support range rationalisation, lifecycle management and update decisions for low-touch product.
- Review product performance, costs, margin and market feedback to inform future range planning.
- Collaborate with regional teams where local market requirements influence product decisions.
- Maintain a clear view of range architecture, lifecycle choices and product priorities so teams understand what is new, repeated, updated or retired each season.
- Bring together consumer insight, commercial feedback and development feasibility so product decisions are both ambitious and deliverable.
- Own category range plans, seasonal briefs, pricing inputs and lifecycle decisions for the pod.
- Use consumer, gym, training, customer and competitor insight to identify range opportunities and risks.
- Partner with Design and Development to ensure products are desirable, feasible, costed and launch-ready.
- Prepare clear product narratives and handover information for GTM, marketing and regional teams.
Requirements
- Product management, NPD or product strategy experience within apparel, sport, fitness or consumer goods.
- Good understanding of product creation from insight and concept through to delivery.
- Strong project management and stakeholder coordination skills.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to use data and insight to shape product decisions.
- Commercial awareness and confidence balancing consumer, brand and business needs.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to present product direction clearly.
- Organised, collaborative and comfortable managing multiple seasonal priorities.
- Confidence working through ambiguity, making trade-offs between consumer need, commercial opportunity, cost, timing and operational complexity.
- Product management or merchandising experience in training, performance apparel, sport or related categories.
Work Type
- hybrid working
Salary/Compensations
- competitive salary
Benefits
- discretionary bonus
- flexible start and finish times
- generous holiday allowance
- product discounts
- sample sales
- enhanced family-friendly policies
- healthcare support
- gym and fitness discounts
- cycle to work scheme
- electric car scheme
About the Company
- Pentland Brands is a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands.
- Canterbury is the world’s original rugby brand, built on more than a century of sporting heritage, technical product knowledge and deep connection to the game.
- Founded in New Zealand in 1904, Canterbury creates performance kit, training apparel, casualwear and fan product for players, teams and supporters who live and breathe rugby.
- It is a brand shaped by strength, durability and belonging, supporting people on and off the pitch, from grassroots clubs to the highest levels of the sport.
- Joining Canterbury means becoming part of a team that cares deeply about rugby product and the people who wear it: how it fits, how it moves, how it performs under pressure, how it represents team identity, and how it brings players, coaches and fans together.
Equal Opportunity
- This vacancy is a newly created role as part of organisational changes. Final appointment will depend upon the outcome of consultation processes and affected employees will have priority for consideration.
