About Comfrt:
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Comfrt is a rapidly growing lifestyle brand redefining comfort through innovative, thoughtfully designed products that support physical and emotional well-being. Built on the belief that comfort can positively impact how people feel, Comfrt continues to expand beyond apparel into new lifestyle categories that bring comfort, function, and emotional connection into everyday life.
As we expand into the toy and plush category, we are seeking a highly experienced, commercially minded Senior Product Development Manager to help build and scale this exciting new business.
About the Role:
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The Senior Product Development Manager – Toys will lead the end-to-end development and commercialization of Comfrt's expanding toy category, including sensory toys, squishy toys, weighted plush, novelty toys, and innovative comfort-focused products.
This role requires a unique combination of technical product development expertise, analytical capabilities, strategic thinking, and strong business acumen. The ideal candidate understands how to translate consumer insights, market research, competitive analysis, and sales performance into actionable product strategies that drive innovation, revenue growth, and profitability.
Beyond managing product development from concept through production, this individual will play a critical role in identifying new business opportunities, evaluating product performance, and helping shape the long-term direction of Comfrt's toy category.
We are looking for a hands-on, entrepreneurial leader who can think strategically, understand retail financials, and execute with urgency in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Key Responsibilities:
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### Product Strategy, Business Analytics & Market Intelligence
- •Partner with Product leadership and Merchandising to develop a strategic product roadmap aligned with consumer needs, emerging trends, and business growth objectives.
- •Analyze product sales performance, including revenue, unit sales, sell-through, average unit retail (AUR), gross margin, inventory productivity, and product profitability.
- •Translate sales data, consumer insights, and market research into actionable recommendations for product innovation, assortment optimization, and future development.
- •Conduct competitive market analysis to identify emerging toy trends, white-space opportunities, product innovation, pricing strategies, and category growth potential.
- •Understand retail math and key financial metrics, including sales forecasts, costing, initial markup (IMU), gross margin, markdown impact, and return on investment.
- •Evaluate the commercial viability of new product concepts through market demand, target retail pricing, cost structure, margin potential, and projected sales opportunities.
- •Identify opportunities to scale winning products, improve underperforming products, and strategically evolve the assortment.
- •Present data-driven product recommendations and business opportunities to senior leadership, clearly articulating the consumer need, financial opportunity, competitive advantage, and execution strategy.
- •Balance short-term business opportunities with long-term category growth, differentiation, and innovation.
### **Product Development & Commercialization
- •Own end-to-end product development for the toy category, from initial concept and design handoff through production approval.
- •Partner closely with the Senior Toy Designer to translate creative concepts into technically sound, commercially viable products.
- •Experience working directly with overseas vendors, with a strong understanding of manufacturing processes, production lead times, and critical milestones to ensure on-time product delivery.
- •Lead technical development with Sr Toy Designer across plush, weighted toys, sensory products, squishy toys, novelty toys, and emerging toy categories.
- •Evaluate product feasibility, construction methods, functionality, materials, and manufacturing capabilities while preserving design integrity.
- •Identify opportunities to improve product functionality, comfort, quality, durability, and consumer experience.
- •Manage multiple development projects simultaneously while ensuring critical milestones are achieved.
- •Proactively troubleshoot development challenges and present practical solutions.
### **Materials, Construction & Innovation
- •Research and develop innovative materials, textures, constructions, and product functionalities that differentiate Comfrt in the toy market.
- •Bring strong technical knowledge of toy materials, including plush fabrics, foam, fillings, TPR, silicone, PVC, and other sensory and novelty toy materials.
- •Evaluate materials for comfort, tactile experience, performance, durability, manufacturability, and safety.
- •Lead technical development of specialized products, including weighted plush, squeezable toys, scented products, and sensory-focused in