The Opportunity
The Normal Brand is a fast-growing, family-owned apparel company based in Saint Louis. We make elevated everyday clothing for men and women - built to last and designed to feel as good as it looks - sold across DTC, retail, wholesale, and corporate channels. The biggest thing holding us back right now is inventory. Our production cycle requires committing to orders six months out. When sales heat up, we're limited by what we have. When we chase growth, we take on significant inventory risk. We need to fix this - and we need someone who has done it before. TNB's supply chain infrastructure is lean and earlystage. This person will build the systems, not inherit them. Builder role, not caretaker.
What You'll Own
• Vendor strategy - decide who TNB works with, on what terms, and who gets cut when they don't perform
• Factory relationships - own day-to-day and strategic management of all production partners, including performance reviews and corrective action plans
• Vendor compliance manual - build TNB's compliance framework with outside counsel: quality standards, chargebacks, lead times, and capacity commitments - the foundation everything else is built on
• Quick-turn program - build TNB's chase capability from scratch: fabric pre-buys, capacity reservations, tiered commitments, and nearshore/fast-turn partnerships
• Country-of-origin & tariff strategy - evaluate sourcing by country and factory network, optimize duty exposure, diversify vendor concentration
• S&OP - partner with merchandising, planning, and finance to align supply with demand signals and launch timelines
• Logistics & distribution - coordinate inbound logistics from landed goods through warehouse to the right channel on time
• Metrics - own on-time delivery, lead time, inventory turn, and landed cost. Report directly to Founder and drive continuous improvement
• Travel - 10-20% including international factory visits. Being in the room is part of the job
The Team
• Reports directly to the Founder; sits on the senior leadership team
• Linda (Head of Product) owns product development and tech packs - you own factory selection through final delivery
• Courtney (Planning & Allocation) partners on inventory plans and PO timing
• Katherine (Merchant) feeds demand signals and sell-through data into your planning cycle
• Max (CFO) is your counterpart on inventory risk and capital commitment decisions
Requirements
What We're Looking For
• 8-12 years in apparel supply chain at a DTC or wholesale brand (not a retailer)
• Has personally built or managed a quick-turn or chase program - not just inherited one
• Has fired and replaced factory partners - knows what good looks like and won't accept less
• Deep fluency in fabric liability deals, capacity reservation structures, tiered commitments, and tariff/duty optimization
• Existing factory and mill network across Asia, Central America, or emerging sourcing regions - relationships ready to activate
• Comfortable building in a lean environment without a large team or institutional infrastructure
• Experience with domestic or nearshore production is a plus
Benefits
Why This Role
• Real authority - including the ability to exit factory relationships that aren't working
• You're solving the problem that most directly limits our growth - your impact will be immediate and visible
• Strong brand momentum, loyal customers, and product that earns repeat purchase
• Competitive compensation • Health, dental & vision • 401K • Employee discount • Saint Louis cost of living
