Director Product Development - India Franchise

Gap

Gap

Product
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Posted on Jul 23, 2025

About the Role

The Director of Product Development is a leadership role within our Product team, focused on driving local sourcing initiatives for the India market. Created during a period of significant growth, this newly established position plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of our localized product development and sourcing strategy in the region.

You will have deep expertise in sourcing and developing a product aesthetic for global iconic brands, with a strong track record of building and executing robust sourcing strategies, coupled with a strong passion for fabric and product creation within global quality standards and the ability to influence strategic direction with external partners.

You must be a leader who thrives in a matrix organization and can successfully collaborate and influence cross-functional teams across Gap Inc. and manage external partners, vendors and agencies.

What You'll Do

  • Develop exclusive products for the local franchise market, and work in partnership with the Franchise Product teams in creating assortments that meet market-specific customer needs, grow market share, and are aligned to the overall brand strategy

  • Build and strengthen strategic relationships with franchise partner and successfully collaborate across varied functions and levels with stakeholders to drive results and influence strategic sourcing direction

  • Own end-to-end product development process for locally sourced products, from fabric development through to order placement, ensuring alignment with brand aesthetic, quality standards, and service level agreements.

  • Develop and implement scalable processes that support product excellence, technical design, product integrity, and safety compliance.

  • Influence vendor strategy and sourcing initiatives to drive responsive capabilities to support partner’s business needs for closer in-market decisions and replenishment

  • Develop fabric strategy initiatives with partner to support responsive supply chain, differentiated market needs while aligning with global aesthetic and standards

  • Partner closely with franchise business partner to monitor and influence local sourcing initiatives, ensuring timely product approvals and vendor onboarding.

  • Serve as the primary liaison between partner, Gap Inc.’s strategic vendors and GIS leadership, facilitating domestic production to support key product initiatives tailored for the local market

  • Support the design team in aligning locally sourced products with brand vision and quality expectations.

  • Work with Sourcing central teams to ensure quality assurance, technical design, and compliance standards are met across all locally sourced products.

  • Serve as a key member of the cross-functional leadership team, contributing to strategic planning and execution of growth initiatives.

Who You Are

  • Previous experience in retail/apparel license and wholesale businesses

  • 12+ years of experience, including significant apparel sourcing, fabric development, product development, and/or production experience

  • Thrives in a highly collaborative environment, working with diverse cultures, and influencing people

  • Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills

  • Strong project management and communication skills as well as ability to work successfully with peers, teams, and executives in a matrixed organization

  • Strong change management, strategy, and operational experience

  • Strong influencing skills to both internal and external stakeholders

  • Strong oral, written and formal presentation skills including the ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple way

  • Strong interpersonal skills, works well as a part of a cross-functional team and can influence and interact at all levels of the organization

  • Ability to work in and bring structure to ambiguous environments