Quince
Product Cost Associate, Apparel
Job Summary
The role involves analyzing and managing product costs to ensure profitability and cost efficiency. The candidate will assess material, manufacturing, and overhead costs, compare actual versus projected expenses, and collaborate with teams across finance, sourcing, and merchandising. Strong analytical, negotiation, and data reporting skills are essential, along with industry knowledge of manufacturing or retail sectors. The position aims to support strategic cost management and provide actionable insights for cost-saving initiatives.
Required Skills
Job Description
OUR STORY
Quince was started to challenge the existing idea that nice things should cost a lot. Our mission was simple: create an item of equal or greater quality than the leading luxury brands and sell them at a much lower price.
OUR VALUES
Customer First. Customer satisfaction is our highest priority.
High Quality. True quality is a combination of premium materials and high production standards that everyone can feel good about.
Essential design. We don’t chase trends, and we don’t sell everything. We’re expert curators that find the very best and bring it to you at the lowest prices.
Always a better deal. Through innovation and real price transparency we want to offer the best deal to both our customers and our factory partners.
Environmentally and Socially conscious. We’re committed to sustainable materials and sustainable production methods. That means a cleaner environment and fair wages for factory workers.
OUR TEAM AND SUCCESS
Quince is a retail and technology company co-founded by a team that has extensive experience in retail, technology and building early stage companies. You’ll work with a team of world-class talent from Stanford GSB, Google, D.E. Shaw, Stitch Fix, Urban Outfitters, Wayfair, McKinsey, Nike etc.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE:
We are seeking a highly analytical and detail-oriented Product Cost Associate to join our team and drive cost efficiency across our product lines. This role is pivotal in ensuring that our production costs are accurately analyzed, tracked, and managed to support overall profitability. As part of the Procurement Team, the ideal candidate will leverage their expertise in cost analysis, supplier costing, and data reporting to provide actionable insights that directly impact our margin strategies.
Success in this role means developing a detailed understanding of our product costs - both what they should be as well as what assumptions vendors are using to cost our products, delivering precise cost reports, identifying discrepancies between projected and actual costs, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement cost-saving measures. This position offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on our business by ensuring that cost structures align with our strategic goals and market conditions.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Should-cost Analysis & Calculations:
- Break down material, crafting, trims/hardware, packaging, and overhead costs to understand the key assumptions driving total product costs.
- Compare actual costs against projected to identify and resolve discrepancies.
Supplier & Vendor Costing:
- Analyze supplier quotes and cost breakdowns and compare them against internally developed should-cost models to identify sources of leverage.
- Identify discrepancies in vendor pricing and provide data-backed insights to build the negotiation strategy.
- Assist in fact-based cost negotiations with vendors to achieve targeted cost-saving objectives.
Margin & Profitability Analysis:
- Evaluate how cost variations affect overall profitability, both at a product level and portfolio level.
- Provide actionable insights and recommendations to the pricing team.
Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams:
- Work closely with finance, merchandising, sourcing, and planning teams to align cost objectives with overall business goals.
- Ensure cost structures support the company’s strategic and market positioning.
Data & Reporting:
- Prepare detailed cost reports and financial models for leadership review.
- Identify trends in material costs and lead initiatives for cost-saving strategies.
- Maintain and update the central cost-tracking system as the single source of truth for product costing.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Analytical skills - Strong ability to dissect complex cost structures and analyze data effectively.
- Attention to detail - Exceptional accuracy in cost calculations and data reporting.
- Negotiation skills - Exposure to and/or experience in negotiating with vendors and suppliers.
- Industry knowledge - Understanding of manufacturing processes and cost structures, ideally within apparel, manufacturing, consumer goods, or retail sectors.
- Technical proficiency - Extremely high proficiency in Excel, experience with cost-tracking systems or financial modeling tools, and quick ramp-up to new systems
- Communication - Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate across multiple teams
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field is preferred.
Preferred:
- Advanced degree in supply chain, business, or a related field.
- Familiarity with digital tools and systems for procurement and supplier management.
- Language skills - secondary language highly valuable, particularly Mandarin or Hindi
We rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. Bonus eligibility varies by role and is determined based on the position’s impact and contribution to our strategic goals.
Security Advisory: Beware of Frauds
At Quince, we're dedicated to recruiting top talent who share our drive for innovation. To safeguard candidates, Quince emphasizes legitimate recruitment practices. Initial communication is primarily via official Quince email addresses and LinkedIn; beware of deviations. Personal data and sensitive information will not be solicited during the application phase. Interviews are conducted via phone, in person, or through the approved platforms Google Meets or Zoom—never via messaging apps or other calling services. Offers are merit-based, communicated verbally, and followed up in writing. If personal information is requested to initiate the hiring process, rest assured it will be through secure and protected means.
Quince
Quince brings luxury products like Mongolian Cashmere, Italian Leather, Turkish Cotton and Washable Silk to everyone at radically low prices. Shop premium essentials with no middleman.
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