Portfolio Manager- Outdoor Products

For over 50 years KENT OUTDOORS has been the ultimate destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering a curated collection of industry-leading brands driven by the pure pursuit of adventure.

KENT Outdoors is a collection of brands all obsessively focused on building the most innovative and reliable equipment for use in our most revered natural playgrounds. We relentlessly dream, build, and offer products that empower the very best days outside. We’re a collection of outdoor fanatics, product geeks, marketing mavens, and entrepreneurs all focused on pushing through boundaries, both on land, and in the water.

Holding true to our roots while evolving for the future, the family of KENT brands today includes Absolute Outdoors, Arctic Shield, Aquaglide, Arbor Snowboards, Barefoot International, BOTE, Connelly, FatSac, Freedom Foil, Full Throttle, HO Sports, Hyperlite, KENT, Kona Bicycles, Liquid Force, Margaritaville, O’Brien, and Onyx.

Your Impact at KENT

The Portfolio Manager will be responsible for the growth and development of our full line of functional outdoor gear targeting consumers who brave the elements to pursue their passions- whether it is hunting, ice fishing or other year-round outdoor activities. Those who dream about creating innovative products would thrive in our small but mighty entrepreneurial team. Combining both strategy and execution, this role will deeply understand our consumer and develop products that meet their needs while achieving an increase in sales and gross margin.

Reporting directly to the President, Absolute Outdoor/Lifejackets, the successful candidate will be responsible for relentlessly elevating the business on all initiatives with special focus on the brands’ direct-to-consumer touch points. The ideal candidate will thrive in a highly entrepreneurial, fast-changing, and collaborative environment within a team that is driven, enthusiastic, and open to taking risks. The successful candidate will build on the vision, champion the big picture, and build an eco-system and vibe that prioritizes a brand first, high gross margin, omni-channel business that has multiple push-pull levers to drive the business. Their leadership style will demonstrate empathy, a high level of emotional intelligence, navigating challenging situations with patience, grace and professionalism alongside their product development and sourcing prowess.

What You’ll Do

Responsible for the growth and expansion of our outdoor and Arctic Shield categories.Develop of a variety of products aligned with consumer insights and business strategy that drive a planned increase in sales and gross margin.Ensure the quality and integrity in all aspects of the process and product life.Utilize our in-house systems to track sales and gross profit enabling analytical decisions to guide the direction for growth potential.Coordinate development, implementation, communications, launch, training, and follow up actions involved in the new product development process.Develop relevant product trend research, competitive analysis/matrices to drive informed and intelligent short and long-term decisions within assigned product lines/brands. This includes online research, publications, competitive shopping, trade shows, etc.Ensure internal product confirmation process of assigned product lines/brands is communicated clearly and accurately internally and externally.Support other members of the product management team outside of the primary lines/brands as needed and assigned.Be a passionate steward, protector, defender and driver of both the product brands and our corporate brand

What You’ve Accomplished

Associate or Bachelor’s Degree in business, product management, or related field preferred3-5+ years’ experience developing and sourcing product with a sporting or outdoor goods focus.Strong teamwork and organizational skills.Fluent with Microsoft, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Photoshop and Illustrator.Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.Superior problem-solving and analytical skillsFlexible travel schedule required including by air, overnight domestic and international.

How You Thrive

You go “all out.”  You tend to approach everything you do with velocity.  From your next exhilarating outdoor adventure to scaling meaningful peaks at work, you act with speed, direction, ethics, and forethought. Your efficiency is rooted in the knowledge that resources are not infinite. You are goal-oriented and focused on outcomes. When you see a challenge or obstacle to overcome, you jump in collaboratively to find a solution; team achievements should be celebrated more than individual performance. You are compelled to share your perspective because it is rooted in experience and synthesis thinking - you know that healthy debate yields better decisions. You are humble despite your impressive past accomplishments. Your communication style is honest and forthright, yet empathetic, with everyone. 

KENT Outdoors is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.