Category Manager Off-Bike – Nike Cycling

About nimbl & Nike Cycling

Nimbl: The standard for performance cycling footwear and apparel
Nimbl is a high-performance cycling brand committed to maintaining the highest quality standards while preserving Italian craftsmanship and driving innovation. Known for its handcrafted shoes worn by WorldTour athletes, Nimbl helps cyclists optimize power transfer without compromising comfort and style. With its expansion into apparel, Nimbl offers a system built to elevate performance, watt after watt.  

Nike Cycling: A new era of performance, Born from heritage
NIKE, Inc. does more than outfit the world’s best athletes. Born from a unique partnership between Nike and Pon.Bike, the world’s leading premium bicycle group, Nike Cycling combines legendary brand soul with world-class technical expertise. We are building a high-performance ecosystem that bridges the gap between the athlete and the bike. We are looking for the tastemakers, the risk-takers, and the "glue players" who are ready to build a global powerhouse from the ground up.  

About Pon

Pon is a global company with over 110 businesses in 34 countries, focused on mobility and key trends like urbanization, electrification, sustainability, and digitalization. It represents major automotive brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, and Porsche, and is active in the cycling industry with more than 15 premium bike brands, including Cervélo, Cannondale, Gazelle, and Santa Cruz. Pon emphasizes respect, long-term partnerships, and meaningful contributions to both employees and society. 

Who we’re looking for
We are looking for a commercially minded, analytical Category Manager Off-Bike based at our headquarters in Amsterdam. In this key role, you take tactical and operational ownership of the entire Nike-branded off-bike apparel assortment, defining what products we select, when we launch them, and how we capture market demand across global cycling and sportswear cultures at our Independent Bike Dealers network.

You will build our off-bike product matrix. Leveraging Nike’s global product catalogue, you will identify and select the right core silhouettes and blank garments (tees, hoodies, jackets, pants, accessories), adapting and customizing their designs, colorways, and embellishments to fit the off-bike cycling audience. You will work with the team to translate these insights into seasonal drop calendars.

Quality is non-negotiable in this role. Every single garment, fabric blend, seam, and print execution must unreservedly reflect The Nike Standard. Acting as the primary operational contact between our business and Nike apparel factories, you will enforce uncompromising quality control and strict technical specifications across all production runs in close cooperation with the Quality Manager and Supply Chain Planner of Nimbl/Nike.

You will work in the Nimbl / Nike Apparel team, but in daily alignment with our internal Sports Marketing team, commercial lead, and supply chain manager to service three distinct off-bike streams:

1. Pro Team Off-Bike Gear: Off-bike apparel (podium wear, travel gear, team jackets) tailored for professional WorldTour teams and athletes.

2. Team Merchandise & Fanwear: Co-branded off-bike apparel commercialized for fans wanting to represent their favorite WorldTour teams.

3. Nike Consumer Off-Bike Collection: A standalone, core Nike-branded off-bike apparel range designed and curated for global D2C e-commerce and wholesale retail channels.

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

1. Assortment Strategy, Range Architecture & Market Alignment

• Seasonal Range Building: Assist in defining the global off-bike range architecture for Nike Cycling, tracking product mix, colorways, pricing tiers, and style counts.

• Market & Demand Analysis: Conduct continuous market research and competitive analysis to identify consumer needs in premium sports and cycling culture. 

• Release & Drop Calendar: Help maintain seasonal launch timelines, ensuring product drops align with the WorldTour calendar and global retail seasons.

2. Three-Stream Product Management

• Pro Team Off-Bike Range: Assist Sports Marketing in curating and delivering custom off-bike kits for professional teams and athletes. 

• Team Merch & Fanwear Commercialization: Drive the transformation of professional team partnerships into high-demand, commercial fanwear ranges for global digital e-commerce and wholesale channels.

• Core Consumer Range Selection: Protect the standalone Nike off-bike lifestyle lineup designed for general consumers worldwide.

3. Factory Management, Procurement & Execution

• Nike Factory Liaison: Act as an operational link to apparel factories, tracking purchase order placements, production lead times, and sample shipments. 

• Printing & Embellishment Precision: Monitor customization details to ensure logos, team branding, and prints comply with Nike visual codes and durability standards.

• Timely Ordering & Delivery: Monitor procurement milestones to ensure products are produced and delivered on time for team presentation dates and commercial launch drops. 

4. Inventory Control & Demand Forecasting

• Off-Bike Stock Management: Track inventory health, safety stock levels, and product velocity for all off-bike categories in our central warehouse. 

• Demand Planning: Assist in converting commercial sales forecasts into accurate factory purchase orders to minimize stock-outs or excess inventory. 

WHAT YOU BRING

• Commercial Drive: A strong focus on driving sales and margin growth, paired with a passion for curating gear that resonates with modern cycling communities, professional teams, and everyday athletes alike.

• Assortment Planning & Range Architecture: 2+ years in category management, product line management (PLM), or range planning in sportswear, street/lifestyle apparel, or cycling.

• Uncompromising Quality & Nike Standards: Deep commitment to premium garment construction, fabric hand-feel, durability, and zero-defect execution. Proven ability to enforce strict product testing, and brand embellishment standards.

• Market Insight & Trend Analysis: An eye for spotting market trends and mapping consumer demand, helping the team identify product gaps and commercial opportunities.

• Seasonal Launch & Drop Management: Organizational skills to help track release calendars and coordinate optimal timing for product drops based on cycling seasons and retail windows. 

• Nike & Factory Network Liaison: Basic understanding of (or eagerness to learn about) apparel manufacturing, TechPacks, fabric specs, trims, print techniques, and production lead times. 

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Strong collaborative skills and communication abilities to connect Sports Marketing, Sales/E-commerce, and Operations. 

• Procurement & Inventory Control: Basic knowledge of purchasing cycles, order placement discipline, and stock turnover. You will work closely with the supply chain planner to monitor inventory.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A Seat at the Table: Category ownership of a crucial, high-growth pillar within the Nike Cycling venture.

• Best of Both Worlds: High-end cycling culture combined with the global scaling power, structure, and standards of Nike and Pon.Bike.

• Growth & Impact: Shape, build, and scale the complete Nike off-bike apparel business globally.

• Employee discounts and involvement in exciting product launches.

• The position includes a market-based salary.