News December 17, 2024
Rachel Rosario Named Director of Merchandising for Prime Line
Rosario will be joining Eric Levin in running the burgeoning hard goods business unit that became part of S&S Activewear following the firm’s acquisition of alphabroder.
Key Takeaways
• New Role: Rachel Rosario has been appointed director of merchandising for Prime Line, the hard goods wing of Counselor Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358).
• Hard Goods Focus: Prime Line is being established as a stand-alone business unit.
The leadership team that will spearhead Prime Line into the future is continuing to take shape.
Rachel Rosario has been named director of merchandising for the hard goods brand that’s now under the ownership of Counselor Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358) following its acquisition of fellow Top 40 firm alphabroder (asi/34063).
Rosario will be reporting to promo veteran Eric Levin, who last month was named general manager of Prime Line, which is being turned into a business division dedicated to hard goods. Her charge is to build an assortment for all hard good products for Prime Line.
“Being part of a plan to set up a stand-alone business unit from the start is very exciting,” Rosario told ASI Media. “As Prime Line becomes its own division, it will be crucial to focus on the assortment and merchandise that customers want.”
Levin is excited to have Rosario aboard.
“Rachel’s understanding of both marketing and merchandising give her a unique view and vision,” Levin said. “Her industry experience crosses over from merchandising, product management and vendor relations to working with customers, along with the sales and commercial teams, which will surely benefit us in reaching our goals.”
Rosario was most recently head of marketing and communications for Counselor Top 40 supplier Koozie Group (asi/40480), a firm where she worked for nearly eight years. She began her career in product marketing as a merchant/buyer with Best Buy Corporate. She then became an assistant buyer at the Home Shopping Network before later taking the position of director of marketing with the National Mango Board.
“I’m confident my experience will help Prime Line, and I look forward to contributing to the strong team already in place,” Rosario told ASI Media.
Prime Line was a Counselor Top 40 supplier itself when alphabroder acquired the company in 2017. Alphabroder ultimately integrated Prime, centralizing all apparel and hard good offerings in 2023 on one website and unifying the company identity under a single banner. As S&S took ownership of alphabroder, finalizing its acquisition in September, executives announced that Prime Line would become a business unit devoted to hard goods sales. Previously, S&S only sold apparel.
S&S Activewear and alphabroder ranked second and third, respectively, on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry, with each generating about $2 billion in 2023 North American promo revenue.