• Accomplished Head of Merchandising with a broad background in managing the trading and merchandising functions and supporting buying and design. • Extensive experience in the development, management and trading of products through supplier engagements, competitive/market analysis, pricing, trend awareness and project management. • Global multi-channel knowledge of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, homewear and third-party brands. • Proven success in driving revenue, cultivating and developing new business and obtaining optimal levels of profitability in highly competitive market segments. • Form strong working relationships with clients at all levels, facilitating development of mutually beneficial business partnerships through exemplary partnership development. • Strong operating systems knowledge with the ability to empower myself and others with best practices.
Working with a new fashion retail start up, taking charge of the Merchandising planning function. The lead person involved in the on-boarding of a 3rd party operating system and digital platform.
Merchandise Manager (October 2019 – October 2021) Oversaw the Merchandising functions of Childrenswear, Menswear, Homewear and the M&Co sister brands (Khost, Sonder Studio and Spirit) as well as spearheaded all aspects of selling all M&Co product on Marketplaces (Next, Zalando, Amazon, Debenhams and Ebay). Supported and reviewed P&L forecasts in line with agreed company KPI's, owning the sales and margin plan, intake margin, stock levels, trading strategy, and markdown optimisation. Ensured all relevant users in the business got the relevant training in using the Internal Operating System and 3 rd Party Systems (Google Analystics, Google Looker Studio, Microstrategy, Island Pacific and MS Office). Key Achievements • Managed sales revenue of £45m equivalent to over a third of the total company sales, across 2200 options and 15,000 skus. • Planned space in up to 140 stores, breaking topline dept space down to section level. • Defined and implemented three-year merchandising strategies for my departments. • In charge of 18 staff from Admin level up to Senior Merchandiser ensuring all developmental needs were met and opportunities for progression were made available. • Helped launch Sonder Studio and Khost through standalone Digital platforms and introducing B2B to sell on Next / Zalando and through Wholesale. Within the first six months of selling on Next, Sonder Studio became a Top 10 brand. • Worked with 3rd party digital marketing to grow revenue on Sonder Studio and Khost websites whilst ensuring profit was protected using Google Analytics as a main tool. DAI R E LLI OTT • Company lead on internal operating systems and 3rd party tools, such as Google Analytics and Looker Studio, Microstrategy, Island Pacific and MS Office. Using this knowledge to empower the wider team. • Attended Indx and Moda to grow the Wholesale business of Sonder Studio and Khost • Consolidated supply base to 40 key suppliers. Grew intake margin by 2%. • Served as main contact with NEXT / Zalando, with M&Co consistently a top five brand on Next labels. Achieved year one revenue of £8.1m in 2021/22 growing to £16m in 2022/23
Looked after three departments, Plus, Petite and Womens Outerwear. Key Achievements • Grew sales and profit across all my departments by 29% in the first two years. • Petite increased revenue by 50% in my time looking after it to become the top performing department in the business. • Worked with the Directors to make the decision to exit Plus, following successive years of underperformance and attributed to low footfall in a relatively niche product area. Involved in the consequent discussions about what should use this retail space.
Merchandiser across various departments within Womneswear. Key Achievements • Led Knitwear to an annual revenue over £20m, previous best of £18m • Implemented a change in supply base for Denim, bringing on board a key Turkish supplier. Helped with lead times, but also improved quality. • Set up and led training sessions for all employee levels on how to best use internal and 3rd party systems (Microstrategy and Excel)
Junior Merchandiser for Knitwear.