Visionary Corporate Retail Senior Leader skilled at leading in-store programs, projects, and communications strategies aligned with an organization's vision, mission, and strategy. Strong leadership skills with demonstrated success in building and leading engaged, high-performing, results-oriented teams. Extensive retail background across operations, training, environmental/innovative experiences, visual merchandising/consumer journeys, product marketing, and communications. Strong cross-channel partnership and project management skills. Action-oriented ability to influence stakeholders with a holistic perspective, knowledge, and detail, with a passion for driving brand awareness and delivering business results. • 18+ years of vast retail experience within Global HQ, Europe, North America, and Middle East markets.
• Led the Visual Merchandising department reporting to the Vice President of Retail Strategy and Product Development as part of his leadership team. Manage the development of Visual Merchandising strategies, creating innovative guest experiences through visual execution and creative planning across all locations within Miral Experience incorporating Miral group’s overall business direction. • Restructured and increased the headcount of the VM team, leading a strong team across multiple parks. Ensuring key performance criteria and objectives are completed through monthly 1 on 1’s meetings to review performance and encourage team members to be actively engaged. • Develop proficient and beneficial VM tools to increase productivity within the retail stores and VM team, including a robust VM manual and trainings to enhance professional development for store teams across all parks and attractions to motivate better performance and foster growth. • Collaborate closely with the Buying team through feedback on product development and store allocation to ensure correct store identities are upheld, allowing the creation of comprehensive planograms and floor layouts. • Cultivate key cross- functional relationships and collaborate with internal teams inclusive of the Executive Office (CEO, SVP) Human Resources and Health and Safety on multiple projects across the year to achieve key business objectives and employee satisfaction. • Through analyzing store performances and partnering with the VP of retail strategy and product development, devised a 5-year roadmap to redesign or enhance retail stores across Warner Bros, Ferrari World and SeaWorld to support yearly revenue increase. • Led the successful opening of all retail stores within SeaWorld Abu Dhabi - The first SeaWorld outside of the USA. Receiving recognition from SeaWorld USA. Current Projects: TeamLab Phenomena – Abu Dhabi, Yas Water World expansion – Abu Dhabi, Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Abu Dhabi
• Lead a high-performance culture by setting clear expectations, analyzing performance, training, and coaching to maintain the brand values and vision to drive commercial success which resulted in 360 store audits achieving 98%, 10% above company average. • Delivered 80% above target for OIS (order in-store) weekly and worked with the regional Omni team to maintain compliance across CIS (collect in-store) and RIS (Return in-store). • Completed a 3 Month Secondment in Tommy Hilfiger Trafford Manchester - Leading the store back to operational excellence during peak trade achieving +8% above target. • 3 Month secondment- North Area Manager overseeing and supporting a total of 15 Stores – 5 Calvin Klein stores and 10 Tommy Hilfiger stores with a headcount of 240. During the area manager's absent, I continued to hold and support the area when needed thereafter.
• Based at the North American head office to lead the strategic design, development, and implementation of the training curriculum. Creating innovative educational materials to increase learning and performance using a blended learning delivery methodology, to ensure an inclusive approach. Regularly delivering classroom, onsite and virtual training using theoretical and practical techniques to over 180 stores. • Managed and coordinated key training projects cross functional including DTC and CTC’s annual sales meetings, updating stakeholders on progress Designed onboarding curriculum for all store, field, and head office associates, facilitating field and head office associates. Conceptualized and produced learning videos for brand retail standards, VM Principles and annual sale meeting VM videos. Created and edited QR content as part of a more interactive history and product learning journey. • Pioneered the rollout of ‘test and learn’ VM projects within the market – FTW, inclusive sizing, original and sports mixed. • Controlled forecasting and budgeting (5 million +) for all the ordering, production, Sourcing and logistics for training material, fixtures, and product. • Collaborating with the senior Leadership teams and HR to build career paths for retail and VM roles to fast-track talent. Creating learning journeys for associates to senior leadership to ensure that all present and future leaders were consistent in their development. • Worked closely with the Field Visual Excellence team, while monitoring training KPI’s and analyzed business results to identify training needs and created long-term learning solutions to improve skills and capabilities across all levels from floor to Head office to increase business profitability. • Created Training dashboard and templates on the Visual excellence system to track the stores and leadership development journey, learning impacts, and training ROI. • Supported Go to Market (GTM) process to influence product buying and assortment in partnership with the North American merchandising team.
Responsibly for the commercial VM business for Wholesale doors across GCC alongside selected Franchise stores to increase the profitability of CTC accounts in alignment with the Adidas brand experience. Working in collaboration with wholesale and franchise partners (Al Mana, Al Futtaim, GMG, Apparel Group, Sports Corner) to implement and execute global brand guidelines promoting visual merchandising as a profit center through coaching •Turnaround of 20 Key Shop in shops with "center of excellence" compliance scores Below 35% to 87%+ within six months. •Created monthly and seasonal directives to align with the global marketing calendar to drive global retail consistency through the GGC region. As well as training documents and VM audits. Providing regular feedback to Partners, Key Account Managers and VM director •Collaborated with store development on new and renovated Shop in shops designs to identify partner needs to ensure projects were delivered on time and within project budgets. •Worked cross functional with Buying, Merchandising and Sale Managers during range planning and selling meetings to ensure product assortment and capacities maintained to uphold brand integrity. Partnering with trade marketing on the implementation of different marketing activation as well as monthly campaigns. •Collaborated with DTC VM to design and create the first VM training within GCC for all Own retail, Franchise and WHS instore VMs from U.A.E, KSA, Qatar and Bahrain together for three days to drive and promote consistency. •Supported the international project of opening and renovating 11 stores across Morocco over nine months. -Appointed the lead VM to project manage the execution of Morocco's first brand Centre – Massira – A 5-floor flagship store in the heart of Casablanca.
Dubai GCC & Levant Brand Identity Business Strategies Planning and Execution •Managed all VM activities for 46 Topshop & Topman stores (plus 18 Miss Selfridge stores in 2012-2013) within the Middle East, leading a team of 4 Visual Merchandising Managers with a dotted line to in-store VM teams (100+). •Worked with operations and merchandising to achieve sell-through improve sales and reducing markdown. Supported the buying team with linear counts, insights into sales history and knowledge of customer base to ensure range building was reflective of the markets. •Conducted store visits in person or via digital technology to identifying visual solutions to support the stores achieve brand consistency and business KPIs. Undertook all trainings considering market skill levels, Language barriers, and Cultural differences inclusive of religion regarding commercial reporting, product knowledge, brand standards, VM principles and styling •Project managed over 30 new store openings, refits, and seasonal model stores, ensuring all visual requirements from fixtures to pos were ordered, conducted snagging post-opening and store training to improve store environment and customer experience. •Collaborated with brand hosts to design market-specific requirements, i.e., Ramadan, Saudi Arabia restricts to create a inclusive consumer environment. •Budgeted and managed the production of all windows and in-store creatives from concept to installation in markets to reduce costing by 30%. •Collaborated with marketing to deliver events, product launches and special collections. Example - Adidas x Topshop co-lab, press mornings with Harper Bazar Ariba and Grazia Middle East, Ivy Park, Kylie and Kendall, Katie Boswell.