STRATEGIC RETAIL EXECUTIVE –
BUSINESS LEADER | PRODUCT STRATEGIST | DIGITAL MERCHANT | TEAM BUILDER
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE:
I am a seasoned merchandising leader with a record of building strategies that fuel growth and drive financial results for omni channel businesses. My strengths lie in combining passion and creativity with a strong business acumen to achieve great results. I have a track record of identifying new trends and building them into incremental assortments through product development and licensing/3rd party
o Product obsessed merchant with a keen understanding of quality, details and the importance of story telling
o Blue-sky thinking – able to drive innovation with a creative approach and an entrepreneurial spirit
o Expertise in product development and costing for Kids and Baby apparel, Accessories and Sleepwear
o Drive financial results through translating product strategies into E-Commerce merchandising
o Knowledge of 3rd party vendors, including implementing assortment strategies; recruiting new vendors; internal vendor on-boarding and cross-functional process management
o Collaborations and Licensing expertise including contract negotiation and management; assortment strategy and cross-functional execution leadership
o Strength in leading teams to support business needs with experience leading through complex change
EXPERIENCE
Janie and Jack, San Francisco, CA
Senior Director, Omni Experience and Commercial Planning July 2023 - Present
• Lead Integrated Marketing, Visual and Site Merchandising Teams and Commercial Planning functions
• Merchandising Lead on Ecommerce Marketplace launch scheduled for Fall 2024, including Vendor curation and onboarding, Site Merchandising and Taxonomy
Senior Director, Ecommerce and Merchandising February 2019 – January 2023
• Led Ecommerce team, accounting for $114M in revenue in 2022, 56% of total Brand with +14% retail and +8% GM$ comps, 2 year +39% retail and +44% GM$ comps and +3% traffic and +6% conversion comps
• Launched enhancement to Dresses category (20% of brand), featuring on figure photography, contributing to 2022 25% retail comp
• Coordinated the Holiday 2022 American Girl x Janie and Jack Collaboration on the Janie and Jack side and acted as a Liaison with the American Girl team. To date, this Collab was the single largest Wholesale collection for the Brand
• Developed and launched the 3rd party strategy for the brand, adding 35 elevated brands which drove an incremental $800K in sales for 2021
• Led strategic overhaul of web site navigation in February 2021, increasing conversion by 6%
• Added new promotional copy strategies, increasing conversion by 5% - 9%
• Acted as Brand Liaison with Licensed partners including Disney, Peanuts and American Girl Doll
• Led Customer Care team in 2020 while leadership was in transition and built US-based team strategy
• Led Wholesale team while leadership was in transition, negotiated accounts to drive growth in 2020
Gymboree Group, San Francisco, CA
DMM, Girls, Accessories, Sleepwear and 3rd Party Collaborations July 2017 – January 2019
Divisional Merchandise Manager, Girls, Accessories, Sleepwear and 3rd Party Collaborations
• Led omni channel Merchandising team with $150M in sales accounting for 65% of the brand
• Participated in leadership-level brand positioning work to define the customer and create a narrative that was integrated into all aspects of the brand and marketing
• Partnered closely with design to update brand positioning, including better quality base fabrics and launching new fits across categories, which led to positive retail and GM$ comps in the back half of 2018
• Developed and launched 3rd party strategy. Recruited over 25 brands to support the Fall 2018 brand re-launch. Developed exclusive products with 5 brands, accounting for 40% of the assortment
Carter’s, Atlanta, GA
Consultant, March 2017 – June 2017
• Worked closely with Carter’s leadership team on expansion of the Kids business. Scope of work focused on Market and Trend Research, Category Management, Size and Price Positioning resulting in incremental retail and GM$
The Children’s Place, Secaucus, NJ
Divisional Merchandise Manager, Toddler and Newborn
• Led $185M omni channel Toddler and Newborn Merchandising teams
• Achieved retail and GM$ comps through re-positioning the Newborn assortment to include knit based Layette, extending best-selling graphic strategy from Kids into bodysuits, adding matching knit pants and elevated woven apparel sets
• Identified opportunities that grew the Toddler Boys business by 5% through evolving Matchables and Active assortments and minimizing un-productive categories
• Acted as a change agent in the integration of all channels into one Merchandising team, including developing new work processes and combining different market needs into one cohesive line
Gymboree, San Francisco, CA
Divisional Merchandise Manager, Girls, Toddler Girls, Newborn, Sleepwear and 3rd Party
• Led the key businesses with $320M in annual sales, driving the only positive comps in the brand
• Expanded range in dress assortment and built on success of Holiday themed apparel driving double digit increases in retail and GM$
• Transformed Newborn assortment into two segments: knit-based layette and elevated woven based collections resulting in double digit positive retail and GM$ comps
• Led introduction of 3rd party collaborations and licensing, a new concept for the brand
GAP, New York, NY
Divisional Merchandise Manager, Global Boys, Toddler Boys, Accessories, Sleepwear and 3rd Party
• Responsible for $700M in annual sales. Achieved global positive comps in all departments in 2014
• Led team in developing work processes to support the new Global Merchandising model
• Created the Strategic Global Pricing Architecture that the regions used as they built their assortments
• Led development and management of 3rd Party partnerships including collaborations and licensing.
• Built a new merchant organization, totaling twelve merchants, to support the global model
GAP, San Francisco, California
Merchandise Manager, babyGap Toddler Boys & Toddler Accessories
• Led Toddler Boys merchandising totaling $180M in annual sales, driving the highest brand comps
• Originated new collaborative assortment process with 3rd Party vendor Junk Food, which added an incremental $15M in retail through launching new apparel and accessories categories
• Led development of Gap Olympics Summer 2012 3rd party collection that drove an incremental $20M in retail
• Evolved Denim strategy by capitalizing on trends in the marketplace. Strategically grew Outerwear business through mini me expansion and drove growth in Playtime Favorites which resulted in double digit comps
• Manager in the Retail Management Training Program, RMP Assessment and Placement process
GAP, San Francisco, California
Senior Merchandiser, babyGap Toddler Boys Dec 2007 – Aug 2010
Pottery Barn Kids San Francisco, California
Buyer, Occasional and Playroom Furniture Aug 2007 – Dec 2007
GAP, San Francisco, California
Senior Merchandiser, Gap Online Men’s and GapBody Oct 2006 – Jul 2007
Senior Merchandiser, Gap Online Men’s Feb 2006 – Oct 2006
Merchandiser, GapKids Online (Boys Girls & Accessories) Nov 2004 – Jan 2006
Merchandiser, babyGap (Toddler Boys Wovens) Jul 2002 – Nov 2004
GAP, San Francisco, California
Senior Visual Manager, Global babyGap Aug 2000 – Jul 2002
Visual Manager, International babyGap Apr 1997- Aug 2000
Associate Visual Manager, International babyGap Aug 1996 – Apr 1997
Education
Central St. Martin’s College of Art, London, England
Studied Journalism in Communication and Promotion (FCP)
Parsons School of Art, New York, NY
Foundation Courses