Senior Buyer of Apparel, Accessories, and Cannabis. Build, manage, and grow assortment plans and strategies. Inventory management ownership over 8,000 skus and 25 vendor partners. Collaborate with Marketing on advertising and organizing special events and promotions.• Obtained $45K in vendor credits by negotiating special pricing, markdown dollars, and promotional support.• Drove the Accessories category increase of 8% in comp doors.• Collaborated with 3rd party vendor on SMU designs for "Local Reserve" apparel collections, which are unique and exclusive to each shop.• Developed and maintained cannabis product offering for our Oklahoma and Colorado businesses.• Partnered with Planning to determine OTB for New Store Openings.

Build and manage product assortments for Fine Jewelry shops onboard 75 ships across eight major cruise lines. Partner with visual, marketing, and operational teams to implement directives, promotions, and business strategies. Led a team of two, including the Assistant Merchandise Manager and Merchandising Assistant. • Promoted to Acting/Interim Merchandise Manager in MM’s absence for maternity leave (Feb – May 2020). • Spearheaded the efficiency of planning system, TXT, resulting in 100% forecast and allocation accuracy.• Built a standardized format for CTA (cost to assort) with a holistic view of the annualized sales and inventory, helping cross-functional teams analyze sales alignment and driving dialog between Merchant and Planner to identify opportunities for SKU optimization. • Collaborated with the planning team on monthly OTB and SKU optimization, identifying opportunities and key initiatives.• Strategized on new experiences for top brands including, Bulgari, Gucci, Le Vian, and John Hardy.

Lead buyer over dog & cat hardgoods category. Implemented strategies and best practices for 34 stores and two warehouses located throughout four regions. Growth generated by focused product selection, high-quality standards, and elevated assortment. Optimized inventory levels with daily analysis and strategies that included replenishment, planning, transferring, and allocating to increase sales and gain profit. Built and established vendor relationships, including ownership of negotiations, with 200 vendor partners. • Hired, managed, and trained the Assistant Buyer on ownership of an assigned category.• Introduced over 45 new brands generating $2M in sales and 58% in gross profits. • Gained over $30k in vendor credits by negotiating pricing, rebates, terms, promotions, and exit strategies.• Introduced “4 toys for $5” grand opening promotion for 16 new stores generating $13k at a 100% profit margin.• Increased category ownership gradually each year from $950k in 2013 to $4M in 2016.• Led the product development of private labels for dog beds and toys, increasing margins by 10%.• Introduced new subcategories (Travel, Training, and Safety), generating over $100k in sales.• Company consecutively listed in Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies throughout tenure.• Awarded Pet Product News International’s Retailer of the Year 2014-2015.• Awarded Global 2015 – Multi-Unit Retailer of the Year.

Selected and managed Apparel, Accessories, and Footwear for this sport specialty retailer which included three (3) FrontRunners locations and three (3) franchised New Balance stores throughout Los Angeles. Managed 35% of the company’s sales of top brands including Arc’Teryx, Adidas, Beyond Yoga, Nike, Manduka, Patagonia, Spanx, UGG, among many others. Trained and coached associates on effective customer engagement and sales strategies. • Supported the strategy, displays, merchandising, and window dressing for the opening of a new franchised New Balance store.• Organized annual customer events to drive sales i.e., sample and sidewalk sales, 5k and 10k races, ladies’ nights, and more.• Assisted with data analytics for company acquisition and was given the accountability of buying apparel for four (4) Super Runners Shops during the transition.

Selected and managed pre-season and in-season Accessories and Lifestyle Footwear for three (3) FrontRunners locations and two (2) franchised New Balance stores. Monitored product performance, sales margins, and customer performance trends creating and analyzing sales reports to identify opportunities and maximize sales. • Generated $200k in sales with the introduction of the new Sports Recovery subcategory.• Opened 2 new locations assisting with the strategy, displays, merchandising, and window dressing.

Hired as an Assistant Buyer for Apparel, Accessories, and Footwear for two (2) FrontRunners locations and two (2) New Balance stores. Trained on own category before being promoted to Buyer for Lifestyle Footwear within a year. • Negotiated discounts and rebates that increased margins by 5%.• Spearheaded new EDI ordering and receiving system reducing human error, streamlining PO placement, and automating efficiencies for high sku-count vendors.