Alison Crosbie Email & Phone Number

Greater London, England, United Kingdom

As a business consultant, I support Retail and Interior Design businesses, particularly start-ups, SMEs, and multi-channel retailers. I specialize in strategic planning and implementation, business and process reviews, and budgetary and business analysis. My expertise helps businesses achieve sustainable and profitable growth.Recent Projects:TOYS R US - MERCHANDISE SPECIALISTPlayed a key role in launching the Toys R Us "shop-in-shop" concept within WHSmith stores.Developed range planning models to craft an in-store offering that aligned with space, financial, and category mix strategies.Created and managed a comprehensive Data Capture Tool, serving as a master file for collecting and sharing essential data streams between both businesses, ensuring seamless integration pre- and post-launch.Collaborated with suppliers and the Toys R Us team to integrate products into WHSmith systems in time for the launch.Managed inventory to ensure over 93% launch availability within three months of starting the role, along with ongoing sales fulfilment.PIA DESIGN: implementing Business strategy & financial processPLAIN ENGLISH DESIGN: providing Showroom support

Welwyn Garden City

Led the merchandising team in planning, executing, and implementing the departmental strategy for greeting cards, managing a portfolio of 5,000 SKUs. This role encompassed budget management, financial planning for stock, sales, and profitability, as well as overseeing both the team and supplier category management. Achievements were realized through a series of strategic projects.Developed and negotiated a new strategic contract, conducting a comprehensive range review and creating margin models leading to a contract launch projected to generate +4% profit growth.Orchestrated the transition of 100% of the product range from an existing supplier to a new supplier across the store base. Collaborating with key stakeholders, designing a completely new range based on agreed models, and managing weekly stock exit plans. Coordinated launch and implementation meetings with the new supplier and created store communications to support in-store operations. Constructed and maintained pre- and post-launch reporting to track performance against forecastsLed a strategic initiative to enhance the Goods-In receiving and credit system, achieving a £3 million improvement in store stock reporting. Developed a process map, served as the key liaison between technical teams and suppliers, identified the opening stock position, and created process plans and communication materials. Collaborated with global project teams and conducted weekly monitoring and reporting. Post-launch, improved store workloads and eliminated weekly store queriesContributed to the space optimisation programme to enhance space densities across store formats. Ensured that range planning principles were upheld to maximize customer offerings and optimize stock sell-through plans

Welwyn Garden City

Led the centralization of the Christmas Decorations category across Central Europe, integrating systems and processes from the UK into Central European operations. This involved managing sales and margin forecasting across multiple countries, each with different exchange rates and VAT systems, using Excel spreadsheets.Managed stock levels to accommodate varying seasonal product demand curves in each country.Streamlined operations to ensure a consistent Tesco offering and achieve economies of scale. Centralized sign offs helped secure buy-in from country teams, allowing for a simplified range while preserving important country-specific colours and product ranges.Worked closely with in-country teams, gathering feedback to ensure smooth implementation and enabling a comprehensive post-season performance review."

London Area, United Kingdom

Managed UK retail and direct sales operations, as well as stock servicing for international business, with accountability for £20 million turnover across 350 SKUs in the UK. Reported to the Category Manager and supervised an Assistant Merchandiser along with two Merchandise Assistants.Key Achievements:Implemented departmental process improvements for stock management, including the establishment of enhanced forecasting and line-level processes. This was achieved through staff training, weekly reviews, interdepartmental meetings, and challenging decision-making principles.These initiatives significantly improved product availability and achieved substantial year-over-year sales growth in both the UK and international markets.Fostered strong supplier collaboration for a high-profile promotional calendar focused on key baby care products.Successfully launched an own-brand Babycare range for the UK and international markets, supporting brand building, planning, and forecasting of components and fill to facilitate store launches, replenishment, and international fulfilment.

Welwyn Garden City, England, United Kingdom

Responsible for the Wines, Spirits, Fortifieds, and 'Ready to Serve' categories across three brands, leading a team of two. Focused on driving forecast accuracy and performance metrics at both department and SKU levels.Key Achievements:Served as Merchandise Manager on secondment from March 2007 to January 2009, managing a team of six.Led project work in areas such as range architecture, promotional processes, and business strategy.

London Area, United Kingdom

Responsible for overseeing the merchandising of catalogues and e-commerce for Home and Fashion categories, leading a team of three. Key Achievements: Developed space analysis reports to assess in-season performance to drive product selection for future publications and forecast future stock needs more accurately. Managed customer relationship management (CRM) through an in-house system and coordinated with customer service departments to drive customer satisfaction improvements

London Area, United Kingdom

Key Achievements: Established the mail order division within Jerry's Home Stores framework. Developed key relationships with external suppliers for coordinating photography, mailing lists, data cleaning, printing, and mailing services. Established a warehouse dispatch system with appropriate packaging and service contracts to meet customer needs. Recruited and managed call centre staff, implementing essential working practices and introducing an Access-based order-processing system

London Area, United Kingdom

Key Achievements: Strategic decisions regarding product range revitalized the McCord insert publication, transforming it into a profitable campaignPlanned and executed nine campaigns annually, distributing approximately 11 million catalogues. Led a supplier rationalization program that reduced the supplier base by around 27% while achieving a 5% increase in service levels. Successfully reduced surplus stock by 20% through targeted clearance initiatives in the main brochure.

London Area, United Kingdom

Merchandiser for Bedding and Bathroom ; responsibilities included KPI reporting, range planning, supply chain management & inventory control. Responsibility for 2,500 key skus