Amanda Lee Mccarty Email & Phone Number

Host Amanda (with the help of her friends) decodes and demystifies the fashion and retail industries, and takes on topics like consumerism, workers rights, personal style, and why fashion is a case study in capitalism gone awry."If you wear clothes, you need to listen to Clotheshorse." --Elise"If you are human and live in the world, you need to listen to Clotheshorse." --Individually Wrapped

The podcast about trends and how they define the world around us.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

I assist a wide variety of small business owners and entrepreneurs with all things product, merchandising, and planning. From boutique owners to growing e-commerce and wholesale brands to micro businesses, I provide one-on-one coaching, training, analysis, best practices, and so much more.Projects have included developing a 100% closed loop (recycled) core apparel line, creating OTB plans for retail businesses, building wholesale businesses for DTC brands, designing and merchandising a flagship retail space, building pitch decks, crafting P+L framework, building sales plans, developing analytics, line planning guidance, and merchandising/product development coaching.My clients include emerging designers and artists, growing brands in the slow fashion space, early stage entrepreneurs, and women-lead brands across the retail/product spectrum. I meet with most of my clients at least once a month to review sales, identify opportunities, and solidify product/merchandising strategy.

Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area

As a member of the leadership team at Attic Salt, I managed the buying, visual merchandising, allocation, and planning teams. I developed and integrated assortment planning processes and best practices, along with training and development in retail strategy for my team. I introduced the Artist of the Month program and rolled out a new visual merchandising strategy for all stores.

Greater Philadelphia Area

--Steered assortment planning and financial strategy for a new sustainable start-up under the URBN umbrella.--Partnered with logistics and engineering partners to develop a streamlined inventory management and site merchandising work flow utilizing a custom-built WMS.--On-boarded more than 300 market brands across all price points and aesthetics, while also partnering with own-brand production from Free People, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters to create a unique rental assortment.--Utilized product performance reports and consumer insights to develop exclusive product that excites the customer, attracts new subscribers, and mitigates damage rates.--Managed a team of Assistant Buyers and Associate Buyers.

Portland, Oregon Area

--Managed both the product and planning team for a rapidly growing retail startup. Prioritizedteam development and mentorship by creating a merchant training program.--Grew the private label business from 5% of product sales to 75% of product sales in less than twoyears by expanding category offerings and building new vendor partnerships.--Developed and implemented an assortment planning process, utilizing seasonal hindsight toinform line planning and key marketing stories.--Gained more than 1000 bps in gross margin YoY by implementing a markdown strategy,reevaluating brand mix, and renegotiating costing.--Managed brand partnerships, product collaborations, and licensing agreements with brandsincluding Obey, Publish, Life is Beautiful, REI, and the #YQY tour (Ilana Glazer and PhoebeRobinson).--Decreased return rate on key items by 1500 bps by on-boarding fit and technical partners,adding extended sizes, and upgrading production partners.--Lead a cross-functional team in the implementation of several key operational processes,including an upgraded vendor manual, cost effective routing of vendor shipments, and inventorymanagement. Also partnered with my counterpart in Operations to manage the shift to anew 3rd party warehouse and shift key vendors to preticketing.--Partnered with marketing to create compelling socially-engaged campaigns via product andcreative imagery.

--Managed Tops, Bottoms, Denim, One-pieces, and Outerwear, approximately $60 million inannual sales including both ecomm and stores with a team of buyers, associate buyers andassistants.--Delivered double digit positive comps in Bottoms, One-pieces, and Outerwear while thecompany as a whole was showing negative comps.--Worked with nearly 500 vendors and brands to curate an assortment across all price points,including high end cult brands, low price point fast fashion vendors, and private label manufacturers,--Partnered with planning to drive top line business and financial strategy, including thedevelopment of a profitable seasonal line plan that incorporated in-house design, buyer-leadprivate label development, cult brands, and low price point fast fashion.--Worked hand-in-hand with both marketing and the creative teams to develop marketing storiesand social media content that would drive sales, including merchandising email messages/lookbooks, and in-store events/visual merchandising.--Developed new brand and vendor partnerships with emerging international brands tomaximize profitability and build a compelling, unique assortment--Prioritized team development by conducting weekly training sessions on all buying skills, rangingfrom price negotiation to Excel functionality, as well as holding weekly personal developmenttouchbases with each member of the team.

--Managed the assortment and receipt plan for the largest category in the business, approximately$60 million in annual sales with a team of associate buyers and assistants.--Delivered a 300% YoY comp in plus size dresses by on-boarding new production partners andintroducing new attributes, ultimately better integrating the assortment with the mainline.--Identified two major attributes that were not being offered to customers (boho and "goingout"), partnered with planning to develop a line plan and receipt plan for these attributes, andthen curated an assortment, generating nearly $10 million in incremental sales, delivering a 50%positive comp in a mature business.--Worked with several hundred vendors including indie brands, national brands, internationalvendors, and fast fashion manufacturers.--Partnered with marketing and styling to decide monthly marketing direction for both sitecontent and social media campaigns.--Lead an initiative to redevelop the assortment strategy for the entire buying org, includingdeveloping a new assortment planning tool and providing training to the team.

--Interpreted current fashion trends in both the overall brand and local market in order to generate creative solutions and sales via outfitting and product placement.--Created a full sensory experience that appealed to the customer emotionally through the presentation and placement of product, store mapping, and music selection.--Partnered with the Store Manager to faciliate the relationship between the management and visual teams to enhance the store environment.--Provided constant coaching and development to team members on merchandise placement, merchandising standards, and business analysis.

--Developed a balanced assortment for both the retail and direct businesses reflecting fashion vision, quality, price point awareness, and key item depth.--Tightly managed the receipt plan by constantly analyzing business needs and reacting with timely reorders, cancellations, and assortment revision.--Worked cohesively with the marketing and creative teams to merchandise catalogs that inspire the customer, drive traffic, and enhance the brand image.--Provided leadership and coaching to my assistant and peers while fostering an environment of continual training and development.