Promoted in February 1994 to take helm and improve service, and ignite sales activity. Hold full P&L responsibility for 350-employee multi-department operation, and manage daily store operations, and expense control, with 27 sales floor Department Managers, HR, Loss Prevention, Logistics, Facilities, and Alterations directly reporting. Grew top line sales from 49 M to a peak of over 63M, while maintaining expense control and increasing the focus on customer service. Responsible for all operations and sales. Includes expense control, budget management, and sales projections. Responsible for interviewing, hiring and reviewing the performance of up to 30 direct report managers. Conducted productivity and motivational sessions to insure adherence to service standards and customer satisfaction. Made the decisions and implemented adjustments in staffing and management to reflect changing business trends. Expanded cost reduction initiatives by eliminating obsolete or unnecessary jobs. Actively involved in all aspects of successful business operations including: marketing, advertising, public relations and personnel hiring. Directly supervised sales and customer service training, product knowledge information, merchandising and display, property maintenance, and various associated aspects of administrative detail. Interacted with Corporate Personnel at all levels. Communicated regularly with Regional Merchandise Managers and Buyers regarding merchandise mix, flow and specific store merchandise requirements.

In charge of maintaining the culture of the Men's Division in the Orange County Region. Setting merchandising standards and communicating the corporate vision to the staff throughout the 5 store region. Identified high potential future leaders eligible for promotion. Interacted with executives and leaders of wholesale companies to get exclusives or early deliveries. Played instrumental role in the growth of the business which became the single largest business unit with the company. Awarded Merchandise Manager of the year in February 1994 by Pete Nordstrom.Anders Ekman Page 2 Responsible for the inventory management of all men's departments for the Orange County region with annual sales of over 80 million. Trained, developed and managed eight Buyers to achieve their professional goals as well as company objectives. Prepared and managed financial buying plans for the entire division. Coordinated advertising, marketing and merchandising functions. Reviewed and analyzed goals and sales performance, and interacted regularly with Store Managers.

Bought Men's Furnishing in the Orange County Region for one year, then moved to the Los Angeles Region as Men's Sportswear Buyer. Moved back to Orange County one year later to Men's Furnishings as the region expanded. Became lead Buyer, representing the company on; Grew the Men's Furnishings business from 10 to 21 million annually which was the largest single buying responsibility in the company at that time. Maintained balanced inventory levels and assortments, and achieved gross margin and turn abjectives. Worked closely with Product Development in designing product. Developed and merchandised corporate private label neckwear program from Italy. Trained Assistant Buyers and department Managers in sales, product knowledge and merchandise presentation.

Managed Men's Sportswear at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. Responsible for the highest volume Men'sSportswear floor in the company.

Achieved Pacesetter status, representing top 10% of sales staff in the company.