Bashir Abdel-Ahad Email & Phone Number

Melbourne, Vic, Au

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Providing and delivering real-life, everyday solutions, through key strategic initiatives that disrupt and lead the market on product trends to inspire, innovation, increasing our value offer, differentiation and newness for customers. Responsibilities:- Lead and drive the Home & Everyday commercial strategies as part of the wider Big W strategy.- Create a distinctive customer-led product offer.- Bring omnichannel thinking into the range strategy, working end to end and aligning with partners to deliver.- Partner with the Brand co ( Design teams) and our sourcing teams to meet the three-year ambition, building a range of distinctive products in collaboration and partnership which delivers a real point of difference for BIG W.- Play a leadership role in ensuring Big W meets the 2025 sustainability goal.- Work end to end across the business to design and deliver an evolved omnichannel trading calendar that brings a point of difference and delivers to the pricing and promotional frameworks that builds and enhances customer trust.- In partnership with the Commercial Enablement team simplify core processes, ensuring the operating rhythm is fit for purpose - Provide customer and commercial thought leadership to peers and the Big W leadership team to evolve our ambition and unlock big rock initiatives. - Influence and lead partnerships across the Woolworths group to leverage capabilities eg rewards and cartology.- Build strategic partnerships with suppliers to listen, learn unlock and create value and innovation delivering strong Voice of Supplier outcomes.- Build, lead, coach and develop the team of the future that meets the commercial transformation ambition.Categories include - Bedlinen, Towels, Furniture, Decorator, Home storage, Kitchenware, Tabletop, Quilts and Pillows, Knitting and Sewing, Small Appliances, Health and Beauty, Baby and Nursery, Confectionery, Food/Drinks/Snacks, Seasonal, Cleaning, Pets, Party, Cards and Wrap and Impulse.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Following my success in the role of Head of Space & Ranging at Big W, in 2020 the role expanded to include the management of the Value team. I am responsible for partnering with the senior leadership team to promote and influence the achievement of a connected customer experience. Critical to my success in the role has been my ability to undertake the Customer First Ranging review project, whereby I am required to identify underperforming brands and undertake key market, competitor, and customer data analysis to exploit niche opportunities to service the market. Responsible for overseeing the high performance of the Price, Promotions, and Commercial teams, I maintain a visible presence across the Woolworths Group ecosystem, adopting an open-door policy to support the creation of a customer-first, team-first culture. I lead my teams through the provision of tactical direction, confident decision making, and industry leadership, inspiring performance through the application of dynamic people engagement and developing capabilities. Notable Highlights✧ Completed multiple Customer First Ranging reviews on over 20 categories across the Big W product offering, widely credited as a contributing factor in the revitalisation of Big W’s reputation as a national market leader. ✧ Delivered a range of strategic development opportunities, including smarter pricing initiatives, inflation strategies and the stabilisation of price competitiveness, contributing to a significant increase in profitability. ✧ Implemented a bespoke Voice of Customer initiative titled “Customer Safari”, successful in achieving a significant increase in data collected and analysed. ✧ Collected and analysed market data to identify and deliver a new Big W destination, All Things Kids. ✧ Completed a team restructure in 2021 with a focus on the analysis and realisation of team capabilities, successfully identifying opportunities to achieve higher efficiencies within the Space, Range, and Pricing team.

Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia

Prior to my promotion to the Head of Customer Range, Space & Value, I was employed by Big W in the capacity of Head of Space & Ranging. This role encompassed the responsibility of implementing robust managerial strategies to promote the delivery of Big W’s merchandise and destination initiatives. This required partnering with stakeholders across the Woolworths Group ecosystem, establishing a differentiated offering within the process of optimising Customer Advocacy, Sales, EBIT, and Stock Availability. Additionally, I was responsible for sourcing, analysing, and leveraging customer data and market insights, in order to optimise strategic space and range decision making processes. Critical to my success in this role was my ability to actively engage in the mentorship, coaching, and guidance of 28 Range Analysts and Space Planners who were responsible for the development and delivery of the wider category strategies. My effective management style was successful in the delivery of a team culture that inspired continuous improvement, optimising individual performance to promote the achievement of team and organisational goals and objectives. Notable Highlights✧ Analysed customer insights and completed Customer First Ranging Reviews on categories that mattered most to the customer, resulting in a significant impact on sales and gross profit. ✧ Managed the life cycle of a project designed to simplify Big W’s Distribution Centre model, creating value for buyers through the negotiation and simplification of supply chain leads. ✧ Developed a national category roles matrix utilising data analytics and customer insights to ensure the optimisation of categories supplied across all stores. ✧ Worked horizontally to develop strategies that supported the identification and rollout of three new Big W destinations. This encompassed the identification of seven shrink categories, piloting each new destination, measuring performance, and rollout across all stores nationally.

Sydney, Australia

Based in Big W’s Norwest Head Office, this role required me to lead a team of 38 professionals working end-to-end across all functions in the identification and delivery of optimum outcomes for Big W customers and teams. One of my key responsibilities in the role included the collection, analysis, and reporting of critical insights and data to C-Suite executives and Exco team members for the purpose of informing decision making processes. This encompassed collaborating with the Heads Of across all areas and functions to ensure a coordinated approach to delivering against the strategic goals of the organisation. Notable Highlights:✧ Successfully transformed distressed stores into profitable stores through the delivery of business strategies and the provision of technical support for team, area, and state leadership. ✧ Effectively managed the Loss Prevention team through the process of reducing total stockloss within a twelve month period. ✧ Partnered with teams across the Woolworths Group ecosystem to collect and collate data, digitising and simplifying ways of work for the store operations resulting in a marked increase in efficiencies.

Melbourne, Australia

In the capacity of State / Regional Manager, I was responsible for overseeing 42 Big W locations across Victoria, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, equating to 5 direct reports and a team size of approximately 4,500 staff. The role required me to effectively communicate the organisation’s direction, strategy, and goals, fostering an increase in sales and repeat clientele, and a decrease in losses and expenditure. In order to achieve success within the role, I was required to exceed customer expectations by managing price competitiveness and merchandise availability. This was accomplished through the development of regional strategies and business plans, conducting local marketing, and connecting with the local communities to promote an increase in sales activity.

Melbourne, Australia

Penrith Sydney

Warringah Mall Sydney

Winston Hills