Brian O'Connor Email & Phone Number

Fenton, Missouri, United States

* Collaborated with owner to Linebuild their Vaneli line, which is the majority of the business.* Extensive travel to China factories in order to oversee development of prototypes and sales samples, approve materials and colors, source new articles, watch production, troubleshoot as needed, etc.

New York City

• Relocated all Resort 16, Core, Children’s Fall 16, and the majority of Women’s 16 production from unlicensed factory, to higher-quality compliant factories, in just a 4-month period.• Simultaneously designed and developed 3 Spring 17 collections over same period.• Completely reimagined brand from design, fit, technical, quality, and comfort perspective.• Opened Yosi Samra China office, and hired China workers for Development and QC.• Worked with China tanneries to develop multiple stock articles in over 50 different color standards.• Implemented standardized procedures for Fit, Confirmation, and TOP approval across factory base.• Negotiated supplier MOQ’s and price, as well as factory pricing, delivered margins 2 full points higher for Fall 16, even with having to re-amortize every single construction

Edison, Nj

• Responsible for all design/development/commercialization for the following licensed brands: Nine West Kids, Mootsies Tootsies, Baretraps Kids (added Spring 15) and Limited Too (added Fall 15).• Nine West Kids: Sales increased from 6.1 Million in 2013, to 9.7 in 2014. Sales are projected at 13.1 million for 2015, with a plan of 14.9 million for 2016. In that time, the only changes to those existing businesses, was the addition of my design/development expertise.• Mootsies Tootsies Women’s: License was signed in April 2014, and we had a full collection for the June 2014 FFANY Show. Sales went from 0.9 million in 2014, to 8.0 million in 2015, with a plan for 10.4 million for 2016.• 8 China trips yearly to develop the lines, as well as Europe shopping, and travel to Shoe Shows.• Supervised a 7 person design staff.

Carson, Ca

• Line building of two brands; Grazie, an embellished lifestyle brand sourced in China; and Sbicca, a junior/contemporary collection manufactured in the Sbicca factory in South El Monte, California.• The first Grazie collection for Fall 2013 netted a $650,000 (cost) order from Dillard’s, vs. zero previous season.

Greater St. Louis Area

• Supervised Product Design for a 85 million (wholesale) business• Lines included: Moderate (Connie, Eurostep, Airstep) Junior (Hotkiss, Zodiac USA) Celebrity (Reba, Simply Vera Vera Wang, Isaac Mizrahi Live!, Gretta, Dana Buchman), • Also extensive Private Label development for Target, Wal-Mart, Naturalizer, DSW, Hudson’s Bay Co., Famous Footwear, Sears, Kohl’s, K-Mart)• Quarterly extended travel to China to oversee development, as well as 4 trips yearly to Europe for market research, Shoe Shows, as well as customer sales presentations.• Responsible for managing 11 person design and development staff, as well as budgeting for sampling and travel.

St. Louis, Mo.

• Directed product development for the Connie and Eurostep lines for Famous Footwear, which resulted in a 40% increase in sales, as well as 10 point improvement in net margin.• Created design and development for launch of Dana Buchman for Kohl’s line.• Collaborated on numerous other projects for the division, such as Fergie and Reba.

St. Louis, Mo.

• Charged with design and development of Hotkiss, a junior licensed brand.• Sales went from 0.5 million to 3.5 million in a year, was a 12 million business at end of 2011.• Created the “Mary” construction, which has sold over a million pairs, and still at retail today• Also worked on the Payless account, at that time a 70 million (at cost) business.• Responsible for Dress, Boot, and Sandal categories.• Met with Buyers bi-weekly, and developed new and requested product based on those meetings.

Westchester, Ny

• Responsible for buying, assorting, and developing product for two 30 store chains.• Extensive product development required to assort stores outside of wholesale assortment,leveraging both external and internal sourcing.

Edison, Nj

• Responsible to oversee product development for wholesale, as well as create exclusive retail product.• Created and maintained Excel database of technical specifications for all product.• Created “A2” mid-tier line for Kohl’s, which sold 250, 000 pair upon its launch in Fall 2003.• Extensive travel to work in agent’s offices in Italy and Taichung.• Assisted SVP of Product Development with general administrative duties such as T & E budgeting, product calendar, sample requests and budget, and managing the 5 person staff.• Responsible for fit, confirmation, and production sampling and approval process.

Edison, Nj

• Responsible for buying, assortment planning, and merchandise flow for 70 store chain.• In charge of initial pricing, markups, markdowns, and promotional calendar.• Extensive market travel with District managers to identify store merchandise needs and opportunities.• Worked closely with Product Development team to build retail exclusive assortment for stores.• Supervised 5 person buying/merchandising staff.

Edison, Nj

• Responsible for allocation and assortment of product to retail stores.• Create and maintain Model Stock replenishment system, which helped result in 17% comp store gain the first year it was implemented.• Communicate with District and Store managers on a daily basis to maximize inventory in their stores.

Evansville, In

New York City, Ny

Palm Desert, Ca

Manager of the year-1989Rookie Manager of the year-1987Inventory Control Awards-1987 through 1990