Colleen Kelly Email & Phone Number

Colleen was recruited by Kahn Lucas to introduce best practices and major brand experience, grow the volume and profitability of their multi- brand portfolio in wholesale/retail channels, and to increase penetration of direct-to-consumer revenue by launching an e-commerce site. With the goal of becoming the best-in-class company in the children’s market, she overhauled the company’s wholesale/retail channels, and increased penetration of direct-to-consumer revenue by:♦ Recruiting top sales, design, marketing, planning, sourcing, and production talent. ♦ Revamping and modernizing product offerings to meet changing consumer needs ♦ Decreasing lead times by overhauling the product development process ♦ Launching dollieme.com, a successful e-commerce site generating significant revenue and conversion results in the first year♦ Negotiating the acquisition of the Kleinfeld Pink special occasion license to add upper tier department store accounts to the company’s portfolio ♦ Fostering and elevating relationships with existing retail partners, while simultaneously introducing new onesBy inspiring change in her team, creating new partnerships, and developing innovative strategies for change, Colleen has created a solid platform that will enable Kahn Lucas to grow rapidly over the next three years.

Amsterdam, North Holland, Nl

When Tommy Hilfiger USA was in a steep decline with no end in sight, Colleen was hired to spearhead a turnaround the industry considered impossible. By focusing on building talent, elevating product, and increasing operational efficiency, Colleen improved the EBITDA from -35% to +12% in just four years.With P&L responsibility for a $300M wholesale business and a team of 168 people, Colleen focused on decreasing expenses and increasing margins. She analyzed operational practices and worked with the CFO to eliminate staff redundancies and increase process efficiencies, leading to a 20% reduction in expenses. She then recruited talented professionals who had the passion to promote change within the organization.With a high-level team and innovative strategies in place, Colleen:♦ Increased volume from $200M to $300M within five years♦ Elevated initial margins from 48% to 56% in the Women’s division and from 58% to 62% in the Men’s division ♦ Created a groundbreaking alliance with Macy’s, Inc., as the brand’s exclusive account♦ Lowered the markdown percent at retail by 20 basis points Colleen also redefined and restored brand integrity by increasing the quality of Tommy Hilfiger USA’s product. She improved the quality of fabric, trims, and design details, reversing the decline in Macy’s Women’s sales from -40% to +40% and Macy’s Men’s from -10% to +15% within the first year.

Us

After Warnaco emerged from bankruptcy, Colleen was brought in to assume leadership of Calvin Klein’s Men’s and Boy’s divisions. She reversed the company’s EBITDA from -10% to +17% in just four years, by completely overhauling the 125-person team and implementing new operational strategies.Colleen assembled an entirely new team, establishing an environment of innovation, teamwork, and excellence. She led the new Design and Merchandising Teams to re-invent classifications and develop a new key item strategy increasing sell-throughs at retail, resulting in an $80M revenue increase. Using these same leadership skills, Colleen also improved senior-level relationships at the retail level, re-establishing brand credibility and loyalty. Her ability to build relationships also resulted in new global sourcing partnerships that raised internal margins by 6 basis points. Colleen’s focus on establishing a winning team, and leading them into new and innovative practices earned her a promotion to include Calvin Klein’s Women’s and junior’s business.

Us

Colleen was hired to assume full responsibility for top line sales and bottom line profitability for the $120 million dollar business. In her first two years, she doubled sales from $60M to 120M through:♦ Negotiation of in store shops at Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue♦ Directing the launch of the DKNY Men’s underwear division ♦ Strategic assortment planning and product improvementColleen organized and executed both the annual and seasonal budgets, and recruited, trained, and motivated a 35-member sales team. With her remarkable leadership skills and her ability to forge mutually beneficial relationships, she successfully turned around the underperforming Men’s products and sales performance by gaining retailer confidence to implement in-store shops. She collaborated with design, marketing, and visual teams to strengthen the business at upscale retailers like Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Saks, Inc.In the first year, she far surpassed the $2M annual goal for the DKNY Underwear Division, generating $5M from the launch.

Worked to increase sales and profits, while building retail relationships at GFT (a licensee of Calvin Klein Menswear), Mondo Inc., Wilke-Rodriguez, Vuarnet, and In-Wear Matinique.

Trained and mentored staff, and became a visual merchandising and retail math expert.

Certified Health Coach

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Theatre/Communications

Leadership Training And Development