Crystal Howard Email and Phone Number

-Support and contribute to one of Target’s Regional Distribution Centers, processing 36 million cartons annually. Managed the day to day operations of the product flow lifecycle, including developing and executing continuous-improvement approaches to problem solve and drive results. -Responsible for leading and developing a team of forty associates in the Warehousing Department, providing daily coaching and performance management. Grew Team Member engagement at a building and department level, seeing positive growth from last year’s Great Team Survey in every line item by leading through a lens of people over process. -Created presentations for new initiatives to increase our speed and performance as it relates to training and development, safety and how we process freight faster to deliver exceptional experiences for our guests. This was achieved by following A3 business models to close the gap and identify white space, which built substantial growth within the first six months in receipt-to-put and pull-to-divert time stamp metrics. -Led and participated in departmental GEMBA discussions on safety, quality, speed and productivity with cross functional partners. Took insight to action by focusing on leading and lagging metrics to identify root cause/countermeasures, which resulted in ranking within the Top 10 Regional Distribution Centers in the Network. -Completed daily staffing to execute operational prod/non-prod functions with allocated budgets, identifying opportunities to cut costs and strategically identify how to eliminate waste within production.

-Led and managed the highest volume ZARA store on the West Coast, responsible for delivering $27 Million annually thru overseeing three departments, seven management-level direct reports and 140 sales associates. -During the first year in role, the store performed up three percent comps, met annual shrink goals (-0.50%), ranked number three in the Company (U.S.) for Black Friday sales, managed flat to payroll budgets and improved employee retention rates thru a strong focus on culture and talent development. -Responsible for decision making on commerciality to increase top line sales and promote new articles by analyzing article ranking reports. Create product feedback presentations for Merchants to influence current and future purchases. Support Commercial team by planning and executing floor moves. -Oversee day-to-day operations of the store, including stockroom organization and processing productivity, cash wrap speed and efficiency and compliance with company policies and core values.-Coach and develop direct reports by co-creating action plans that focus on growing their business thru their people. Recruit, interview and offer candidates based on assessing current and future hiring needs. Successfully promoted and trained five managers after carefully assessing key strengths and opportunities and creating strong insights to action thru evaluations. Created and presented an educational guide for in-store training to help aid in the facilitation for new Commercial trainees.-Educate sales associates on our customer service model, shrink awareness, operations and the store’s technology to create better in-store shopping experiences. -Invited to host and facilitate local recruiting events with efforts to attract new talent to the Brand for open positions.

-Served on the Sales Leadership team with the primary responsibility of delivering and executing the individual brand stories through the visual merchandising cycle. Additionally, owned the coaching and performance management of Product and Visual Manager direct reports.-Accountable for driving $17 Million annually, shrink reduction, payroll control, sales growth to last year and turnover improvement. During the first year in role, was promoted by District Manager to acting Store Manager, received high recognition during corporate visits for flawless visual execution and achieved record breaking Semi-Annual Sale results by ranking number two in the Company (U.S.).-Planned and executed all talent lifecycle actions including selection/interviewing, onboarding, coaching/performance management, succession, reward and recognition, and culture/engagement. Highest hiring event including the selection and onboarding of seventy new hires. -Responsible for workforce management, including planning, scheduling and editing. Inspected associate availability and zoned talent to best fit the needs of the business and customer. -Facilitated and led Regional Leadership onboarding and corporate leadership visits, sharing overall store performance and sales projections, key strengths and store’s focus areas as well as talent overviews. -Developed strategic business plans for peak timeframes,such as Black Friday, Last 10 Days before Christmas, PINK Nation events, Semi-Annual Sale, Spring Break and Back-to-School campaigns.-Participated in weekly District conference calls, reviewing and sharing best practices and insights on business and key product launches to deliver a “Best at Bras” selling culture.

-Held the second highest Senior leadership position reporting directly to the GM. Supported the store by effectively and efficiently managing the back of house operations including stock areas, admin, store care and maintenance,loss prevention and Studio Services.-Led the execution of the grand opening at The Grove Los Angeles as it related to Operations and Staffing of the store. Supported the Regional Sales Director with project management and scope work to fully meet deadlines for opening. -Liaise with necessary Head Office business partners to influence delivery and allocation directives and created new tools and SOP to support Studio Services pilot for celebrities and influential Stylists. -Met and exceeded sales goals the first year by recruiting and developing high caliber talent for each department in the store. -Analyzed sales reports, product allocations and replenishment directives to keep the store fully stocked. Influenced decisions for Stockroom layout to ensure proper space allocations and ease of goods replenishment. -Highlighted potential stock loss issues while suggesting and executing strategies for improvement to retain company assets. Led the education of the staff around the key causes of shrink and key behaviors to help deter loss.

-Assistant to Store Manager on the Sales Leadership Team owning total store results and the customer experience ($4-6M Volume Band)-Responsible for store budget, labor management and scheduling, staffing and loss prevention.-Ensure merchandise flow is executed as designed thru managing acknowledgement of BOLs, stock room organization and shipment processing.-Plan and drive execution of all visuals in the store, coaching staff on visual standards and recovery to maintain the integrity of the brand experience.-Manage the most direct reports in the store including Merch Flow Supervisor, Sales Support Associates and Cashwrap Associates.

-Co-Manager/Keyholder for a $9M store that reached Platinum sales performance in second quarter sales, ranking number one in the company out of 1,200 stores.-Served on the Sales Leadership Team to own total store results with demonstrated performance achieving sales percent to plan, conversion and transaction goals, ranking “BEST” within my store season, quarter and month-to-date.-Responsible for category results for the PINK and Lingerie business which penetrates seventy-six percent of total store sales ~$7.5M annually, currently achieving double-digit comps.-Own talent management lifecycle of direct reports including onboarding, assessment, retention, career development, succession planning and recognition.-Support, model and enhance all selling and sales support behaviors to ensure a seamless customer experience.

-Led collaboration with brand merchants to align on marketing activities to support key product launches. -Managed the content development and customer segment strategy for the Brand’s first mobile marketing campaign, resulting in exceeding the subscriber goal by 3,000 percent within the first week of launch. -Responsible for the project management of CRM campaigns, including working closely with the production and creative design teams to ensure deadlines were achieved, creative content aligned with marketing strategies and copy editing was accurate. -Assessed the competitive landscape by gaining client insights and traveling to high visibility store’s within the Country to influence future marketing campaigns and initiatives. -Supported on the project management team to develop the framework and strategic direction of the first social media campaign on Facebook to take loyal customers to brand advocates. -Successfully served as the interim Marketing Manager, taking on additional responsibilities such as the first point of contact for vendors and external agencies, spearheading campaigns and presenting new product launch ideas to executive leadership.

Surpassed goal by 11 percent contributing to the Best National Customer Service Call Center. Collected customer feedback and concerns resulting in increased sales, increased customer loyalty, and reduced customer dissatisfaction.Selected to participate on a leadership team to integrate new keyword database system for enhanced system usability.Facilitated daily team chats to review statistics and new product information used in weekly reports.Customer Relations Intern, Limited Stores (2005)Resolved nearly 200 weekly customer inquiries to help drive sales and ensure customer satisfaction.Conducted a survey of 100 customers to investigate the level of satisfaction of the hem service of the company.Competitively benchmarked customer relations departments to gain insight on best practices. Organized and delivered research to direct future initiatives for change in current system.

Completed a four-year summer internship with Limited Brands working in various departments and brands within the company to develop my leadership and business skills, ending each summer with excellent performance reviews and ratings.

Designed new selling strategies for store associates to drive high volume sales during key launches.Assisted in management of training video production for store associates to demonstrate key selling strategies.Manager in Training Intern, Express Stores (2003)Measured performance results during selling segments and managed store. Assessed associate talent and placed associates in specific store zones. Actively coached and communicated store's daily selling strategies and focus.RETAIL & OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Retail Residency Program, Limited Brands 2007Participated in Retail Residency program that focused on retail and enterprise training for 12 weeks. Course helped to build knowledge of functional expertise and Limited Brands values and critical few initiatives.