Successfully managed a $401MM private brand portfolio in economy and premium tiers. Recognize and represent voice of the shopper to execute key private brand initiatives in collaboration with category teams.• Drove repositioning of Valu Time resulting in 4% brand growth using shopper insights, competitive market analysis and sku rationalization.• Led Valu Time brand redesign packaging and product development for 90 grocery categories based on shopper needs and brand guardrails that allowed low income consumers to be proud of the opening price point products they purchased.• Optimized Valu Time product portfolio by identifying best in class assortment benchmarking against major retail competitors and deleting underperforming products. • Coauthored the foundational brand work for Valu Time and World Classics Trading Company by defining the consumer brand target, brand positioning, architecture and guardrails.• Led innovation and introduction of new trends for World Classics Trading Company assortment by analyzing syndicated and consumer data and conducted competitive marketplace research.• Managed and approved marketing initiatives - sell sheets, POS, retailer/consumer brand stories for consistent brand communication in marketplace.

Managed $60MM pet category and one person while delivering client satisfaction through high quality, affordable private label products. Selected, negotiated, and secured private label product line that best met needs of dynamic pet marketplace.• Grew Hy-Vee GM pet category 11% as category captain in category review utilizing syndicated data and regional market trends.• Boosted membership margin profitability for toy and accessory categories from 15% to 30% with development of short and long term category strategies.• Global product development expertise and traveled multiple times to China and Hong Kong for on-site factory and quality assurance visits, to build supplier relationships, develop new and innovative products.• Led and managed the packaging redesign for Paws Premium across all categories totaling 850 skus. • Initiated innovation and new segments in pet toy and accessory categories through syndicated data and to enhance brand.• Forecasted productivity savings, new product introductions and program changes in commodity driven pet food categories applying knowledge of industry and market conditions.

Managed $150MM jewelry category and five people for Continental Europe business. Led and managed major earring and accessory segments of the jewelry business by working closely with the North America teams to create a cohesive and unified brand. • Rocketed category profitability over 25% by altering department watch portfolio mix based on market trends and syndicated data.• Generated 17% sales increase leveraging knowledge between European and domestic shopper differences to alter products in global markets.• Traveled to Asia multiple times a year to develop new products, maintain supplier relationships, conduct factory audits and work with on-site brokerage RSI.• Delivered profitable new item projects on time by managing cross-functional buying teams across New York and Asia global offices.

Shared buying responsibility for Claire’s, Icing, and the Continental Europe hair business. Assisted buyer and planner in forecasting sales. Supervised and trained assistants their roles and how to excel at their performance.• Grew department margin by 7% increasing product classifications markup and taking fewer reductions.• Boosted margin 5% with development of $35MM hair claw category for North American region.

Purchased and responsible for 15% of cosmetic business. Assisted 2 buyers and 2 planners with merchandise selection and distribution. Analyzed and executed weekly reports, receivers, charge backs, return to vendor, production sample approvals, planned the distribution strategy and developed weekly purchase orders and reorders.• Developed merchandise assortments according to strategic trends to improve product mix increasing category profitability.• Guaranteed successful product merchandising with development of store communication strategies for special buys and a planned for in-store testing of new merchandise prior to all store roll out.

Merchandising Support Specialist, Home and Shoes​Supported the Ultimate Outlet buying teams for Home and Shoes on a daily basis. Created, analyzed, and updated weekly reports. Responsible for the liquidation of overstocked merchandise while maintaining highest rate of recovery. Allocated inventory to stores based on stock and inventory levels. Prepared catalog and internet candidates for Home and Shoe product lines.• Successfully developed monthly buying assortments for the Shoe product line to complement the existing outlet product lines.