Francois Carrara

Francois Carrara Email and Phone Number

Vice President, Strategic Operations at Minted @ Minted
Francois Carrara's Location
San Francisco, California, United States, United States
Francois Carrara's Contact Details

Francois Carrara work email

Francois Carrara personal email

About Francois Carrara

I am a retail professional with 20+ years of experience, undeniable passion for product and a focus on innovation.Experienced in both e-commerce and traditional brick-and-mortar, I have worked with top retailers in the US and Europe, sharpened my analytical skills as an internal auditor and even started my own businesses.My biggest accomplishments include managing $300M+ departments, driving double-digit comps through recessions and working with some of the biggest licensed properties in the world.Creative by birth and analytical by training, I bring a unique mix of left-side / right-side brain power to all projects. I am the type of person who enjoys finding innovative solution backed by deep dives in mounds of data. I currently work at Minted, where I manage Merchandising Operations, turning beautiful designs from independent artists into customizable products for stationery, art, home decor, apparel and more. Specialties: market research, trend setting, assortment building, product development, crunch launch SLAs, driving sales & profitability, mining heavy sets of data for actionable items, clear communication, creative direction, product design, team-building, employee development, creating and fostering relationships with vendors, negotiation.

Francois Carrara's Current Company Details
Minted

Minted

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Vice President, Strategic Operations at Minted
Website:
minted.com
Company phone:
(415)528-2708
Company email:
help@minted.com
Francois Carrara Work Experience Details
  • Minted
    Vice President, Strategic Operations
    Minted Feb 2023 - Present
    San Francisco, Ca, Us
  • Minted
    Senior Director Of Merchandising Operations
    Minted May 2017 - Mar 2023
    San Francisco, Ca, Us
    • In charge of all product launches on Minted.com, including on-demand stationery, customizable greeting cards, home goods and fine arts• Continually streamlining processes and maximizing productivity Reduced cost of launches by 20% YoY Reduced launch SLAs by 35% YoY• Focused on quality through better training and proactive site audits Product bugs down 60% YoY Reprints down 55% YoY Overall post-launch error rate down from 5% to 0.5%• Cross-functional lead on New Product Development with Engineering, Merchandising and Marketing• Throughput guru Built suite of tools to project needs, scale teams, track productivity and maximize ROI Effective on-boarding methods focused on quality• Quality lead on transition off Adobe Scene7 to in-house customizer tool
  • Connekt Inc. / Shoptv For Food Network, Hbo, Discovery Channel, Cbs, Standup2Cancer And More
    Director Of Merchandising, Merchandising Operations & Product Development
    Connekt Inc. / Shoptv For Food Network, Hbo, Discovery Channel, Cbs, Standup2Cancer And More Feb 2014 - May 2017
    • Led Merchandising, Operations and NPD teams for 12 online stores including HBO, Discovery Channel, Food Network, CBS, Fox, Star Trek, Showtime & StandUp2Cancer.• Product categories included apparel, collectibles and home goods.• Sourcing mix consisted of exclusive product development, licensed goods, proprietary brands, dropship and warehouse programs.• Exceeded sales plan by an average of 30% through better marketing alignment, reduced SLAs and exciting new product types.• Built partnerships with licensed vendors to co-create products, secured exclusivities and coordinated major launch events like Comic-Con. • Expanded portfolio of DTG/On-Demand vendors to offer larger assortment and test new categories.• Promoted speed-to-market initiatives for seen-on events, turning show content into ready-to-buy products within hours.
  • Busy Bee Food Company
    Ceo And Founder
    Busy Bee Food Company Nov 2011 - Feb 2014
    • Created successful weight loss meal delivery business from the ground up and ahead of the trend.• Grew initial customer base through strategic partnership with high-end trainers and nutritionists.• Introduced customer engagement tools including recipe ranking polls and recipe idea contests to improve product offering, increase week-over-week retention rate (95% avg) and maximize referrals (80% of new customers). • Continued to grow the business through education events on nutrition and high-volume “get lean” corporate programs.• Successfully sold the business to SF catering group in February 2014.
  • Walmart.Com
    Senior Buyer, Outdoor Living
    Walmart.Com Mar 2011 - Oct 2011
    Bentonville, Arkansas, Us
    • Departments included furniture, decorative accessories, power tools, grilling and gardening. • Increased sales by introducing new product categories, establishing a clearer pricing strategy and reducing Out-of-Stocks on key volume drivers. • Led initiative with inventory team to eliminate stale inventory and lower Weeks-on-Hand metrics in order to fund new product tests. Continued to free up inventory $’s by transitioning slow movers to domestic drop-ship vendors.• Partnered with site merchandising to leverage product search terms and improve site navigation. This allowed us to launch new products customers had been actively looking for and increase conversion on previously hard-to-find items.• Transitioned key programs from domestic to import, allowing us to leverage Walmart’s own shipping options and negotiate early commitments discounts with manufacturers. This new approach increased department margin, pulled up launch dates by 2 months and guaranteed ownership on key programs.• Continued to drive margin by leveraging Chinese manufacturers’ existing catalog for retailers in other countries, allowing for lower minimums, higher margins and special buys. • Trained merchandising team to create best-in-class competitive and pricing analyses, leading to cleaner assortments, fewer price adjustments and higher conversions.
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
    Buyer, Bakeware & Housewares
    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Sep 2007 - Mar 2011
    San Francisco, Ca, Us
    • Promoted to Buyer of Bakeware in August 2007. Responsibilities expanded to Housewares in May 2009. Product categories included core bakeware, seasonal program, soaps and lotions, scented candles, cleaning tools, food storage and licensed programs. • Drove biggest sales comps in department’s history by creating successful new product categories, reinventing core programs and negotiating exclusive licensed programs. • Increased margin by an average of 500bps/yr through aggressive cost negotiations on core programs and higher sell-though rates on seasonal assortments. • Established strategic relationship with all existing major players in the industry and brought in new vendors to secure exclusivities. Partnerships included USA Pan, Nordicware, AMCO, Chicago Metallic and LeCreuset. • Negotiated $10M in vendor-owned safety stocks to eliminate out-of-stock issues while protecting our own weeks-on-hand metrics. Continued supply chain partnership with manufacturers through long-term forecasting of orders to secure materials and factory hours ahead of holiday rushes.• Built new standards in product development cycles by partnering with vendors and cross-functional teams on realistic timelines and strict deadlines. Along with weekly conference calls, this system allowed us to eliminate rush shipments.• Spearheaded and managed license deals for the entire Williams-Sonoma brand with Star Wars, Disney/Pixar and Marvel. Work included contract negotiations, product design and marketing initiatives. The resulting products created the biggest grass-root online buzz in the brand’s history. • HomeWorld Business 2010 Impact Merchant Award winner.
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
    Associate Buyer, Electrics
    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Apr 2006 - Aug 2007
    San Francisco, Ca, Us
    • Created new set of centralized assortment tools in order to gather and share information between merchandising and inventory teams on assortment, sku info, markdowns and launches. Tools were then adopted by other departments.• Launched Breville and Magimix on US market. Partnered on assortment growth, allowing us to secure exclusivities and negotiate higher margins.• “Catch the Spirit” Award winner.
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
    Assistant Buyer
    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. May 2005 - Mar 2006
    San Francisco, Ca, Us
    • Coordinated new in-store Culinary Experts program between marketing team and merchants in order to increase sales conversion.• Established new standards in market research, category style-out’s and product testing.
  • Azur Gmf
    Financial Analyst, Internal Auditor & Accounting Manager
    Azur Gmf Jul 1999 - May 2005
    Fr
    • From 1999 to 2001, responsible for financial reporting of 3 US-based insurance companies to Parent Company in France, including back-and-forth conversion between American and European accounting standards. • From 2001 to 2005, headed internal audits projects. Results included 10% increase in claims processing speed and bringing company up to full regulatory compliance. Also managed annual company-wide audit process with PricewaterhouseCoopers. • In 2005 became Accounting department manager in charge of accounts payable, payment processing and unclaimed property.
  • Burberry
    Merchandising Intern
    Burberry Sep 1995 - Apr 1997
    London, Gb
    • Worked with Continental Europe team in Paris on design and execution of new product displays for continental Europe. • Other projects included loss prevention initiatives for accessories and the creation of new reporting tools for stores.

Francois Carrara Skills

Merchandising Product Development Retail Forecasting Trend Analysis Marketing E Commerce Visual Merchandising Multi Channel Retail Pricing Assortment Apparel Inventory Management Sales Merchandise Planning Strategy Management Leadership Marketing Strategy Cross Functional Team Leadership

Francois Carrara Education Details

  • Université Paris-Sorbonne
    Université Paris-Sorbonne
    International Trade & Business
  • Université Paris-Sorbonne
    Université Paris-Sorbonne
    Economics & Management
  • Université Paris-Sorbonne
    Université Paris-Sorbonne
    English & Business

Frequently Asked Questions about Francois Carrara

What company does Francois Carrara work for?

Francois Carrara works for Minted

What is Francois Carrara's role at the current company?

Francois Carrara's current role is Vice President, Strategic Operations at Minted.

What is Francois Carrara's email address?

Francois Carrara's email address is fr****@****ail.com

What is Francois Carrara's direct phone number?

Francois Carrara's direct phone number is +141522*****

What schools did Francois Carrara attend?

Francois Carrara attended Université Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris-Sorbonne.

What are some of Francois Carrara's interests?

Francois Carrara has interest in Gardening.

What skills is Francois Carrara known for?

Francois Carrara has skills like Merchandising, Product Development, Retail, Forecasting, Trend Analysis, Marketing, E Commerce, Visual Merchandising, Multi Channel Retail, Pricing, Assortment, Apparel.

Who are Francois Carrara's colleagues?

Francois Carrara's colleagues are Dana Kim, Hason Leung, Kimberly M., Ahad Zafar, Ana G, Marina Woodbury, Micaelina Ritschl.

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