• Developing and maintaining collaborative and commercial relationships with key strategic partners (including global brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Sonos and Apple), including setting of business plans, and supportive marketing and trading plans, and conducting ongoing terms negotiations.• Setting of stock and intake plans and ensuring stock levels are optimised down to SKU level. This resulted in a 40% reduction in stockholding (equating to a £18m reduction in intake) through AW17, reducing the cover on stock from 10.7 in AW16 to 6.4 in AW17.• Ongoing commercially focused trading activity with a priority on sales planning and margin alignment. This included planned and reactive promotional activity, FS lead activity (such delivering a free warranty programme and driving a supplier funded interest free credit proposition).• Analysis of internal customer data and external market data (e.g. Mintel and GFK), identifying opportunities within Brands and / or product categories and then ensuring sales and stock plans are aligned. • Ensuring the customer experience is world class through availability, market competitive pricing and delivery options and talking to our customer in the correct tone of voice.

This is a senior role, with responsibility for managing a large product area (sales turnover of £90m in 2014, equating to growth of +12% vs previous year), alongside additional responsibilities whilst deputizing for the Head of Merchandising on the Footwear and Essentials category and managing a team of five merchandisers within.Alongside my category responsibilities, I undertook the key activities and actions below:• Overall management of stock and intake across fifteen, diverse trading areas, and presentation of issues, actions and solutions at Director level on a weekly basis.• Designed multiple promotional propositions across categories, balancing costs against budget requirements and responding to sales against forecast fluctuations, predicting seasonal trends and new product return on investment• Collation and presentation of weekly trading activities and actions across the trading categories• Management of ad-hoc merchandising tasks to ensure deadlines are not only met but exceeded.• Liaising with internal departments to ensure world class retail experience for our customers, through website relevance and customer journey, including leading the “faster phasing” initiative across total footwear.• Close liaising with the Central Merchandising team to ensure compliance on key tasks and actions.• Development of junior members of the merchandising team.• Represented Shop Direct at the 2014 Drapers “30 Under 30”, participating in a Q&A session in front over 200 multi-level, retailers.

• This was a Senior Merchandising role on the biggest trading department within Clothing and Footwear- demand £98m pa, equating to 10% of the total clothing and footwear mix, with sales at £31m, equating to 12% of the mix.• In dealing with the key, global sports brands (Nike, Adidas, Converse, Reebok and Vans amongst others) there was a requirement to meet all financial KPIs and stock turn targets including growth on intake and realized margin. • This involved careful range planning across Mens, Ladies and Childrens ranges and developing close relationships with the key brands, to ensure we could react to emerging trends and take remedial action were lines were missing budget.• My time on the area was challenging, seeing the explosion of the Converse and Vans plimsoll trend and the challenges this presented in terms of re-buying and ensuring stock coverage combined with the decline of Adidas as a fashion brand.• I was responsible for three Assistant Merchandisers, all of whom developed through the Shop Direct career ladder under my management and have since taken on other, more senior roles within the company.• For FY 12/13, performance was significantly ahead of budget – sales +9.0% (+£5m).

This role had major impact upon the business and is one I sought to grow in status and importance during my time on the area. This involved a great deal of communication, negotiation and influencing with all levels of the merchandising hierarchy from Director to assistant merchandiser. • To progress, monitor and report on key event launch availability at option level across all trading departments for all publications and internet promotions• To monitor and improve the on line weighted availability of all products across the business• To manage WSSIs to control levels of OTB against budgeted buy plans at trading department level and manage gross intake margin, levels of intake, promotional activity and budgeted markdown to maximise companywide profitability• Management and prioritisation of contracts through the supply chain from Far East shipment by our nominated carriers through to booking into the relevant DC.• Central control of the top 50 lines within the business at option level.• Formation of strategic stock management plans in conjunction with Heads of Merchandising and Logistics and Warehousing Directors.• Reporting function to Buying and Merchandising teams

I held a Senior Merchandising position, which includes Acting Head of Merchandising responsibilities. My areas of responsibility are the childrens outerwear and accessory departments, schoolwear, childrens nightwear and menswear. In total, these departments contribute 35% of the annual company sales and 41% of the profit, and comprise over 2500 skus.

I was initially employed on childrens-wear with responsibility for the Newborn Department over the period when George became the biggest volume childrens-wear retailer in the UK. I was then moved onto menswear, with responsibility for Woven Tops – formal and casual shirts, and ties – and Outerwear categories with an annual sales budget of in excess of £46 million.