James Scott Howard Email & Phone Number

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Atlanta, Georgia

Managed existing hospitality, residential design and contract accounts within my region (GA, NC, SC).Primary objective is to identify, build and maintain relationships with key residential design and hospitality accounts.Continue to leverage the Robert Allen partnering showroom at ADAC to drive fabric and furniture sales.Provide a consultative selling approach to design and architectural firms to drive sales and obtain new sales opportunitiesLaunch regional social media marketing campaigns to effectivelyCommunicate brand merchandising objectives.Leverage video meetings through Zoom and Google Meets to continue to drive sales through training and new product presentations.Identify and cultivate key relationships with celebrity designers and hold social media interviews to leverage for marketing initiatives.Drive sales within the manufacturing and retail sector by identifying customer opportunities and building programs which meet market demands.Cross market all brands and products through customer training and development.Effectively work with all departments within the company in a collaborative effort to drive sales.

Boca Raton, Florida, United States

Drive sales volume in a design-centric luxury retail furniture environment for the company’s newest store. Coach and develop interior designers to maximize sales on large ($80-$250k) residential projects. Implement operational excellence through training the staff on utilizing vendor partner online resources to efficiently and effectively run their business. Leverage existing and new relationships with vendor representatives to drive business across all product categories. Responsible for 150% growth in rug sales through initiating a sample rug program with our primary vendors including (Jaipur, Loloi and Surya). Providing continuous training and development to interior design staff including; but not limited to, cross selling across all product categories, custom programs, features and benefits, software and selling behaviors to maximize sales and provide a unique shopping experience. Utilize my relationships within the corporate structure to solution through customer specific challenges related to pricing, manufacturing, distribution and design solutions. Managing payroll and human resource functions for the store. Recruiting, on-boarding and training and developing the design sales staff.

Greater Atlanta Area

Managed a territory which included 11 sales representatives in the West Coast and Mid-West regions. Identified revenue opportunities and worked directly with both new and existing accounts in my respective region. Developed and executed individual sales targets for Sales managers that align with fiscal year end company goals. Established sales plans, specifically advising on realistic forecasts for products, territories and accounts (based on historical data, market trends, competitive activity, etc.) Increase market penetration and wallet share by developing targeted sales and marketing programs through analysis of product, price, promotion and merchandising. Manage and evaluate the activities and effectiveness of the sales team on a consistent basis by means of SalesForce. Develop and build relationships with key customers and prospects/ leads. Oversee resolution of all customer challenges promptly and effectively. Identify and propose new business partnership opportunities. Attend all national markets including Highpoint, Las Vegas, Dallas and Atlanta.

Dallas, Texas, United States

Managed and maximized sales in the flagship store for the company through a rebrand from I.O. Metro to Erdos at Home. My store maintained the top rank in highest sales volume and in achieving the highest growth over LY which reached ranged from 25-75% increases. Recruited, trained, and developed the design staff to exceed sales targets each month. Analyze previous year’s data to optimize sales in new programs and assess missed opportunities with the current business. Analyze in-season performance and take initiative on promotional strategies to manage sales, margin, and sell thru plans. Received “Quickest Improvement in Results” and “Ultimate Flexibility & Adaptability” awards at the National Store Managers Conference.

Atlanta Metropolitan Area

One of four store managers in the Southeast territory selected as an Interim District Manager. Ranked #1 in all KPI’s within one month of being in the position. Responsible for leading our semi-annual store manager conference for all regional stores. Coached and developed store managers on effective scheduling, zoning associates, managing the sales floor, operational opportunities and holding each of the store managers accountable to exceeding their KPI targets. Recruited, hired and trained store managers within the region through networking.

Atlanta Metropolitan Area

Responsible for leading the Ansley Mall (Midtown Atlanta) store from being ranked 9th in 2012 sales/ plan to being ranked #1 in 2013 sales/ plan. Ranked #1 in sales volume yet had the smallest stockroom in the district so I developed a stockroom restructure plan which involved working with the planning and distribution department s to ensure that the replenishment process was streamlined and was executed more efficiently. Responsible for coaching, developing and holding managers accountable to reach specific individual sales and KPI goals. Responsible for the planning and execution of all corporate visual directives which included mapping the store fixtures to maximize shelf space to accommodate a 15% increase in stock levels. Trained and developed managers to execute clienteling initiatives which would drive business during the transitional softer sales months. Held in-store seasonal “preview” events with our key clienteling customers and credit card holders. Led the district in new Pier 1 Rewards credit card applications and % of credit card transactions/ total sales.

Miami, Florida, United States

Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area

Responsible for driving the men's sportswear business at retail, planning assortment and executing collection buys for Macy's East, Dillard's and Kohl's.

San Francisco Bay Area

Responsible for executing visual merchandising strategies with all department store channels to promote sales growth. Maintaining key relationships with the buying departments to negotiate premium real estate which offered ultimate visibility.