Luther Harmon Email & Phone Number

Macon, Georgia, United States

★ Onboarded to lead strategic sales initiatives driving volume, profit, and share for Mass Drug, Grocery, Ecommerce, Specialty, Natural, and International markets. Lead business development initiatives in the Specialty Channel (Ulta), Natural (UNFI/Whole Foods,) and International (South Africa/Canada) Channels. • Author and execute the strategic vision. Analyze key metrics, including consumer and market behavior, to create data-driven forecasts, sales plans, target account strategies, and short and long-term roadmaps. • Responsible for the ongoing development of the Sales Team strategy, structure, and leading the implementation of organizational capability initiatives. Ensuring completion and execution of critical brand projects and strengthening the routine management and disciplines around organizational capability initiatives. • Provide leadership and direction to a high-performing global sales team. Including creating and monitoring KPIs, managing and motivating team members, and developing product knowledge and sales skills.• Partner with internal teams, including product development, LOB, and senior leadership. Providing customer insights and advisement on new product development, launch strategy, marketing campaigns, and growth opportunities.• Developed an international pricing structure to ensure internal profitability alignins with customer and distributor margins for success within the respective countries.• Successfully led the brand to a 31% revenue increase for fiscal 2021.• Established trade marketing budgets and activities to ensure continued growth and drive brand awareness at the store level while maintaining a profitable T/S ratio.

Glendale Heights, Illinois, United States

★ Promoted to serve as a key member of the leadership team, reporting directly to the CEO and providing strategic direction and execution for the Men’s Grooming, Haircare, and Category Management teams, with 9 direct reports. Developed annual sales budgets, brand strategies, and product portfolio planning, for Mass (Walmart/Target), Drug (Walgreens/CVS), Dollar (Dollar General/Family Dollar), Grocery (Meijer/HEB), International (Boots-Walgreens UK/Clicks SA), Ecommerce platforms (Amazon/Look Fantastic,) and Close Out (Burlington/TJX) channels in the US and abroad. • Full P&L of $82 million in retail sales leadership for ~ 65% of UBP’s brand portfolio including Beard Guyz, Van der Hagen, and Jamaican Mango & Lime, achieving double-digit sales growth in Beard and Haircare categories for 3 consecutive years.• Forged and cultivated relationships with customers, as well as external and internal partners. Driving revenue growth, mutually beneficial relationships, brand success, and customer loyalty.• Met with the sales team regularly to develop monthly and annual goals and objectives, and to review projections versus actual performance. Coached sales techniques, objection handling, and value propositions.• Directed and supervised a team that engaged with external advertising agencies to develop strategies that increased consumer awareness, which led to a gain of 20 share points.• Negotiated and oversaw the execution contract with a 3PL vendor, increasing the company’s OTIF performance at Walmart from 20% to 98%.• Oversaw the development and placement of holiday gift packs that garnered 95% consumer penetration and led to over $1.2 million in incremental sales.• Negotiated digital service agreement to align with Walmart’s OMNI channel initiatives, increasing digital sales by 5% monthly on the Haircare brand.• Achieved an 80% new product acceptance rate and increased e-commerce (Amazon) sales by 15% annually for 2 consecutive years.

Glendale Heights, Illinois, United States

★ Built and guided domestic and international haircare sales and marketing teams including recruitment, training, and sales coaching. Managed a team that conducted the full lifecycle of product development from ideation to launch. • Positioned brand driver, Jamaican Black Castor Oils, to achieve a 67% dollar share growth over a 3-year period within MULO. • Developed international markets in South Africa and the UK, gaining distribution of haircare products into major accounts: Click’s and DisChem (SA), and Boots (UK,) which added $2 million to the bottom line.• Oversaw the redesign of pack size offerings to Walmart – reduced out of stocks, eliminated penalty chargebacks, and increased sales by 20%.• Championed formulation and packaging modifications for Jamaican Mango and Lime and Groganics Brands increasing brand presence and awareness within the market.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

★ Led the broker network that drove sales at Walmart, Target, and Sally Beauty Company; as well as top retailers in the dollar and grocery channels. • Partnered with retailers, brokers, and distributors to rapidly expand the placement of Ecoco hair gels to become the #1 hair gel brand in the category. • Developed pricing strategies for direct sales and distributors' sales channels, increasing product sales by 12%.• Drove $600,000 in incremental sales at key accounts including Walmart, through gap analysis.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

★ Led the sales development for a start-up corporation, creating the business infrastructure, pricing strategies, and promotional plans by presenting fact-based category sales presentations to gain distribution at Walgreens.• Secured an estimated $18 million in revenue by aligning strategic and tactical sales expertise with supply chain management principles.• Drove sales revenue by developing brand strategies, leveraging pricing elasticity models, and category data - increased brand recognition with targeted customers through compelling Social Media Marketing campaigns.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

★ Planned and implemented effective strategies to recruit, retain, and manage sponsor organizations and relationships to achieve blood collection goals.• Performed Account Management functions on assigned accounts, ensuring monthly, quarterly, and annual recruitment goals. In the first year, increased collections by 115% over the prior year.• Educated Sponsor chairpersons and recruitment committees in organizational requirements. Provided ongoing support to Sponsors and implemented appropriate special donor recruitment programs.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

★ Improved productivity, efficiency, and operational effectiveness across customer performance, logistics, inventory forecasting and sourcing, order management, and client service. Collaborated cross-functionally with key stakeholders to develop and execute strategic initiatives; drove key strategic decisions via Cost-Benefit research and analysis of $700 million in customer orders. • Slashed chargeback expenses by $500,000 while improving accuracy compliance by 22% for Target Stores.• Eliminated $10,000 in annual freight costs by establishing CPU lanes for Target Stores.• Sourced and managed $140 million of food and beverage custom display unit inventory distributed to Club, Mass, Drug, and Military sales channels.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

★ Top performer, developing new strategies to capture revenue, expand profits, and extend the company’s brands. Analyzed syndicated data gaining insight into consumer behaviors driving category-marketing decisions.• Increased annual retail sales to $23 million at Walgreens, Target, and distributor-serviced accounts. Increased sales in shaving products by 14% and increased Walgreens haircare products by 9%.• Led negotiations with the ethnic care buyer for Target, securing a waiver of fixed cost fees that resulted in a 20% increase in category sales over the prior year.

Barrington, Illinois / Pleasanton, California, United States

★ Managed $24 million in sales revenue for Beverage and Foods Brands to Centrella and Certified Wholesale Grocers.• Delivered a $2 million gain in revenue in the territory over a 2-year timeframe. • Achieved 100% acceptance of new items within wholesalers and a 90% adoption by independent coop accounts.• Developed new strategies to capture revenue, expand profits, and extend the company’s brands. Analyzed syndicated data gaining insight into consumer behaviors driving category-marketing decisions.

Barrington, Illinois / Pleasanton, California, United States

★ Generated $20 million in sales revenue at Fleming Northern California and Food 4 Less franchises for six major categories, utilizing $3.5 million in trade marketing funds to drive promotional events.• Grew bag cereal business to a 50% share in Food 4 Less through promotions on a 35% share of the business.• Increased Gatorade sales by 15% versus forecast at Food 4 Less accounts.