Matthias Spanke Email & Phone Number

Miami, Florida, Us

▪ Founding, development, and management of full-service agencies for retail consulting, visual merchandising, and recruitment▪ Clients: Atomic, Bang & Olufsen, Bergans, Bogner, Cartier, Casio, Didriksons, Esprit, G-Shock, Gerry Weber, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Louis Vuitton, Manor, Marc O’Polo, Mercedes Benz Style, Omega Watches, Peek & Cloppenburg, Porsche Design, Ralph Lauren, Rodenstock, Rosefield Watches, Salomon, The North Face, Thomas Sabo, Victorinox, WMF, and many more. ▪ Research and analysis of target groups and retail trends▪ Retail consulting with the objective of defining pain points in customer experiences and replacing them with a positive customer experience▪ Design, production, and global roll-out of innovative window and in-store designs▪ Development of visual merchandising guidelines to implement global strategies consistently and successfully at a local level at all locations worldwide▪ Leading of workshops and specialist presentations in the US and Europe on trends and success strategies for retail, store design, and visual merchandising▪ Management and coaching of 15 permanent employees in the US and Europe and of more than 500 freelance employees worldwideCareer Highlights:▪ Window and in-store visual merchandising for all Ralph Lauren stores, shops, and factory outlets across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, and Croatia. ▪ Design of the current Victorinox branding campaign as a window, in-store, and pop-up design for all product ranges across all physical distribution channels▪ Design, production, and implementation of the Cartier holiday windows across Europe▪ Development of an outsourcing concept for AMER Sports that allowed 50 percent of visual merchandising costs to be saved▪ Establishment of a real-time reporting and communication platform for over 10,000 visual merchandising installati- ons in more than 30 countries at over 1,500 locations annually

New York, Ny, Us

▪ Responsible for the strategy and design of visual merchandising for 605 stores in the US▪ Development of innovative and creative concepts, techniques, and standards as store guidelines to provide a unique customer experience▪ Research and analysis of retail and visual merchandising trends to continually inspire the team and keep it up to date▪ Developing and coaching of a team of ten direct reports that included seven creative directors, a director of store-wide marketing, a graphic design director, a purchasing director, and two assistants▪ Management of a multi-million budget with absolute accuracy and maximum efficiencyCareer Highlights:▪ Introduction of a four-step creative process consisting of 1. Creative brief, 2. Research and analysis, 3. Brainstorming, and 4. Design, to increase conceptual creativity and innovation▪ Development and introduction of an annual creative calendar that was deployed across all departments for Fashion Office, Marketing, and Purchasing to extend the production period for marketing materials and thus reduce production costs by over 20 percent ▪ Reorganizing the production of marketing materials for the Christmas season made it possible to provide stores with four times as much marketing materials as in previous years for the same budget▪ 4th quarter guidelines for implementation at stores were reduced from 2,000 pages to 1,400 pages as the result of a realignment, which reduced the workload for designers and creative directors by 30 percent

▪ Founding, development, and management of a full-service agency for retail consulting and visual merchandising▪ Clients: Adidas, Apple, Asics, Beeline, Benetton, Breuninger, Burda, Cybex, Desigual, Diesel, Douglas, Escada, Esprit, Galeria Kaufhof, Gebr. Heinemann, Globetrotter, Gravis, Hirmer, Hugo Boss, Hummel, Jil Sander, KiK, Lacoste, Laurèl, Longchamp, Marc Cain, Mercedes Benz Style, Mobilcom Debitel, Nike, Odlo, Pearl Izumi, Peek & Cloppenburg, PME Legend, Porsche Design, Prada, Reno, Replay, Rich & Royal, Rimowa, Rodenstock, Shimano, Takko, Tally Weijl, Tommy Hilfiger, Triumph, Value Retail, WE Fashion, Woolrich, Wormland, and many more.▪ Consulting, design, production, training, and implementation of visual merchandising concepts throughout Europe▪ Developing and coaching of six permanent employees and around 100 freelance employees throughout EuropeCareer Highlights:▪ Development of a visual merchandising concept for the chain store KiK, which was initially tested at 20 locations and led to an 18 percent increase in sales; subsequent roll-out to all 3,500 stores throughout Europe▪ More than 4,000 visual merchandising installations annually in Europe ▪ Project management in Paris for six months to develop a new branding concept for over 900 Tally Weijl stores▪ Development and design of visual merchandising concepts and guidelines for Porsche Design, which were translated into multiple languages and implemented worldwide▪ Implementation of the shop window decorations for Douglas, the European market leader in fragrances▪ Design, production, and implementation throughout Germany of Apple store windows▪ Design of window and in-store concepts for various product ranges for Galeria Kaufhof, Germany‘s largest department store chain▪ Design, planning, project management, and implementation of 20 store remodeling projects annually of Galeria Kaufhof, Germany‘s largest department store chain

▪ Development and management of a visual merchandising agency operating throughout Europe ▪ Cients: Ben Sherman, Burberry, Coccinelle, Garcia, Guess, Lascana, Puma, Ralph Lauren, Seidensticker, Tom Tailor, Tommy Hilfiger, Triumph, and many more▪ Developing and coaching of 15 permanent employees

Hamburg, De

▪ Department head for store design, product presentation, and decoration of around 1,300 stores and over 20,000 shops throughout Europe▪ Responsible for the design of all print magazines in the non-food sector

Basel, Basel-Town, Ch

▪ Department head for store planning and visual merchandising for 360 stores in 25 countries▪ Technical management of 15 employees in twelve countries▪ Introduction of a new visual merchandising concept that reduces personnel costs by 15 percent and generates an eight percent increase in sales

Hamburg, De

▪ Department head for merchandise presentation and decoration for all franchise and own retail stores throughout Europe

2001 – 2002 Head of Visual Merchandising1999 – 2001 Team Leader Visual Merchandising1997 – 1999 Area Window Dresser▪ Responsible for the design and implementation of visual merchandising in windows and in-store for around 200 stores in Europe▪ Management of 18 direct reports

▪ Design of shop windows and in-store decorations for new openings and remodeling projects

Master’S Degree In Social Media Marketing, Master’S Degree In Social Media Marketing | Occupational Distance Learning

Bachelor’S Degree In Visual Merchandising, Diploma In Visual Merchandising From The Chamber Of Industry And Commerce | Equivalent To Bachelor’S

Diploma In Design From Technical College