Michael Walton Email & Phone Number

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Cape Town Area, South Africa

-Successfully implemented a Business Development and International growth strategy increasing the sales/client base by 30% and increasing the turnover of product shipped to $18 million per year for our company - roughly $40 million in turnover for our clients.-Financial forecasting and planning allowed me to reduce overheads within our company by 25% and create more efficient structures which increased productivity and turnover.-Working and supplying private labels to the leading Value fashion retailers worldwide such Ackermans, PEP, PEP Africa, PEPCO Poland, Shoe City, Pick 'n Pay, Shoe City, Jay Jays, BATA and Shoprite has given me a sound understanding into the global market, allowing me to seek out new business opportunities worldwide, whilst still streamlining and growing our local market-share, to be established as one of the leading footwear suppliers in South Africa.-A strong on-going strategic view on business, allows me to analyse and adapt in the market to maintain our company’s edge.-Having established an organisational processing model has allowed us to successfully ship roughly 20 000 pairs of shoes a day worldwide.- Through our strong network of factories, we assist our clients in maintaining their required 50% GP in a very volatile market.

Cape Town Area, South Africa

-Importing Footwear/clothing/home goods to leading retailers within South Africa and Africa.-Successfully on-boarded to manage my own retail accounts and lead the sales and new business acquisitions.-Developed a business strategy to increase the company’s footprint in Africa and successfully secured the PEP Africa retail account which turned over $5m of our product in the first year.-Developed ranges specific for the target market of our clients.-Expanded the product range to source and supply bedding, crockery, make-up and handbags, and successfully generated repeat business on core lines.-My client base included, Shoprite, PEP Africa, Pick n Pay and Jay Jays with an accumulated product turnover of $18m at retail level for our company.

Cape Town Area, South Africa

-Secured a large retailer - Shoprite and was promoted to handle the administration of the account.-Learnt the processes required in order to successfully supply large retailers with private label products as well as the complete value chain of our company.-I was responsible for product sample development, range presentation, quote creation, order writing, pro forma generation, manufacturing processes and quality control, client management, shipment procedures and implementation as well as invoice generation.

Cape Town Area, South Africa

-Promoted to the sales team for all in-house branded footwear and increased our product range in order to capture more market share.-Administrating the full order process which included order capturing, stock distribution, stock Reconciliation and invoice generation.-Developed key skills for client acquisition and management, which consisted of introduction, pitch, follow-ups and execution, as well as retention strategies.

Cape Town Area, South Africa

- Assisted the Head Salesman for the company who was charged with selling our in-house footwear brands.- Administrating the full order process - order capturing, stock distribution and reconciliation, invoice generation and receipt.

Responsibilities:• Business Growth and Development Advisor• Financial Planning Advisor• Business Strategy implementation Advisor• Contractual negotiating and overviewSummary:Drawing from experience in the cement importation industry from my previous business venture. I have utilized the contacts built in this industry and focused on supplying a top end service in a growing property market in the Cape Town South Africa-We focus on maintaining a very high quality Readymix, using the best sourced products, as well as growing our brand profile through our targeted marketing campaign and a fresh branded look in the industry. Service, brand exposure, and a high quality product, assist us in standing out in an product which is treated as a simple raw material supply. We are building a ‘strong’ brand here.

Import/Export company specializing in Premium brand distribution. With a focus on functional beverages and Craft Alcohol-Successfully secured the distribution rights of the leading USA functional beverage brand - 'Kill Cliff' in 2015. -I was head of the contractual negotiations and finalization. -Assisted in the Creation of the marketing and distribution strategy and successfully launched the 'First to market' functional health brand in South Africa.-By analyzing market trends through our relationships with distributors in the USA, I gained experience in learning to adapt, analyse and seize opportunities in various international markets, leading to numerous business growth opportunities. -We are now focused on listing strong South African Craft Alcohol brands in the American market.

CrossFit Training Facility and Franchise. BMC CrossFit Blouberg & BMC CrossFit Steenberg-Successfully turned around a struggling business in the health industry. With a passion for this industry, and by using my business experience, I re-negotiated a lease agreement and developed a clear business strategy, which resulted in a company turnaround to profitability within 3 months and 120% turnover growth in year one.-Strategies included identifying the relevant target market and analyzing the break-even point per square meter of the gym location, which resulted in the development of a franchise business model leading to 2 further locations.

• Importation, Strategic and operational decision making• Business development and Sales AdvisorSummary:An opportunity presented itself when interest was shown in the importation of cement. Utilising my business network I secured a supply of the needed cement as well as the finance. Although the imports game is very similarly replicated, hard work is needed to understand the business variables a new product entails to import and successfully distribute in your region. The commodity itself was a completely new field and I enjoyed growing this company into the leading imports cement brand, to become a real player in the Import cement industry. This company was successfully sold to one of our largest clients and is still the leading brand and cement import business in South Africa today.

Product Sourcing company, Specializing in promotional items for company activation's/campaigns.By Utilizing my vast network of factories in China, we focused on working with the clients specific needs and sourced Items which would compliment their company/brand/product, and increase the brand awareness.

Headed the negotiation process of securing the rights to this premium clothing Brand from the East and successfully launched it in South Africa. I handled the product costings and financial planning for the company, as well as location scouting and lease negotiations. Involved in the buying process.