Michael Cleghorn Email & Phone Number

Byron Bay

I’m the M in MC&Co and established the consultancy in 2011. The logical and consistent approach to how we work in a creative field is at the core of our philosophy. Being creative and artistic and admiring the aesthetics of our industry is great, but without logical processes and intelligent business decisions, you won’t thrive long in retail manufacturing or wholesale.The team at MC&Co are always researching, forecasting and reporting on global trends in the field of interior design.… Show more I’m the M in MC&Co and established the consultancy in 2011. The logical and consistent approach to how we work in a creative field is at the core of our philosophy. Being creative and artistic and admiring the aesthetics of our industry is great, but without logical processes and intelligent business decisions, you won’t thrive long in retail manufacturing or wholesale.The team at MC&Co are always researching, forecasting and reporting on global trends in the field of interior design. While many others claim to do this, we stand out from the noise through our tried and tested scientific process. We research and report on global trends in the market with a unique, logical and consistent methodology. And it works. We work with small, medium and large business as well as governments throughout Australasia. Business vision, strategic planning and implementation with a focus on brand and merchandise is the key expertise however full business diagnostic and strategy programs are available. hello@mcco.com.au | www.mcco.com.au Show less

Sydney, Australia

Eden Gardens is a market leading plant life and home lifestyle branded concept chain of 3 stores. In this project role I led a small team to develop brand, product and marketing strategies to support a planned business expansion from 3 - 20 stores over a 5 year period.

Australia

Freedom is one of Australasia's leading lifestyle brands within the furniture and homewares industry with over 70 stores. I was responsible for leading and mentoring a diverse team of 35 people.Key areas of accountability for this role included high level customer service and relationship management; CEO and Board Reporting; ensuring the clarity and integrity of the brand, including value statements & style guide; management of all merchandise planning & buying, providing guidance &… Show more Freedom is one of Australasia's leading lifestyle brands within the furniture and homewares industry with over 70 stores. I was responsible for leading and mentoring a diverse team of 35 people.Key areas of accountability for this role included high level customer service and relationship management; CEO and Board Reporting; ensuring the clarity and integrity of the brand, including value statements & style guide; management of all merchandise planning & buying, providing guidance & strategic direction; coordination of a vertically integrated supply chain of local manufacturing & Asian sourcing divisions; market & competitor analysis ; ensured staff training and all stores comply with corporate CRM policy and maintained best practice in corporate governance. Key Achievements: - Successfully restructured & negotiated supplier contracts in excess of $50M. - Developed & implemented marketing & promotional strategies with an annual budget in excess of $ 22M.- Developed an innovative, differentiated brand premise for store layout & associated visual merchandising programs. -Successfully repositioned & relaunched brand within a 10 month period. - Relaunched revised catalogue, website & CRM strategy. - Supervised product development to meet market expectations. - Established corporate style guide for all communications, marketing, customer service & store layout. - Successfully launched new store concept, exceeding target sales by 20%. Show less

Minc Consulting provided consulting services for the retail industry. The client portfolio included:- Zak global- Capt’n Snooze- Barbeques Galore,- Sheridan/Actil,- AH Beard- KD Concepts- Hottopic Australia- Reed Exhibitions- Morton consulting - Breville The consulting services included: - Strategic product planning to deliver client business outcomes. - Product/marketplace analysis & trend forecasting. - Supply chain… Show more Minc Consulting provided consulting services for the retail industry. The client portfolio included:- Zak global- Capt’n Snooze- Barbeques Galore,- Sheridan/Actil,- AH Beard- KD Concepts- Hottopic Australia- Reed Exhibitions- Morton consulting - Breville The consulting services included: - Strategic product planning to deliver client business outcomes. - Product/marketplace analysis & trend forecasting. - Supply chain strategies. - Communications strategies including product presentations to senior executives and key customers. - Cultural Change Implementation - Empowering managers by opening internal communications, revealing overall brand performance resulting in greater pride in the organisation for all staff. - Creating, revising or clarifying the brand positions, demographics, marketing strategies and style guides. - Evidence based input into product development. - Financial forecasting. Key Achievements: - Developed & released global product strategy for Zak designs in Germany, 2007 - Concept development for Autumn Winter Manchester collections for Actil, 2006 - Developed & launched retail store concept for Betta Electrical & Furniture in Victoria, 2005 - Concept development for Breville on packaging for personal care products in conjunction with Morton Consulting - Keynote speaker at Reed Gift Fairs on trend strategy & marketing 2005-07 Show less

In this role I created retail homewares stores concept, product range & marketing strategy; sourced manufacturers from over 30 international suppliers; designed & developed product of over 2,800 exclusive items and achieved intake margin in excess of 70% with minimum production quantities of as low as 30% of standard.

In this role I consistently delivered budgeted gross profit; reduced all operating expenses by 12%; increased sales in homewares by 15%; project managed the National Conference in 2001; represented Freedom giving keynote address at the Sydney International Furniture Fair & Spanish Interior Design Expo in 2001.