Oversee the Merchandising team for all Bottoms and communicate strategic vision to drive a cohesive product assortment that mirrors the Company Brand and consistently appeals to the customer’s taste.Develop a line that represents the Brand and is aligned with merchandise strategy.Understand and communicate the critical initiatives of the business.Drive strategic buy decisions and business performance of merchandise categories through early planning and strategy implementation.Analyze competitive landscape to benchmark opportunities for line plans.Drive product development by providing design direction to in-house and external Design partners.Partner with Merchandise Planning to leverage historical performance and current business data when developing broad assortment that balances best sellers, key items and novelty.Collaborate with Sourcing on vendor resources, calendar and costing strategies. Act as a customer representative to Technical Design regarding quality, fit and construction issues.Bring customer and market perspective to the design and product development process.Partner with Marketing, Visual Merchandising and Stores to provide product knowledge and strategies needed to drive strong traffic and sales.Manage in-season business by analyzing sales information to identify opportunities to increase sales, improve margins, maximize inventories and decrease markdowns.Attend P&L meetings to hindsight performance to date and apply information on sales trends and future business objectives to current merchandising strategies.

Responsible for the planning & prioritization of products in the production lifecycle, which was carried out completely in-house - with a special penchant for improving quality control procedures? Managed the end-to-end production of designer Kaftans for export to the Middle East, held accountable for delivery schedules - which were always completed on time.? Due to an additional focus on quality, engaged the production and sourcing teams to imbibe better checks, reducing the claims for my line by over 30% in one season.All elements of the production cycle were handled in-house, carried out by product teams I was leading.? Directly managed and mentored a team of 3 resources.? Due to my renowned and recognized knack for on-time deliveries and excellent quality control, successfully managed to increase healthy competition and improve the production process across multiple product lines.

Key resource involved in international buyer negotiations and the bidding process, travelled with the company founders internationally to discuss order specifications for River Island.Improved the ongoing client relationships and negotiation power of Ishman, correspondingly increasing orders contracted 10x from -2 Lacs/yr to ~20 Lacs/yr. ? Took the lead to eliminate an existing significant 'late delivery' claim history for the company, carefully monitored the production process for the first couple of seasons, and identified areas of improvement in the fabric & accessories departments - working with them every season to iteratively reduce the late-claims, which accounted for -10% of revenue, close to zero. Tasked with purging the Quality Control issues plaguing the River Island account, created rhythms for my internal team to work with the production floor, authorising thorough checks throughout the process. Inculcated a stage-gate checkpoint for an internal QC before the standard buyer check. Functioned as the liaison between buyers, design & production, using my negotiation skills to innovatively pivot unplanned colour differences in fabrics to utilise as separate product lines in stores - leading to an even smaller cost to Ishman than initially expected, with buyers benefiting from an improved production schedule due to reduced redundancies.? Owing to the increase in orders generated, the improvement in production & QC process - I led a marked improvement in Ishman International's market reputation, causing an increase in the number of accounts handled, and helping the organization grow from a small 15 employee joint to one with a gross revenue of over Rs. 150 Cr. ? Successfully navigated tight deadlines every year, directly managing a team of 5 people, indirectly leading small armies of over 30-50 people involved in the production process every year. Led products across different cross- functional teams every season, gaining client appreciation along the way.

Handling envious international accounts like Zara and Pramod accountable for client deliverables? Preparing a sample range (specializing in woven fabrics) for client purchase authorizations.? Once orders were received, I was the liaison between the production teams and merchants.? During my initial years, focused on ownership, responsibility & learning.? Managed account for dedicated international buyers, responsible for client engagement and acted as the first point of contact for all day-to-day interactions. Product development strategy relies on developing new products or modifying existing products so they appear new, and offering those products to current or new markets. When executed successfully, it can lead to growth in sales and market share.