Robyn Sher Email & Phone Number

City Of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

City Of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

After several fruitful months growing my innovative e-commerce small business, with a unique national logistics model for living plants and the 1st of its kind in the industry customised indoor plant subscription model, I pitched an omnichannel version of the brand to my previous employer and the leading home and garden retailer in South Africa, Lifestyle Home Garden. The company saw an outstanding opportunity to partner in order to create a differentiating, replicable, specialised retail business model for the well-established Garden Centre. And so my partner and I sold our Happy Life Plants brand and I was employed to work with them to create a boutique plant and coffee shop that brought our experience into a physical space.Through this acquisition and operational transformation I was able to:- Increase online shop revenue by 180% within the first 8 months of expanding into an omnichannel business- Triple online sales of living plants, plant care products and plant accessories in less than a year of growing from a purely online into an omnichannel retail solution, with a 0.4% product return rate- Successfully curate, execute and deliver over 200 tailored indoor plant subscription packages, throughout South Africa, within the framework of our unique subscription model- Curate a unique retail space that both educated and inspired people to find happiness through houseplants and that created an experience for visitors that satisfied them and brought them joyI further cultivated my leadership and business management skills through:- the daily management and training of 6 staff; 4 sales advisors and 2 baristas- having complete autonomy of the retail concept development, store design and layout- primary responsibility for product sourcing, pricing, inventory control and management- accountability for the hiring, training, appraisal and retention of my staff- daily strategic decision making, critical thinking, commerce management and marketing coordination

City Of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Boasting dynamic experience in the green industry and a passion for business building, my partner & I drew on our complimentary marketing & operations skills and the unexpected opportunities of a global pandemic & local lockdown, to create a new e-commerce business. With connections in the horticulture industry, a passion for the wellness benefits of indoor plants, as well as a keen desire to build our own brand, Happy Life Plants was established in June of 2020.With our main focus on creating a meaningful experience we worked initially to put together comprehensive content and an efficient buying operation, before launching our e-commerce platform in the beginning of August 2020.As it goes in small businesses- I created our website, built and styled the online shop with minimal prior experience on the Shopify platform- Curated the business model, marketing materials and national logistics model- Created all details, blogs and product information- Developed the design for product care cards after successfully teaching myself Adobe programs- Performed daily operations, plant buying, maintenance & preparation, customer communication, order packaging and shipping- And all photographs, content, design & branding was of our own creationDetermined to understand every aspect of the business, and to experience & overcome any and all challenges with new insight, my partner and I worked alone on every aspect of our business from the beginning, delivering orders, engaging with customers, fixing technical issues & caring for plants. Overall we are very proud to have:- Designed and established the first customised indoor plant subscription model in the country- Achieved over 240 online sales of living plants and plant care products within 6 months of launching, with only 4 and 5 star reviews in return- And finally successfully sold the brand and IP to South Africa’s largest independent Garden Centre after a short 10 months of successful online operation

Cnr. Beyers Naude Drive And Ysterhout Ave Randpark Ridge

Whilst working as Junior Marketing Coordinator I was increasingly asked to take on more responsibility and to be involved in management meetings. And after a successful market research presentation to the directors of the company, I was promoted to Marketing Manager.Whilst Marketing Manager I was able to :- Build, design and populate the first online shop for this retail giant in 1 week, with no prior experience on the Shopify platform, that generated $75 000 revenue in 9 months, post the Covid-19 national lockdown- Conceptualise, implement and manage, the first for the company, customer loyalty program which resulted in a 30% increase in customer spend and a 40% increase in spend frequency- Travel to Europe 7 times within a 4 year period for product procurement and trend sourcing, as the Assistant Buyer for international product sourcing trips with an annual budget of $500 000. And grow this department by 100% in 3 years alongside the senior buyer- Grow my marketing team of 2 to a team of 5 high performing creatives. Supervise the team and allocated tasks on a daily basis- Assist in the conceptualisation and coordination of 4 large scale retail floor re-design projects, one of which upgraded the entire till concord of 22 till points, that helped ensure the capturing of a 30% spike in Revenue post the Covid-19 national lockdown- Conceptualise and coordinate the production of 12 YouTube how-to videos, 6 of which I personally performed in- Personally produced and performed 36 podlets (podcasts) live for the CliffCentral platformIn this role I developed a dynamic and extensive understanding of the complex world of business, retail and marketing. And cultivated an adaptable skill set through the coordination of both the marketing and the décor departments and teams. The successful management of these departments relied heavily on my creative idea generation, calm, considerate and collaborative leadership style and excellent organisational abilities.

Johannesburg Area, South Africa

I started my career at Lifestyle Home Garden, the largest independent garden centre in Southern Africa (established in 1988), as the Junior Marketing Coordinator, reporting directly to the General Manager with no predecessor for my position.Within this role I:- Designed and coordinated the conceptualisation of a new company website that resulted in a 300% increase in website visitors within its first 3 years- Launched and managed the first Instagram account and YouTube page for the company- Implemented marketing initiatives in accordance with direction from management - Coordinated daily marketing operations- Assisted in event organisation- Focused on the building of supplier relationships- Assisted with retail floor visual merchandising and display strategy- Conducted continuous market research - Gave creative direction to other marketing counterparts - Coordinated all Social Media and digital marketing channels, and managed the company website- Created all marketing content - Acted as industry liaisonHaving taught myself most of the platforms with which I created value for customers every day in this position, I was able to gain a diverse range of digital platform and implementation experience and a keen curiosity for new marketing opportunities in a very short period of time. I was introduced to retail visual merchandising, something that I have a natural talent for, and with which I was able to transform and create modern omnichannel customer experiences for this long standing company.As I transitioned into a more managerial role, I passed on my acquired knowledge to my team and started to focus heavily on team development, mutual growth and continual learning. This is something that became a passion of mine and skills that I still continually cultivate on a daily basis in my career.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

In 2015 the property division of Fedgroup (Investment & Insurance Company, established in 1985) became an independent company, and similarly to a start up, had to rebrand and develop it's own identity as a property management group. As my first professional role in the working world post university, I assisted with the development and enhancement of the brand for this new company with a diverse property portfolio. This included:- Co-ordination of daily marketing operations- Contributing to the design and coordination of the new website, property descriptions and marketing - Planning and ordering new merchandise and branding material- Event organisation and client relationship building. Where I planned, organised and hosted a significantly successful event that generated new business relationships for the company.- Idea generation- Industry and market research- Developing the first marketing plan for the newly formed brand to move forward with

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape

After making a significant contribution to my residence and cultivating powerful relationships in my role as house committee member, I was elected to be to head of the house committee for the following year, to lead the next team of house committee members.This is the ultimate leadership role in the university residence and a responsibility for which I was deeply grateful for being selected. Holding this role while completing my honours degree, was a very demanding and at the same time a rewarding experience. I had to employ great diligence and determination during this year, and learnt extremely valuable leadership and organisation skills as the result of its demanding nature. Problem solving, crisis management and coordination were the most important aspect of this position. And while I creatively and authentically lead my team of peers and friends to create inspiring and informative events for our fellow residents, I had to learn the characteristics and competence that it took to arrange a group of diverse individuals and encourage team work that ensured the smooth running of residence administrative tasks and gatherings.The responsibilities of this role include the following:- Crisis management and external engagement.- House Committee Portfolio Management.- Chairing weekly House Committee meetings, termly house meetings and weekly section meetings- Ensuring a sustainable and comfortable living environment.- Encouraging and leading fellow residents.- Being a member of the Prim Committee - which involved the discussing of relevant campus issues, voting on pertinent aspects relating to student and campus well-being and improvement as well as connecting with other leaders.- Source of resolve and advice to fellow leaders.- Link between house mother, house, university and residence as a whole.

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape

I was elected into this role by my fellow university residence students, after presenting myself and my value on offer in a speech to the entire residence. Thereafter I was allocated responsibilities according to my talents and interests by the head of the house committee.The duties and achievements of this role included the following: - Coordinating and managing the winning Vensters production of the year, which included; theme conceptualisation, storyline creation, costume and prop making, production and direction, organisation of sound, lighting and safety equipment as well as running rehearsals.- Annual house dance organisation, which included; booking of venue and transportation, catering choices, theme selection and conceptualisation, design and production of relevant décor, hiring of a DJ, entertainment and crisis management throughout the evening.- In addition to larger events I was responsible for the smooth running of termly cultural events, the planning and running of the annual welcoming program for the new 1st year university students, organisation of interactions, as well as social, emotional and academic assistance to the 1st year students of my residence.This leadership role was a wonderful learning and bonding opportunity, where I developed interpersonal skills that contributed beautifully to the person that I am today. Collaboration, team work, communication and organisation were critical elements of succeeding in this role. Together with my team I won an award for the best cultural performance at one of the main events of a 1st year students welcoming program at Stellenbosch University, out performing every other residence pair on the campus. This was an amazing achievement that required a great deal of coordination, creativity and inspiration - all skills that I have continued to cultivate in myself in throughout my university career and into the working world.

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape

I lead a small team of young ladies in this university residence committee that planned and organised events and social gatherings for the senior students of the residence. I was elected by my year group to be in the committee and then elected by my peers within the committee to be the leader. A role that I greatly appreciated and within which I learnt the very valuable skills of team work, delegation, organisation and leadership.

Masters In Customer Experience And Innovation (Mcxi), Marketing

During my Masters in CX and Innovation at IE Business School in Madrid, I have acquired deeper insights into modern marketing strategies..

Bachelors Of Commerce Honours, Marketing Management

After successfully completing my BCom in Management Sciences with a focus on Marketing and Entrepreneurship & Innovation, I was accepted.

Bachelor Of Commerce (Bcom), Marketing Management And Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management

High School