 Procure supplies, equipment and services for the University under Tennessee Board of Regents guidelines with a focus on facility and building maintenance. Negotiate cost and terms.  Process requisitions, request for proposals and multi-year contracts.  Resolve delivery and invoicing concerns.  Manage existing contracts and supplier relations.  Respond to emergency purchases in a timely manner.

 Managed store and e-commerce operations including buying, merchandising, and inventory replenishment.  Negotiated terms and costs.  Developed in-store and online merchandising concept based on brand strategy.  Created and executed successful marketing campaigns to increase foot traffic.  Monitored inventory levels to determine replenishment needs.  Provided annual profit and loss reports to senior management identifying category strengths and opportunities.  Sought out new product opportunities through competitive and trend reporting.  Responsible for obtaining licensing agreements for proprietary material use.  Managed two direct reports.

 Developed and designed mid-tier private label leather handbags and belt collection.  Sourced international and domestic suppliers of leathers and trims.  Managed the design and production lifecycle.  Participated in accessory and apparel tradeshows in Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas. Collection was sold in over thirty select boutiques across the United States.  One of nineteen local Chicago designers awarded the distinction to sell their collection in Macy’s flagship State Street.

 Developed product assortment of licensed children’s apparel and accessories based on sales history and trends.  Lead liaison between designers, vendors, sales representatives, and upper management.  Responsible for specification package hand-off, cost negotiations, production, and meeting delivery timelines.  Created and adhered to seasonal development calendar.  Regularly conducted competitive shopping trips analyzing product offerings and pricing.  Managed two direct reports

 Managed the product development lifecycle of children’s key-item apparel for multi-store retailer coordinating between sourcing, designers, buyers and senior management.  Primary liaison between designers, buyers, and sourcing teams. Partnered with design team to establish seasonal concept and direction consistent with brand positioning, category season direction, and business requirements.  Attended seasonal print tradeshows in New York.  Responsible for compilation and turnover of product specification packages.  Managed and tracked sample procurement and aesthetic approvals.  Conducted competitive stores providing detailed analyses to team and senior management on assortment and pricing strategy.  Conducted seasonal line reviews with senior management.

 Product developer and manager of children’s costumes and accessories.  Increased productivity by streamlining product categories and identifying growth opportunities.  Designed the Mickey and Minnie Ear baseball hats which became the 2nd highest grossing product behind the traditional Disney Ear Hat.  Redesigned Princess costumes, crowns, and wands to create a cohesive collection and created a princess dress-up collection increasing category sales volume by 25%. Introduced new costume and accessory collections for movie releases such as A Bug’s Life and Tarzan.  Merchandised assortment based on store space allocation for each store location to maximize visibility of assortment.  Attended tradeshows in Florida, Chicago, and New York.

 Arranged fit approval meetings with Technical Services and Design team.  Reviewed lab dips to ensure collection compatibility.  Responsible for introducing men’s private label footwear.  Assisted in the development of product and negotiation to include cost, subsidy and terms.  Ensured the timely arrivals of samples for line reviews and catalog photography shoots.

 Executed sales, margin and inventory plans for assigned category.  Analyzed sales trends, key items, vendor profitability and aged inventory and made recommendations for driving improved performance.  Tracked product delivery timelines to ensure in-stock status.  Managed backorders and cancellations

 Responsible for negotiating costs and terms for print, radio, and billboard advertising.  Prepared and executed annual advertising schedules for a variety of clients including Purity Dairies, Cool Springs Mall.  Reconciled invoices and billing discrepancies.