Steven Anne Email & Phone Number

Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States

Northbrook, Il

Category Manager for Toys, Art, Children's Publishing, Plush, Playing Cards, Games, Spring/Summer Toys, and Licensing for 8,000 Walgreens locations.Responsible for all Toys (including action figures, dolls, infant/preschool, construction, role play, learning toys, vehicles, outdoor play, sports toys, youth electronics, etc.), Children’s Publishing, Licensed Plush, Art Supplies, Swim and Dive, Playing Cards, Games and Puzzles at the fifth largest brick and mortar toy retailer in the… Show more Category Manager for Toys, Art, Children's Publishing, Plush, Playing Cards, Games, Spring/Summer Toys, and Licensing for 8,000 Walgreens locations.Responsible for all Toys (including action figures, dolls, infant/preschool, construction, role play, learning toys, vehicles, outdoor play, sports toys, youth electronics, etc.), Children’s Publishing, Licensed Plush, Art Supplies, Swim and Dive, Playing Cards, Games and Puzzles at the fifth largest brick and mortar toy retailer in the United States. Responsibilities include choosing items for both basic department and promotional opportunities, ad planning, budget planning, global sourcing, vendor funding, merchandising, maintaining inventory levels, creating new product (both licensed and private brand), off-shelf promotions, creating cross-category programs, and creating item exit strategies. Have been able to increase toy share over the past four years in key product categories.* Put together successful cross-category retail events based on movie events such as Cars 2, Cars 3, Avengers, Spiderman, Iron Man 3, Monsters University, Star Wars - A Force Awakens, and Star Wars Rogue One. Show less

Deerfield, Il

Managed two full Category Manager desks. In addition to managing the Direct to License Program, also solely managed the third largest vendor of Walgreens (Hallmark) in sales and the second largest vendor in gross profit. Managed 5% of the company's front end gross profit dollars. Was able to hold sales in many stores where space had been cut between 1/3 and 1/2 of the footage.

Worked with Category Managers, Licensors, and manufacturers to come up with industry best, exclusive licensed products at prices no other retailer has been able to attain by having Walgreens act as the licensee rather than depending on current licensees. Walgreens is now one of Disney's top ten licensees and has the most all-encompassing contract of any retailer in the world. Managed the Direct-to-Retail contracts of Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Sanrio… Show more Worked with Category Managers, Licensors, and manufacturers to come up with industry best, exclusive licensed products at prices no other retailer has been able to attain by having Walgreens act as the licensee rather than depending on current licensees. Walgreens is now one of Disney's top ten licensees and has the most all-encompassing contract of any retailer in the world. Managed the Direct-to-Retail contracts of Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Sanrio, Character Arts, Crayola, Precious Moments, MTV Networks, ESPN, Hallmark Licensing, Peanuts Worldwide, Marvel, and Mattel. Created very first Direct-to-Retail programs from scratch for Licensors Nickelodeon, MTV, Hallmark Licensing, 20th Century Fox, and Crayola. Show less

Utilized Business Planning to constantly be in the Top 5 categories versus plan on a monthly basis. Negotiated pricing on commodity Back to School merchandise so that Walgreens saved between 3% and 15% on various "must haves" for 2010. By using Ad Planning, increased incremental sales vs. prior year in ad spots, creating a better roto for Walgreens. Made buying decisions on new product that has outperformed previous skus by an average of 25% vs. discontinued skus… Show more Utilized Business Planning to constantly be in the Top 5 categories versus plan on a monthly basis. Negotiated pricing on commodity Back to School merchandise so that Walgreens saved between 3% and 15% on various "must haves" for 2010. By using Ad Planning, increased incremental sales vs. prior year in ad spots, creating a better roto for Walgreens. Made buying decisions on new product that has outperformed previous skus by an average of 25% vs. discontinued skus. Instrumental in holding or raising sales and profit dollars in key categories while eliminating between 15% and 20% of skus.Helped create Back to School Marketing and Merchandising plan that lifted Walgreens to a 50 share in drug for Stationery and a 59 share in drug for pens. Show less

Increased propane sales by an average of 30% each week for two years by aggressively pursuing new opportunities in the business and negotiating prices. During this time, propane share for drug increased double digits while mass accounts and home improvement stores both lost share. Increased Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, and Holiday fresh flower and plant sales versus prior year by an average of 25% while keeping a sell through of 90 to 95% in each season. Created the… Show more Increased propane sales by an average of 30% each week for two years by aggressively pursuing new opportunities in the business and negotiating prices. During this time, propane share for drug increased double digits while mass accounts and home improvement stores both lost share. Increased Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, and Holiday fresh flower and plant sales versus prior year by an average of 25% while keeping a sell through of 90 to 95% in each season. Created the Licensed Goods category and kept a 100% increase versus prior year by introducing exciting new items as well as college and professional sport staples such as hats, tees, and hooded sweatshirts. Worked directly with the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and CLC to negotiate better product, better opportunities, and exclusives to Walgreens. Helped create an online ordering system in which store managers log in and order regional apparel and accessories right on Walgreen’s StoreNet, allowing store managers to spend less time with local vendors and more time on the sales floor. Responsible for bringing in over $1 million in incremental revenue by adding local product to three different regions' ads on a monthly basis. Served as part of the Alaska product research team in order to understand the local buying habits of Alaska. In visits to Alaska, found vendors and product that were either unique to the area or had a greater footprint and sales opportunity. Show less

Took on added responsibilities normally reserved for an Assistant Category Manager including creating and implementing new Private Brands (24/7 Energy Drink, Deerfield Trading Company Premium Soda, and Iceland Pure Premium Spring Water), creating planograms, negotiating with vendors, and making product decisions all while exceeding goals as a replenishment buyer. Averaged between a 95% and 98% service level while lowering Days of Supply by 10 days versus the prior year. During the… Show more Took on added responsibilities normally reserved for an Assistant Category Manager including creating and implementing new Private Brands (24/7 Energy Drink, Deerfield Trading Company Premium Soda, and Iceland Pure Premium Spring Water), creating planograms, negotiating with vendors, and making product decisions all while exceeding goals as a replenishment buyer. Averaged between a 95% and 98% service level while lowering Days of Supply by 10 days versus the prior year. During the summer months, the water replenishment desk was the highest billings desk in the company. Helped train new replenishment buyers and was used as an RB Ambassador for new hires. During natural disasters, took on added responsibilities in ensuring that affected areas received enough water to sustain normal operations Show less

Supervised 100-200 people: held one-on-one meetings with employees focusing on individual performance. Facilitated daily team meetings to communicate local and company issues. Worked with a diverse staff from all parts of the world and strengthened teamwork skills within our cast. Event Planning: Responsible for creating, promoting, and maintaining multiple merchandise events. Events included Disney's Animal Kingdom Guest Pin Trading Event, Snow White Platinum DVD Presale, and… Show more Supervised 100-200 people: held one-on-one meetings with employees focusing on individual performance. Facilitated daily team meetings to communicate local and company issues. Worked with a diverse staff from all parts of the world and strengthened teamwork skills within our cast. Event Planning: Responsible for creating, promoting, and maintaining multiple merchandise events. Events included Disney's Animal Kingdom Guest Pin Trading Event, Snow White Platinum DVD Presale, and Mickey's Trade Parade at Disney's Animal Kingdom which all surpassed it's budget by an average of 50% Responsible for Discovery Island West Merchandise Locations: maintained labor hours to meet and exceed sales per labor hour objectives, while increasing revenue, items sold, and transactions though effective management skills. Increased sales per cap by 100%. Guest Satisfaction Measurement: Measured merchandise queries to provide better guest service and product for our customers. As a result, we saw increased sales in areas of question. Show less