Sydney Lowe Email & Phone Number

Fredericton, Nb, Ca

Red Deer, Alberta And Fredericton, New Brunswick

General Manager, Market Recruiter, Labour Management Expert, Loss Prevention ExpertRecruited back to Old Navy after working for the company from 1996-2010. Managed multiple stores in Calgary in the first year, rebuilding and turning around underperforming stores such as Chinook Centre and Market Mall, before being asked to take over a bottom-ranked store in Red Deer that was 2 years behind in the implementation of a new leadership model. Significantly improved every store while also serving as a peer leader in the market. Relocated to Fredericton to open the first store in that market.•Drove sales in Red Deer store from -4% to LY to a +4.5% comp the next year; awarded Best Conversion Improvement and Best Average Transaction Improvement in 2018•Surpassed sales budget in Fredericton by 241% in first two quarters; awarded Best Increase Over Budget and Best Controllable Contribution in 2019•Increased the customer data capture rate in Red Deer from 2.4% (lowest in the entire company) to 18%; maintained a 30% in Fredericton•Ranked top 3 in district for NPS Customer Satisfaction•Greatly improved morale, increasing Employee Engagement Survey scores by 11% •Developed and internally promoted 16 top performers •Recruited to fill 5 vacant leader positions; supported district with the hiring of 150+ Brand Associates•Rolled out a tool to empower managers to accurately calculate peak-season hiring needs – this rolled out market-wide•Coached managers in 14 stores as Labour Management Expert to maximize payroll to drive results•Awarded “1% Club” twice for keeping shrink below 1% – appointed to support other stores with inventory counts•Appointed as district Loss Prevention Subject Matter Expert – shared best practices on conference calls to reduce loss and shrink

Calgary, Alberta

Store Manager, District Customer Satisfaction Coach, Marketing Committee Member Recruited to take over the first LEGO store in Canada in Calgary that struggled since opening approximately 18 months before – the leadership was new and inexperienced. Quickly identified opportunities for growth, implemented high standards in all areas, and firmly established this store as one of the highest-volume, non-flagship stores in the entire company.•Awarded 2012 Exceptional Sales Performance; performed 3-5% over sales budget year after year – increased sales volume from $4M to $4.5M•Earned a “world class” Net Promoter Score of 80%+ each year; coached district with best practices to drive the same results•Earned maximum scores of 108% on more than half of the store’s mystery shops•Developed and promoted 2 full-time support managers and 6 part-time supervisors internally•Supported the setup, opening, and training of the first Edmonton store•Advised on event planning and logistics on the company’s Marketing Committee.•Created and implement sales/payroll management tools to district •Awarded an exclusive LEGO set (valued at $5000) in recognition for conceiving an extremely popular LEGO Passport program for customers to use across all stores

Based In Edmonton, Alberta

Recruited by Director of Visual Merchandising to improve visual execution & standards in the western region, a territory that had a long history of poor compliance and dimimishing sales. This complex, challenging region included 11 different store formats and 3 high-profile, high-volume stores (Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary). Provided direct leadership and development to a District Visual Manager as well as training, coaching, and support to 43 store managers.• Took over a region that contained the highest number of “vintage” stores that had never been updated or renovated • Audited stores and implemented customized plans to improvement store standards and drive key levers • Revamped the company’s visual audit to improve execution and branding• Analyzed sales and item movement reports to identify opportunities for new visual programs, and measure results of changes to store standards• Set up and opened new stores, relocated stores to new sites without closing, and renovated 4 locations, on schedule and within budget

Edmonton, Alberta

Recruited to open the second Apple store in Edmonton. Lead, coached, and supported a team of 125 Specialists as a key member of the management group, with direct accountability for the store’s “red zone” – the front two-thirds of a 6,000 square foot store.•Delivered $25M in sales in the first year in three quarters•Hand-picked to turn around every customer experience with a Net Promoter Score below a 7 for Likelihood to Recommend•Lead team through pivotal rollouts of new product releases (iPhone 4, iPad)

Ottawa And Toronto, Ontario; San Francisco, California; London, England

Worked in 10 different positions in 13½ years: General Manager (2009-2010), Project Manager, Product Training, Real Estate Operations, Field Visual and Staffing and Scheduling (2004-2009), Merchandise Manager (2001-2004), Associate Project Manager, Store Systems; Store Support Analyst (1999-2001), and Associate Manager (1996-1998). Highlights include:•2009. Reinvigorated training tools and resources for new products for 900+ Gap locations; this content was also used by Gap’s emerging franchise market•2008. Developed product information training for a significant relaunch of denim for Gap •2007. Successfully tested and rolled out a Standard Remodel process that allowed stores to remain open during renovation•2006. Developed and implemented remodel processes for 4 different types of real estate activities; these processes were adopted by Old Navy and Banana Republic •2006. Developed fun and engaging training tools, and forecasted labour workload needed to improve visual merchandising execution and standardize product flexing decisions in 1100+ Old Navy stores•2005. Wrote and directed scripts, and developed DVD training modules for the six foundational work centres for Old Navy•2004. Adapted expert level staffing and scheduling materials to empower and educate all Old Navy scheduling managers to maximize and maintain their scheduling and payroll usage•2004. “Edu-tained” StaffWorks Experts, and Upper Field Leaders with scheduling and staffing best practices to dispel fears and inexperience with labour management to improve scheduling efficiency and drive financial results•2002. Observed and measured customer/employee time standards to improve labour forecasting models for Old Navy, using M.O.S.T system•2001. Represented IT and tested store systems in Old Navy’s expansion to Canada •1999. Prepared London Store Support team for Y2K•1998. Standardized customer service “flow” to diagnose and solve stores’ issues in under 1 minute

Ottawa And Cornwall, Ontario

Executed weekly sales flyer promotion to drive sales and maximize gross marginSupervised overnight replenishment crew to ensure all departments were in an in-stock positionPlanned and merchandised seasonal departments early to maximize sell through of full priced product

Diploma, Business Retailing

Certificate, Hotel/Restaurant Management

Diploma, Fashion Merchandising

Activities and Societies: President of FMSA (Fashion Merchandising Student Association)

College Preparatory