Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Experienced and results driven retail professional with an extensive background in Category Management and Planning. 20+ years of professional growth in fast-paced and innovative environments - at both National and Specialty retailers within the Canadian sporting goods industry. A leader in category financial planning, product assortment planning, and inventory management. Utilizes solid negotiation skills, brand awareness and forecasting to make profitable business decisions. Contributes to his team's consistent achievement of top line sale increases and market share growth in mature categories. Category purchasing experience and knowledge includes: Hockey, Baseball, Lacrosse, Golf (equipment and apparel), Outdoor (camping, hiking, paddle-sports, packs, travel), Fitness, and Electronics. It also includes other institutional sports such as soccer, basketball, and football. Brand exposure and vendor relationships include: Bauer, CCM, Warrior, Sherwood, True Hockey, YETI, SAXX, Taylormade, Callaway, Cobra-Puma, Nike, adidas, UnderArmour, Taylormade, Callaway, Titleist, Cobra-Puma, Fitbit, Pelican, Marmot, TNF, Mountain Hardware, Cascade Designs (MSR), Rawlings/Easton, Wilson, Mizuno, Marucci, TPS Sports.
The AVP-Purchasing is required to ensure financial discipline and inventory efficiency for their portfolio - while driving top line sales growth and enhanced profitability. Key Metrics: Direct accountability of 185M in retail sales annually; Assorting to 200+ Sport Chek and Atmosphere locations plus banner e-Commerce channels; Team of 6 direct reports, 5 second level reports (2013-2018); Oversees multiple businesses including: Hockey, Golf (Equipment, Footwear & Apparel), Fitness & Outdoor. Other responsibilities include: Providing input on comp sales targets that align to overall corporate objectives supporting the annual financial planning process; Review and approval of category financial plans; Review and approval of category growth strategies as well as detailed, consumer-focused assortment plans; Engineering profitability through the development of national brand strategies and supporting owned brand development and growth; Maintaining current vendor relationships and negotiating vendor policy agreements annually; Ensure an authentic assortment - on the leading edge of sporting goods retail - by collaborating with existing brands to access premium product; or by generating incremental sales by negotiating access to new brands and categories; Collaboration across numerous internal departments to ensure the assortment vision and requirements are properly executed, allowing the program to resonate with the consumer. Ongoing support, coaching, and development of core team members.
Achievements: Promoted to Buyer, Hockey in 2009 (190+ locations). Hockey represents the largest open-to-buy dollar category for SportChek hard lines - and the largest annual receipt plan for hockey equipment for any single account world-wide; Grew the SportChek/Hockey Experts business from $75M to $85M in annual sales in a relatively flat participation category - consistently achieving planned targets for sales, margin and inventory turn. Worked collaboratively with multiple internal department for the successful roll out of 120+ Nevada Bob's in SportChek concept shop locations in 2007 - introducing premium product and authentic brands to the assortment, co-ordinating the delivery of product for dozens of openings. Entrepreneurial management of the Team Sports and Racquet business for Sportchek as a new buyer - achieving consistent high single/low double digit sales increases and shifting market share to SportChek; Responsibilities include: Leader of a strategic business unit - inclusive of a Purchasing Analyst, Planner, and Allocator; Developed and implemented assortment plans - with insights on category sell- through and margin, brand mix, product selection, price point analysis, margin analysis, receipt flow and initial allocation - to meet financial objectives; Negotiate product assortments, costing, deliveries, margin, discounts, promotional programs, and policy agreements with vendors; Manage in-season inventory performance and shifts in market trends; Collaborate on the execution of marketing, advertising and product launch events, as well as providing in-store, online marketing, and store support; Develop and maintain collaborative and productive relationships with the vendor base - as well as internal, cross- functional stakeholders. Develop private label product in adherence to core brand requirements; Manage, evaluate performance, and support career development of direct reports.
Assisted the Buyer in the implementation and execution of the assortment plan: Duties included style creation, purchase order management and tracking; Collected, analyzed and reported on sales and style data; Responsible for in-season product allocation; Executed vendor replenishment orders and assessed ongoing productivity; Controlled the execution of product launch events, advertised product/pricing and ad messaging; Ongoing communication with external sales reps and customer service managers, logistics teams, and Store/Department Managers.