Commercial Director
Saudi Company for Hardware - SACO
Total years of experience :22 years, 11 Months
Rejoining the SACO Management Team with a strategic mission, I am currently leading the Soft Part of Business, encompassing Housewares, Bed & Bath, and Small Domestic Appliances. My role extends to coaching the Hard Part of Business, including Hardware & Outdoor Living, aligning with SACO’s comprehensive Turn Around plan.
Key Responsibilities:
Category Innovation: Spearheading the introduction of new categories and ensuring the integration of relevant international brands. Focused on enhancing private labels to align with evolving customer expectations and needs.
Promotional Strategy: Devising and implementing cutting-edge promotional strategies to solidify product positioning and bolster SACO’s market stance.
Commercial Partnerships: Negotiating and signing new commercial agreements, fostering meaningful partnerships with suppliers to secure profitability.
Inventory Management: Employing effective inventory management techniques to balance sales, margins, and stock turns, aiming for a higher Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI).
Strategic Planning: Strategically planning the restructuring of current stores, considering their number, geographical presence, and exploring new formats.
Ecommerce & Omni-channel Development: Driving the development of Ecommerce platforms and Omni-channel initiatives, alongside innovative Loyalty programs.
Team Building: Restructuring teams and setting accountable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to elevate performance and productivity.
As the Head of Commercial for Kingfisher Group’s flagship store B&Q in Saudi Arabia, my role in partnership with Al Futtaim Group has been to pioneer the brand’s introduction and establish a solid foundation for its operations within the Kingdom.
Key Responsibilities:
Blueprint Development: Crafting the blueprint for B&Q’s business strategy in Saudi Arabia, encompassing commercial, legal, financial, and supply chain aspects.
Business Landscape Management: Negotiating commercial terms, curating a product range tailored to the KSA market, and conducting comprehensive financial forecasting.
Sales & Margin Oversight: Implementing sales and margin planning, space management, and planograms to optimize retail space and profitability.
Quality & Compliance: Ensuring adherence to quality standards and SASO requirements, maintaining the integrity of the brand.
Supply Chain Coordination: Managing supply chain logistics from distribution centers to last-mile delivery, ensuring operational efficiency.
Marketing & E-commerce Strategy: Leading the launch and growth of marketing initiatives and e-commerce platforms to enhance customer reach and engagement.
Business Expansion: Driving business development across new territories while upholding the principal brand and corporate values.
Strategic Leadership: Providing strategic and executive guidance to align department heads across buying, merchandising, operations, finance, marketing, logistics, and human resources.
Achievements:
B&Q Store Launch: Spearheaded the successful launch of the first B&Q store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, establishing a strong market presence as a business leader.
International Product Mix: Curated an opening product mix with over 50% international SKUs, creating a unique offering to stand out in the market.
Brand Partnerships: Successfully onboarded over 50 local and international brands for the store launch, enhancing product diversity and appeal.
Financial Planning: Developed comprehensive Merchandise Sales & Margin Financials from scratch, including department and margin contributions, accounting for seasonality.
Brand Alignment: Coordinated with Brand Principals to align commercials, ensuring cohesive trading strategies, seasonal merchandising, social media campaigns, and launch promotions.
In my leadership tenure at SACO, I spearheaded the procurement department, fostering a dynamic and high-performing team environment. My strategic oversight extended across various facets of the business, ensuring alignment with our ambitious growth objectives and market share expansion.
Key Responsibilities:
Team Leadership: Cultivated a culture of excellence within the procurement team, including Buying Managers, Senior Buyers, Buyers, and Assistant Buyers, ensuring the achievement of KPIs.
Market Analysis: Conducted thorough competitor analysis to stay ahead of market trends and devised strategies to enhance market share.
Strategic Planning: Facilitated the development of medium and long-term business strategies, working closely with Buying Managers to review assortment and range plans.
Category Management: Oversaw category management, product development, and assortment planning, ensuring alignment with consumer demand and market opportunities.
SOP Development: Implemented effective Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for streamlined procurement operations.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration:
Marketing: Collaborated with the Marketing Department on marketing calendars, brand creation, social media strategies, and e-commerce initiatives.
Supply Chain & Quality: Worked with Supply Chain & Quality teams on shipment tracking, compliance with SASO and SABER regulations.
Finance: Partnered with Finance on payment processes, contract negotiations, dating, and credit management.
Information & Technology: Engaged with IT to develop relevant reports for OTB monitoring, seasonal and in-season planning, aging indicators, and high-velocity SKUs.
Human Resources: Coordinated with Human Resources on recruitment, staff training, remuneration, and incentive plans.
Operations: Assisted Operations with planograms, store layout, fixtures, promotion planning, stock management, and inventory control.
Achievements:
Margin Improvement: Enhanced gross margins by 15% in the Cookware department through strategic SKU rationalization, reducing the assortment by 25%.
Inventory Optimization: Successfully decreased non-moving inventory in the Bedding Duvet Covers category by converting over 50, 000 SKUs into Comforters, surpassing department margin goals by 18%.
Cash Flow Enhancement: Boosted company cash flow by renegotiating payment terms, extending credit days from 45 to 90 with the top 10 local vendors.
Promotional Strategy: Improved top and bottom lines for promotional circulars by implementing loss leaders to increase foot traffic, balanced by high-margin items on end planograms to maintain overall profitability.
Sales Growth: Key contributor to a 25% increase in sales by leveraging video screens in the DIY store for product advertising.
Incentive Program: Initiated an incentive program for store sales staff to reduce slow-moving inventory by 35%, rewarding performance with earnings from maintained margins instead of resorting to discounting.
As a founding member of Homebox, I was entrusted with the mission to launch a value retail format in the home and furniture sector for the Landmark Group in the Middle East. This pioneering venture required the creation and execution of a novel business strategy, as the concept was a first-of-its-kind in the region.
Key Responsibilities:
Business Strategy Development: Developed a top-line business strategy post-approval from the Board, focusing on establishing a new retail concept.
Market Research: Conducted extensive research to map out the UAE and Saudi Arabian markets, analyzing product offerings, pricing, and quality standards.
Range & Assortment Planning: Created detailed range and assortment plans, setting sales targets, pricing strategies, gross margins, stock turns, and supplier terms.
Team Building: Led the recruitment process, assembling a team of professionals with local buying expertise and technical skills.
Product Sourcing: Guided the team through major fairs and trade shows to select products, negotiate pricing, and finalize packaging.
Planning & Forecasting: Established a Planning team to manage buying budgets, Open-to-Buy (OTB), and distribution across countries and stores.
Marketing Initiatives: Built promotional seasons and marketing calendars from scratch, adapting to the nascent marketing landscape.
Achievements:
Category Management: Successfully filled nearly 90% of categories with minimum stock cover in private brands at the launch of the first store, achieving this milestone within 9 months from inception.
Competitive Strategy: Effectively managed competition on opening price points and quality, confidently positioning against local hypermarkets and international giants like IKEA.
Merchandise Planning: Collaborated with the Buying & Planning team to implement effective Open-to-Buy (OTB) strategies at H5 levels of merchandise hierarchy.
Sales Performance: Exceeded the ambitious Sales Plan for FY 2013-2014 by 20%, demonstrating exceptional sales leadership and strategic execution.
Outstanding Recognition Award: Honored with the Outstanding Recognition Award for the successful conceptualization and launch of Homebox for the Landmark Group. Recognized for leading a start-up journey marked by innovation, excellence, and team dedication. Played a pivotal role in creating a value retail format that has significantly resonated with customers across the Middle East. This award serves as a motivation to continue innovating and delivering exceptional value in the retail sector.
During my tenure at REDTAG, I played a pivotal role in shaping the departmental strategies and expanding the business into new verticals. My journey from Buyer to Senior Buyer is marked by significant contributions to the company’s growth and market positioning.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning: Developed comprehensive departmental strategies and roll-up plans for new business verticals.
International Sourcing: Traveled extensively to international markets for buying, fashion trending, product development, and sourcing.
Market Analysis: Conducted sales reviews and store assessments across GCC markets to refine assortment and range plans.
Forecasting: Monitored planning and forecasting for various business verticals, ensuring alignment with market demands.
Retail Management: Managed all aspects of retail operations, including pricing, sales, promotions, markdowns, and supply chain management.
Product Positioning: Oversaw the positioning and branding of products, making crucial decisions on creating and discontinuing lines.
Marketing Initiatives: Orchestrated marketing activities and photo shoots, enhancing brand visibility and appeal.
Visual Merchandising: Provided guidance and training to stores on product presentation and visual merchandising techniques.
Leadership & Mentorship:
Team Leadership: Led and mentored a team of professionals, driving efficiency in process operations and achieving individual and group targets.
Business Transformation: Key contributor to the transformation and revamp of the SANA business into the leading value department store REDTAG in the Middle East.
Achievements:
Successfully steered company operations to deliver robust profitability for shareholders and ensure customer satisfaction through an exceptional shopping experience, high-quality product offerings, and competitive pricing.
KPI Excellence: Consistently surpassed my Key Performance Indicators, achieving a 90% growth in sales contribution from AED 21 million to AED 40.5 million within four years.
Innovative Business Launch: Conceptualized and established a new business vertical in Cosmetics & Fashion Accessories, projecting annual sales of over AED 50 million.
Targeted Market Expansion: Launched ‘Lass’, a brand catering to young girls and kids, growing it from inception to AED 1 million in the first year and reaching AED 10 million in five years.
Employee Recognition Award: Awarded for outstanding leadership in Training & Development. Spearheaded product training and visual merchandising workshops across five countries. Established REDTAG’s inaugural training certificate program, enhancing staff expertise and performance. Recognized for pioneering efforts and successful implementation of company-wide training initiatives.
Spearheaded the creation of the Imports Department, focusing on Textiles & Light Household goods for the Hypermarket Business. My strategic vision was to develop Private Labels, infuse freshness into our merchandise assortment, and create a competitive edge over local market price wars.
Key Responsibilities:
Private Label Development: Led the development of Private Labels, enhancing brand identity and customer loyalty.
Merchandise Assortment: Revitalized the merchandise assortment, ensuring a fresh and appealing product selection for customers.
Competitive Pricing: Strategically positioned imported goods to combat local price wars, maintaining a strong market presence.
Gross Margin Improvement: Drove better gross margins from imports, significantly contributing to the bottom line of the business.
Performance Monitoring: Kept a close eye on performance indicators such as sales, promotions, ageing, and discounting, addressing them proactively.
Strategic Contributions:
Pan-Saudi Arabia Strategy: Acted as a key team member for Geant, developing the Pan-Saudi Arabia Strategy & Business Plan.
Seasonal Marketing Promotions: Responsible for crafting marketing promotions that resonated with seasonal trends, enhancing customer engagement and sales.
Achievements:
Successfully established a robust Imports Department, setting a new precedent for the Hypermarket Business. Played a pivotal role in driving strategic initiatives that bolstered the company’s market position and financial health.
Traveling to all major Fairs in Indian Subcontinent, Far East & South East Asia for Buying & Sourcing.
Looking after all the key departments of Household which includes Gifts, Lighting, Bedding, Wall Arts, Kitchen, Bath Acc and Garden.
Developing Assortment Plans as per the department’s objective.
Working on Merchandise Approvals, Negotiating on Prices & Payments terms, Finalizing Quantities and Scheduling Shipments to ensure continuous supply of new merchandise.
Working on Initial Distributions and pushing stocks through Central & Regional Warehouses.
Doing Market Research, Competitors study & SWOT analysis for the Household Business.
Assisting Buyers by sourcing price competent merchandise from India.
Understanding the Buying price to Retail price matrix of buyer’s category and suggesting alternatives to reduce costing. Working closely with buyers on new seasons design packs and submitting them fresh ideas & samples.
Conducting Factory Audits to ensure the goods produced are in compliance of the buyer’s standards.
Ensuring the correct quality by conducting all types of fabric testing according to buyer’s standards, fabric approvals, size sets and production samples approvals.
Expanding the company’s sourcing/vendor base taking into consideration their manufacturing strengths, quota availabilities & other compliance issues
Part Time MBA
Editor-in-Chief, College Magazine 1999-2000. Active Member in Technical Society 1996-2000. Heads Alumni Chapter for Enginnering College in Middle East .
