Mirza Zaid Afzal

Managing the Footwear, Fashion, Kids & Beauty division of Al Hokair International with a portfolio of 14 international brands Aldo, US Polo, Lipsy, Zippy, Okaidi, TCP, Flormar and more with 100 stores operating in MENA and CIS regions. Key responsibilities include Buying/Product Selection, Planning, Marketing & VM along with Brand Communication, Growth and P&L management.
• Buying/Merchandising in coordination with the Merchandising and Brand Team including product selection, pre/post season analysis, Pricing, P&L, Brand Visits and product feedback.
• Operations and Stock management with respect to new season launch, store grading, clearance strategy and Markdowns in coordination with regional teams.
• Prepare Marketing budgets, Implement Marketing Strategy for each brand in coordination with Country Marketing Managers and Brand Partners, includes Social Media, Bloggers, ATL marketing and partnerships with malls and magazines.
• Worked with Planning team on Annual Budgets, Forecasts & OTBs in line with each brand future strategy.
• Partnered with E-Commerce platforms such as Jumia.com (Egypt), Souq.com & Sukar.com.
• Lead contact with Brand Principals for all communications within the given domain with matters such as New Store Proposals, Renovations, Brand Guidelines & Staff Trainings.
• Developing subordinates to grow into bigger roles by constantly monitoring KPIs and organize trainings with the help of management.

• Portfolio includes US Polo, Top-shop, Quiz, New Yorker along with 9 other Fashion Brands within the CIS, MENA and Balkans region with budget of AED 127 million.
• OTB working & Buying for approx. AED 60 million yearly, along with merchandising function such as Product selection, WSSI implementation, Annual Budgeting, Markdown Strategy, Reporting & Intake Plan Calendar.
• Quiz inventory was improved from 60% fill rate to 110% of capacity and LFL sales jumped from -8% to +15%.
• Worked on improved brand relation with regards to more country specific products, improved intake plan and better pricing structure.
• Increased in-store Full Price Sales and Margins by clearing old stocks in clearance locations.

• Portfolio includes almost 45 sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, Puma, Reebok, and Timberland etc with an annual turnover of approx AED 150 million, 20% of the total business.
• OTB preparation, Financial budgets, reforecasting sales and margins, seasonal markdown, reporting, inventory management, competition analysis or any potential gains/losses to the business.
• Implemented SAP for all brands including revised hierarchy, automated reporting for 45 brands in almost 70 stores.
• Effective OTB management by achieving 2% LFL growth with AED 10 million reductions in OTB.
• Introduced OTB template which provides forecast for the next 18 month’s sales, stock, markdown, margins, ASPs along with other planning tools for better OTB/planning management.

• Managed Kids, Basics & Mens departments for Koton with business contribution of 25% and annual budget of approx. AED 50 million for MENA region.
• Key responsibilities includes pre & post season analysis, seasonal buys, markdowns, intake planning, category & sub-category budget & WSSI management, reporting along with stock management and subordinate coaching.
• Implemented WSSI to manage basics more effectively. Improved basic school uniform skirt yearly sales from approx. 10k units to 18k, 80% growth with timely orders and effective inventory management.
• Helped implementation of MFP (Oracle) through training myself first and then colleagues.

• Budgeting, forecasting, tax management, account payables, payroll and account receivables, revenue management were some of the key responsibilities.