Merchandise and Product Controller
Debenhams P.L.C
Total years of experience :27 years, 0 Months
reporting to Trading and Product
Director
• Head of Merchandising and Product for International division.
• Responsible for the planning and trading of 12 countries managed by 11 franchise
partners. Current Annual Sales at £70 million.
• In addition to the merchandising role with 13 reports, I also head up the new
buying and design team with an additional 3.
• My team are responsible for Sales OTB and category planning for all partners. In
addition, event planning and promotional stance depending on partner capabilities.
• Reviewing product selection and identifying product gaps in our UK range and to
either fill with new International only brands or exclusive OB international only
product
• I have P& L responsibility for partners and work closely with them in guiding their
long-term planning and strategy, as well as working with other senior exec
members of the international exec team in driving our own internal strategy.
• Key to this role is managing relationships with the Trading Directors, Buying and
Merchandising Heads of, Retail Directors and teams to ensure we get the right
product at the right time for the various markets, but also with the franchise
partners with vastly differing levels of retail expertise and giving them both
strategic and financial guidance whilst maximising Debenhams interests.
• I also work closely with head office functions like Finance and Compliance
• With both new and existing business, I am reviewing existing and developing new
processes/ways of working as markets evolve and business models change.
Zalora was a start up online retailer that I joined at the very beginning. It is now one of
the biggest online operators in SE Asia and is part of the Global Fashion Group.
The initial brief of being a ‘house of International brands’ quickly changed to developing
numerous own buy brands as we strove to have a point of difference from other retailers
in the region.
I was responsible for managing a team of 5 Brand Managers and 4 Merchandise Planners.
My responsibilities included:
• Providing overview, leadership and direction to Brand Managers and support
functions for all aspects of Business Planning, brand management and
merchandising
• Instrumental in brand acquisition by providing gap analysis
• Accountability for merchandising planning, OTB (Open to Buy), forward planning,
stock management and maximizing the sales and profit contribution
• Ensuring margin targets are achieved through timely management of OTB,
replenishment, terminal stock management and retail price architecture.
• Implementation and review of agreed promotional activities
• Building the Annual Business Plan
• Analysing, re-forecasting and reporting the financial performance of all brands
through weekly KPI reporting
• Phasing, allocation, replenishment & promotional stock needs
• Determining financial sales and targets for new brands
Tangs (www.tangs.com) is one of Singapore’s iconic Department store groups and is the
only one that is still privately and locally owned. In size and brand profile Tangs is
equivalent to Fenwicks in London for its flagship Orchard Road store and a House of Fraser
for its Vivo city store.
I looked after Buying and Merchandising for Fashion which covered the following:
Men’s and Women’s; Apparel, Shoes, Accessories, Bags (and luggage), Watches and
Jewellery
I was responsible for:
• 80 Million GBP annually
• Managing 2 Heads of Buying and Merchandising with a small team of 20
• All strategic planning and buying on fashion
• Setting and managing the budgeting process along with CFO
• Day to day trading and monthly reforecasting along with CFO
• Ensuring that we had the right assortment of brands
• Ensuring we had the right mix of concession versus outright buy to offer a unique
product offering whilst maintaining margin
• Proactively working with franchise brand holders in Singapore to improve
performance and margin
• Producing marketing and V.M. calendar with CMO
• Ensuring shop floor staff coverage appropriate with COO
• Planning executing and attending all buying trips to U.S.A, Europe and Hong Kong
with buying team
• Weekly attendance at board meetings representing merchandising
• I successfully increased overall gross profit by 7% on the previous year primarily
through remixing products and brands and increased the overall outright buy whilst
at the same time increased stock turn and reduced cover.
In addition to these duties, one of my major roles was as Project Manager for the
refurbishment of the three fashion floors at Tangs flagship in Orchard Store. This included:
• Working with the external design team on the concept, layout and overall look of
the new floors
• Working with the external designers and merchandising team to ensure we had the
right fixturing and lighting within store
• Reviewing all space allocation by product area and ensuring that we were
potentialising all areas of the business
• Sourcing new to market brands
• Exiting or changing space of existing brands
• Renegotiating all existing contracts with brands to ensure margin/trade term
advantages
• Ensuring that appropriate budgets set during partial closure of floors during
renovation
• Ensuring that all deadlines were met with the various stakeholders to ensure
planned opening deadlines
I successfully opened the floors within a week of original planned opening within the 10
million GBP budget and having traded the floors during renovation at 15% above plan.
this role I was responsible for the planning of Mercery (sleepwear, underwear and socks)
and the Branded Sportswear departments. Key brands under my remit included Polo Ralph
Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Gant, Hackett, Nautica, Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein.
David Jones, runs primarily a concession business and the majority of this role was
managing the sales, OTB and profitably of these brands with the franchise holders.
In this role I was responsible for the David Lawrence Men’s and Women’s brand in Australia
and New Zealand. Annual turnover at the time was $53 million. I reported to Head of
Brand and I managed a team of 4.
My key achievements included:
• The creation of standardised Planning/Sign Off Pack with all relevant analysis and
this was rolled out across all 4 brands within company.
• The creation of a manual monthly sales stock and intake monitor to enable
reforecasting and proper OTB management which was rolled out across all brands
• Driving W08 sales to 44% up on LY by trading into short lead-time areas of knitwear
• S09 +20% on LY
Debenhams, Bershka, Avon, Urban Outfitters, River Island.
My key achievements included:
• Instigating a timely and accurate cash flow forecasting system to enable prompt
payments to and from the company
• Review of all customer profitability to the company and either exited or grew these
accounts
• Initiation of the business participating in trade fares in Asia
• Proactively working with all factories to ensure that they met all the social/quality
audits required by customers
Debenhams Catalogue / Online
In this role I managed a team of 3 assistant merchandisers within an overall buying team
of 14. I was responsible for the driving the profit of the newly wholly owned catalogue
which had previously been a joint venture with Freemans.
My key achievements included:
• Growing profit by 19% in the first year and 32% in the second year
• Fully integrating the catalogue and internet buying quantities into the own buy
stock commitments
• Ensuring a 90% stock level opening for catalogue launches
The Multi-Channel Manager position was created as a response to the growth in
international and catalogue/online business Debenhams was experiencing. I was required
to review all current and potential obstacles to integration of these channels stock
requirements and provide solutions/best working practices going forward. This involved
working with all concerned parties, merchandising, IT, logistics, distribution, international
franchise holders and divisional directors.
My key achievement was the full integration of all parties’ requirements into the core UK
business.
Women’s Designers
Re-joined Debenhams to take up position in newly created Designer division. In this role I
managed a team of 10 with 3 direct reports.
My key achievements included:
• The introduction of new opening price points by bringing in designer separates
(rather than the historical reliance on dresses)
• Sourcing UK suppliers to enable trading into best sellers
• Successfully launched 4 designers in store
• Grew like-for-like sales in store by 65% and 48% in the first 2 years respectively
Failed to complete finals due to Father's illness and death 5 Scottish Education Authority Highers, 7 ‘O’ Grades