STEPHANIE WILSON

Seattle, Washington 98106 847-224-9318 stephaniwilson827@sbcglobal.net

SENIOR BUYER / PRODUCT MANAGER

Highly skilled and creative Senior Buyer / Senior Product Manager with proven record of success identifying business opportunities and executing category strategies. Extensive experience developing effective merchandising plans, promotions, calendars, and loyalty programs that increase traffic, conversion, and sales. Leverage new and existing vendor relationships to improve profitability and launch new campaigns. Collaborate with cross-functional teams across operations, planning, and supply chain in alignment with corporate initiatives. Keen eye for trends, new brands and items for the target customer.

E-Commerce P & L Product Selection Assortment Building Brand Identification Business Intelligence & Strategy Vendor Relationships & Negotiation Market Analysis Expert Seasonal Industry Analysis Seize Business Opportunities Procurement Margins Accurate Trending & Forecasting Pricing / Terms / Condition Negotiations Sourcing Full Life-Cycle Project Management Cross-Functional Teams

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AMAZON SERVICES, Seattle, Washington 2010 - July 2012 Leading online retailer of books, movies, electronics, and apparel, with more than 130k customers. Senior Vendor Manager / Buyer, Baby Apparel & Accessories Direct full P&L for the Baby Apparel category, including buying, pricing, in-stock management, vendor negotiations, and marketing for traffic generation, as well as an improved customer experience. Research and identify business opportunities to develop strategies around selection, pricing, and marketing in alignment with corporate initiatives of category and margin growth. Achievements Increased sales 96% year-over-year, expertly expanding brand selection and item assortments. Leveraged existing and new vendor relationships to enhance the shopping experience, drive sales and increase profits. Improved annual profitability +242bps, and +180 bps to plan. Launched Baby Store, adding 68 new brands, and including customer call-to-action with logo listing on the home page. Increased conversion rate by revamping browsing capabilities, giving greater individualization for searches, such as by gender. Executed seasonal Baby Sales, with additional funding negotiated for marketing and margin offset (> $180k). Championed seasonal site flips for Baby Apparel with new imagery and editorial. Introduced Disney Cuddly Bodysuit program with 6-month exclusivity, enhanced detail pages and customer reviews, through collaboration and negotiation with Disney Consumer Products. Utilized Amazon Mom and as well as partnership with Baby Hardlines for additional exposure to drive traffic to the Baby Apparel assortment. Streamlined efficiencies by collaborating with Retail Business Services Team to reduce turnaround time in new item set up, template updates, vendor training, and report automation. Pioneered evergreen baby apparel/needs list for inclusion on the Baby Registry.
Resume

STEPHANIE WILSON Page 2 stephaniwilson827@sbcglobal.net SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION, Hoffman Estates, Illinois 1999-2010 Established U.S. retail chain of department stores. Buyer, Infant & Toddler Girls Apparel 2003-2010 Developed seasonal business strategies and plans to meet sales, margin, and turnover goals. Purchased customer-focused assortments of branded product and collaborated with Brand Development Team on seasonal private label line development. Worked with Internal Sourcing Team on private label cost objectives. Managed pricing strategies, based on detailed business intelligence. Supervised Associate Buyer and led Planning Team in developing classification plans and product allocation among regional tiers. Generated $15M in annual sales through partnership with Disney Consumer Products on Directto-Retail Winnie the Pooh campaign. Expanded dress volume 22%, growing the category to 30% of total department revenue. Increased private label volume year-over-year to achieve 18% of total revenue, as a result of expert customer understanding, key vendor partnerships, and testing new ideas/products. Improved customer in-store experience working closely with Visual Merchandising Team on detailed monthly action plans. Director, Childrens Brand Development 1999-2003 Developed brand profiles that encompassed lifestyle, psychographics, demographics, pricing, and color palette. Analyzed sales to identify expansion opportunities in product mix, augment seasonal calendars, and prioritize workload to achieve tight timelines. Communicated comprehensive product information to Sourcing and Merchant teams to maximize seasonal strategies, while leading brand development team of 8 designers and product managers across all childrens brands. Completed hands-on research of trends and product development via travel in domestic and European markets. Expanded private label volume over 31%, reaching sales of $325M, and representing 20% of total revenue in Kids Store. Enhanced individual achievement and team performance by mentoring members on merchant relationships, development cycle, brand knowledge, and consumer behavior. VIACOM RETAIL GROUP, New York, New York 1997-1999 Specialty store division, focused on product development for Star Trek, Paramount Studios, MTV, Nick-at-Nite, VH1, and Nickelodeon merchandise. Senior Product Manager, Nickelodeon Girls Apparel Created product offerings, including licensed character, and lifestyle merchandise. Collaborated with corporate Brand Team and character artists on seasonal themes, from print and pattern-work to character artwork development. Managed all aspects of product line development, including technical specification packages. Presented product line to Management and Corporate Brand Team. Traveled overseas to work with factories for sample development / costing. Collaborated with store / visual teams to merchandise new stores. Generated $125M in sales from specially developed Blues Clues licensed product. Increased volume of girls sales to 45% of total sales. Minimized risk and maximized profit through skilled negotiation with factories on cost of goods. Monitored sales / sell-thrus to impact decision-making. Built brand equity and consumer interest by expertly translating seasonal trends and color direction into licensed assortments and new products.
EDUCATION Fashion Design & Merchandising, Finch College, New York, New York LANGUAGES & COMPUTER SKILLS French (Fluent) / MS Office Suite Resume