Store Manager Fashion

Renee McEvoy
604 Harmony Lane
Pleasantville, CA 94588
(925) 555-1234

Leveraging highly successful 9-year record and proven ability to consistently exceed sales and profit goals for multi-million dollar upscale fashion retailers, managing multi-site districts.

Bottom-line & Operational
Successful record leading store and performance turnaround and new store openings. Facilitate profit increases, process improvement, business growth, and market expansion/penetration. Brought shrinkage to all-time record-low of less than 1%. Thrive on successfully remedying challenges – containing cost and boosting revenue.

Fashion Savvy
Expert in Image and Wardrobe Consulting. Perfected suggestive selling techniques, creating customer-appropriate new image while building foundation for continued purchases. Pioneered trend spotting and competitive research trips (up to 20/year). Perform trend forecasting in New York, materialized as “Shop Girl in the City” web contribution. Experience coordinating models and styling for photo shoots. Extensive merchandising background. Attend international fashion industry trade shows.

Talent Building & Retention
Recognized for talent in recruitment and development, resulting in productivity and performance improvement and exemplary retention rates. Act as liaison, motivator, coach, manager, and educator in leading teams to maximize performance. Ability to explain complex concepts at audience’s level of comprehension. Enthusiastic team leader with understanding of customer service and employee-bottom line connection.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

OLIVE & BETTE’S – NEW YORK, NY
2002 – Present
Store Manager
Hired to turn around performance and morale of SoHo location of privately-held, trendy, fast-paced women’s wear retailer with 3 Manhattan locations, 50 employees, and combined annual sales of $7.5 Million, servicing local, regional, and international customers.
Scope of responsibility includes inventory and merchandising management, human resources, customer service, trend forecasting, and meeting sales/revenue goals. Supervise team of 7 (including Assistant Manager and key holders). Handle staff recruiting, hiring, training, developing, evaluating, promoting, and lay-offs.

Challenge & Action: To turnaround underperforming store. Reorganized and trained team, fostering cohesion, participation, and performance ownership. Streamlined operations and inventory management, and introduced service-oriented marketing strategies, encompassing ongoing client communication. Results: Achieved store turnaround within 3 months, capturing $2+ Million in Y03 sales, compared to $1.3 Million for Y02. Exceeded annual performance goal by 46%.

Challenge & Action: Selected by storeowner to orchestrate store-remodeling project aimed to increase sales, improve inventory management, and raise public awareness. Managed project from input on layout, merchandising, and bottom-line effects, to determining markdowns and installations. Coordinated employees company-wide to facilitate operations. Initiated special sales event. Results: Completed project on time, achieving YTD-sales of 87% over 2003. Tripled sales volume during 2-day remodeling event.

Challenge & Action: Blackout of August 2003 in absence of owner and while traveling. Used solid decision-making skills to weigh risks and opportunities. Managed and coached staff long-distance through chaos and panic, thwarting escalation. Results: Ensured continued operations and minimized shrinkage. Recouped lost profit during first half day later in same month.

Special initiatives, projects, and accomplishments:
· Trusted to perform company-wide recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and assigning of personnel based on consistent success. Rotated talent among all locations according to skill and personality to maximize potential and ROI, resulting in optimized performance.
· Co-developed unique after-hours shopping event around special items, resulting in $3,500 in sales.
· Captured $7,500 in 1-evening sales by spearheading major store event encompassing designer appearance (Jane Fox) and press coverage.
· Delivered 100% increase in shoe sales after identifying shoe department as underdeveloped profit center – achieved owner buy-in, and leveraged expertise and market research through seminars and individual training in shoe selling/display strategies. Initiative resulted in 40+% company-wide shoe sales increase.
· Requested to assume leadership role in new store opening. Contributed strategic concepts.
· Reached record-low shrink levels of less than 1%. Defined security protocol, new inventory management process, and coordinated external security officer.
· Introduced owner to nationwide trend watching concept through seasonal traveling and local scouting. Now adopted as part of company policy.

JEFFREY NEW YORK – NEW YORK, NY
2001 - 2002
Women’s Shoes & Handbags Sales
High-end, top-rated New York shoe retailer, winner of New York Magazine’s 2003 “Best Shoes”.
Maintained consistent sales and clientele in most competitive department through product knowledge, aggressive floor tactics, and out-of-store sales resulting from relationship-marketing initiatives (mailings).

CHARLES DAVID OF CALIFORNIA – LOS ANGELES, CA
1995 - 2000
West Coast District Manager, Los Angeles, CA (99-00); Assistant Manager, Beverly Hills, CA (98-99); Store Manager, San Diego, CA (95-98); Sales/Key holder, Brea, CA (95)
International shoe manufacturer and wholesale/retail distributor with boutiques in 7 states featuring fashion-forward women’s and men’s styles.
Directed 14 Managers and 98 Associates throughout 14 stores, with $14.8 Million responsibility and $6 Million in inventory.
· Opened 2 new store locations in San Francisco and Orange County; 1 location launched during Christmas season surpassed flagship store’s sales during first month.
· Exceeded regular accountability by managing Florida and New York districts. Rewrote Store Manual and Information Guide, currently used company-wide, aligning Associate and Manager training with company growth.
· Selected to assist with merchandise selection and buying for company’s shoe department.
· Achieved lowest shrinkage company-wide – less than 5%.

EDUCATION, TRAINING & SPECIAL SKILLS

University of Southern California – Los Angeles, CA - B.A. degree in Communication Arts & Sciences (94)

University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA
Selected out of 400 candidates for “Semester at Sea”. Traveled Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean (93)

Continuing Education:

Landmark Education – New York, NY - Trained Seminar Facilitator (since 02) – Communication, Access to Power (04); Communication, Performance & Power (04)

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) – New York, NY - Garment Costing (04)

Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) – Pittsburgh, PA - Small Business Startup (01)

Computer proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Retail Pro, Profits, and Internet research and navigation.

Ilona Vanderwoude - ilona@CareerBranches.com - http://www.CareerBranches.com