Senior Director of Merchandising, Design & Product Development at Alex and Ani (2025-02 – Present)
Direct and develop the product development and design teams, overseeing the full merchandising process from line planning and concepting through sampling, production, and launch execution.
- Direct and develop the product development and design teams, overseeing the full merchandising process from line planning and concepting through sampling, production, and launch execution. Manage relationships with overseas factories to uphold quality, timelines, and margin goals.
- Partner directly with CEO and executive leadership to define merchandising strategy, category priorities, and commercial calendar.
- Build seasonal line architecture and monthly concept maps to guide design, assortment mix and launch storytelling. Partnered with cross-functional teams to strategically assort more than 1,500 new styles since joining, with launched newness driving about a +20% increase in productivity, and raising newness contribution to total sales from 25% to 35%.
- Create financial models for key launches, forecasting revenue, margin, and inventory needs across categories. Own buy strategies for intro products by integrating comp performance, current trend signals, and merchant conviction to balance data with creative judgement.
- Implemented new costing review and pricing review process improving visibility into style-level margins and accelerating decision-making. Elevated margin performance across all intro products, increasing margin by more than 100 bps since joining.
- Oversee GTM alignment with marketing, ensuring launch narratives, hero styles, and promotional strategy support revenue goals.
- Own business reporting and hindsight analysis to inform future assortment planning and category expansion.
Senior Manager of Merchandising, Omni Channel at ThirdLove (2022-01 – 2025-02)
Drove product innovation by partnering with Design to develop solution-focused hero products, leading cross-functional teams through TNA milestones and running internal and external focus groups.
- Drove product innovation by partnering with Design to develop solution-focused hero products, leading cross-functional teams through TNA milestones and running internal and external focus groups to identify unmet assortment needs. Launched six new hero styles that exceeded a $4M 2H revenue goal by 12% and introduced seven new product franchises across ~70 styles in 2024 – 2025. Partnered with Marketing to build integrated go-to-market plans for all new styles and franchises.
- Elevated the digital customer experience by collaborating with the site team to refine navigation, prioritize key product stories, and enhance conversion through features such as 'complete the look.'
- Led channel expansion strategy by owning assortment selection, inventory process, and visual direction for retail stores.
- Partnered with the marketing team to map out integrated calendar for all channels on a quarterly basis, identifying products or categories to highlight through email, SMS, social, and influencer channels. Worked with the planning team to set financial targets by category to hit on a monthly basis, while also hitting our product margin goals.
- Monitored returns and exchanges on a quarterly basis by analyzing data and recapping for the executive team. Worked with technical design team on a 're-fit' roadmap, prioritizing sizes or styles that had higher return and exchange rates.
- Owned pricing, markdowns, and promotions for all categories. Created dashboards in looker to look at sales and identify pricing opportunities for monthly markdowns and other key time periods like BF/CM.
- Developed and coached direct report by implementing a series of stretch projects for her to lead and take ownership of. Met weekly to establish priorities and to help resolve potential roadblocks.
Senior Buyer - Women's Apparel - Full Price Stores at The North Face (2019-05 – 2022-01)
Responsible for developing the seasonal strategy for all of women's apparel for full price stores.
- Responsible for developing the seasonal strategy for all of women's apparel for full price stores.
- Grew contribution of women's apparel to total stores sales and increased ST%/productivity.
- Managed and mentored the men's buyer, youth/accessories associate buyer & the women's apparel assistant buyer. Acted as the point person for all divisions for full price stores.
- Worked cross functionally with the planning team to maintain the OTB both in season and for future seasons. Maintained in season inventory levels through ATS process & RTV/send-out process. Created a new & efficient promotional process to streamline deliverables and drive sales.
- Key player in the launch of women's plus size for digital and stores.
- Collaborated with allocation team to establish set vs. flow quantities by store grade and by sku.
- Partnered closely with the visual merchandising team to develop a strategic vision that promotes color continuity and cross merchandising throughout the entire store.
- Analyzed sales on a weekly cadence and identify opportunities. Created hindsight presentations on a quarterly basis for all divisions.
- Followed market trends to ensure competitiveness with product, pricing, and in-store experience.
Omni Channel Merchandising Manager at Kate Spade (2016-11 – 2019-05)
Merchandised 93% of the assortment for outlet stores & online across N.A., Europe, Japan, and China.
- Merchandised 93% of the assortment for outlet stores & online across N.A., Europe, Japan, and China.
- Cost engineered core product to drive volume and meet margin plans while incorporating new fashion styles to elevate the assortment, keep the brand trend-right, and drive innovation.
- Created key tools for the entire merchandising team to utilize such as a seasonal bookings recap, line architecture template, and weekly sales document.
- Managed and developed Assistant Merchandiser.
- Point person for implementing new PLM and SAP computer systems.
Omni Channel Associate Buyer/Merchandiser at Aeropostale (2014-03 – 2016-11)
Responsible for the selection and buying of merchandise for over 700 stores across the US and Ecom.
- Responsible for the selection and buying of merchandise for over 700 stores across the US and Ecom.
- Worked with 3rd party vendors to develop trend right styles to elevate the current assortment. Responsible for all fabric, trim, preproduction and top of production sample approval.
Assistant Buyer at Ross Stores (2012-06 – 2014-02)
Assistant Buyer for Moderate Missy Dresses & Junior Dresses
