Richard W. Caplan

** *. *** ****., *********, N.Y. 11772

516-***-**** acuk5y@r.postjobfree.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/richcaplan1

National Sales Manager

Consumer Products Sales Mass, Gift, Specialty and Distribution Markets

Business Development Turnaround Leadership

Market-savvy Executive Leader and award-winning business development professional with 20 years of progressive experience in sales management, strategic business expansion, brand leadership and full product life cycle.

Driver of consistent, sustainable yearly margin and revenue gains in new and mature markets with 100s of millions of product units sold, including 200% in 18 months to $45 Million and 700% to $120 Million in 8 years, selling to dozens of major national retailers, while cultivating an extensive network of fertile contacts.

Expert in managing complex basic and seasonal planograms including DSD - direct to store programs, with VMI, vendor managed inventory that utilize serviced displays.

Vigilant in the pursuit of cutting edge products and discovery of burgeoning trends with proven expertise to redevelop and repurpose, reinvent and re-image old product lines to increase lifecycle, from domestic to overseas sources in highly competitive categories, yielding exceptional ROI.

Skilled at building, mentoring and leading high performance sales force teams within a wide variety of markets covering national discount, specialty and gift retailers, across diverse product lines.

Core Competencies:

Key Account Sales

Sales Strategy development

Sales Channel Development

Strategic Relationships

P&L Oversight

Pricing Strategy

Profitability management

Forecasting

National Sales Force recruitment and mentoring

Product development and sourcing

Vendor Managed Inventory, DSD

Private Label Manufacturing

OEM Manufacturer relationships

Contracts and licensing agreements

Key Channels / Categories: Automotive, Discount Chains, Drug Chains, Convenience Stores, Fleet / Farm, Hardware, Home Center, Gift and Specialty Retailers, Supermarket, Toy, Military, Value, Front End Impulse, Baby, Juvenile, Seasonal, Housewares, Pet.

Key Clientele / Accounts: AAFES, Ahold, Albertsons, Amazon, Babies R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Buybuy Baby, BJ's Club, CVS, Costco, Delhaize, Fred Meyer, Hallmark, Home Depot, Independents, Kmart, Kroger, Lowes, Meijer, Menards, Michaels, Mid-States, Party City, Pep Boys, Rite Aid, Target, Toys R Us, Walgreen’s, Walmart and Sam’s Club.

Professional Experience:

Market Force Group Inc., New York, NY 2011 – present

National Sales Manager / Consultant

Created and led the go to market strategy, P&L and sales channel development for start up and seasoned suppliers in the Electronics, Wearable’s, Pet, Housewares, Impulse, Gift, Toy and Seasonal categories. Directly sold major retailers and also established and led a national sales force covering major mass, specialty and independent retailers in the US and Canada. Major recent consulting projects include:

Clear Innovation LLC, New York, NY (2016)

Clear Innovation and its sister company Blue Banana Group develop and market products in the As Seen On TV, Outdoor Living, Summer and Winter Seasonal categories. Retained by the company to lead the development of its summer and winter seasonal products business, write the presentation decks, set the strategic direction and make the presentations for the 2017 product line to Bed Bath Beyond, Toys R US, Walmart, Target, Menards and other major retailers.

Claypool Resources LLC, Eatontown, NJ (2015)

Claypool develops and produces innovative products sold in major retailers in the Electronics, Tech Wearable, Automotive, Summer Seasonal, Household Chemical, Children’s Safety, and Toy categories.

Recruited to the company to reorganize and reboot the sales and marketing function for this formerly $100M company after a founding family reorganization that caused a 2 year lull in the action. The company’s product line required a complete revamp, new products to be developed and its customer base rebuilt.

In the first 120 days, secured new $3.5 M in new business at Walmart; tracking to $9M in 2016

Key accounts sold: Ahold, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, buybuy Baby, Kmart, Leslies, Menards, Target, Toys R US, Babies R Us and True Value

Led the national sales effort at major Electronics, Mass, Food, Home Center, Drug, Sports chains in the USA and Canada. Built a national rep sales force covering major and secondary accounts

Collaborated on the refresh and rebranding of two existing product categories sourced in China. Developed and launched an entirely new 16 item category, tracking to $12M in 2016

NameStar, LLC, div LaserGifts, Prescott, AZ 2008 – 2011

VP - National Sales Manager, Mass Market Division (remote New York based)

Laser Gifts is a leading supplier in the souvenir and gift industry.

Recruited by a former colleague / EVP. Successfully launched a new startup Mass Market / Gift division for this well-established juvenile, gift and souvenir products company. Doubled the size of the company by personally selling new programs worth over $8M in new revenue to 10 of the largest retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, buybuy Baby, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Kmart, Walgreen’s, Walmart and Pep Boys

Developed a new company vision to mitigate yearlong product lead times by identifying an undersold product for market rejuvenation, convincing company to license from manufacturer, improve for sale to markets outside its sole target of theme parks, and successfully brought it to mass market retailers

Negotiated a strategic licensing agreement leading to development of a new product line later sold to Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers, delivering $6M in revenue

Recruited and trained a sales force of over 120 manufacturer’s representatives to handle gift and smaller accounts

Collaborated on development of 12 new products and expanded markets well beyond the company’s traditional channels, placing all items in national distribution within 12 months and delivering $8M in new revenues to the company

Left the company due to owners decision to exit the mass market, downsize the company and focus only on the souvenir business

Ideal Box Company, Lawrence, MA (remote New York based) 2006 – 2008

VP - National Sales Manager

Led the mass market sales effort for this $20 million dollar seasonal products company.

Reversed two years of declining profit margins, and a sales decline from $25M to $12M in 2004-06 in the company’s domestic production division by refocusing and resourcing 14 lucrative products in Asia, moving product manufacturing to China and turning the unprofitable into a big money maker

Personally sold and directed the implementation of import programs for fifteen major retailers. Recruited and managed the activities of manufacturer’s rep organizations calling on secondary accounts. 3 direct reports; directed the sales support and customer service staff

Transitioned business into the competitive importer it remains today, establishing company’s goodwill and standing as a prime supplier in its categories

Negotiated exclusivity agreements with primary Hong Kong-based supplier that helped to anchor the Wal-Mart and CVS accounts

Developed and managed a seasonal import program for Wal-Mart from conception through on-time shipment resulting in 30% increase in business in 2007 totaling $10M, and a 29% increase in 2008 totaling $14M

Accomplished a 50% increase in business with five major retailers resulting in proportionate sales and profit increases surpassing the EBITDA goal of 25%+

Stravina, LLC., Chatsworth, CA (remote New York based) 1998 – 2006

VP National Sales Manager

Developed and directed the Mass Market Sales division for 5 brands and product lines for this leading multi category supplier dealing in impulse, pet, souvenir, gift, seasonal and accessory products. Directed 4 Regional Sales Managers and 45 sales people, while personally handling 10 major accounts covering the US, Canada, Europe and Australia .

Recruited as part of the senior management team tasked with preparing the company for sale to PE investors. Profitably pursued an M&A strategy and sold the company to Private Equity firms 4 times in 8 years, keeping its management team intact each time

Tripled revenue from $15M to $45M in first 18 months, meeting EBITDA targets of 25%+ in each of 7 straight years

Key contributor to overall company growth of 8x (700%) from $15M to $120M in 8 years via both organic and M&A - acquisition strategies

Sold a new product category to Toys R Us which delivered $70M in sales over an 8-year period

Created the Vendor Managed Inventory program with an internal sales support team and retail service organization covering 15,000 retail locations across several trade channels, including 3,000 Wal-Mart stores. This effort involved a SKU-intensive program, a gargantuan effort in which the team worked tirelessly to ensure proper placement at all stores

Collaborated with marketing and product development team in China and Hong Kong on the successful launch and sale of 35 new products in the stationery, pet, souvenir and seasonal categories

Recognized by AC Nielsen syndicated data for selling more units of a single product in a single year than any manufacturer including commodity, significantly bolstering company’s market visibility and appeal, and won Vendor of the Year awards from both Wal-Mart and Toys R Us

Farnam Companies, Inc., Phoenix, AZ 1995 – 1998

Director of Sales (New York based)

Recruited to establish a new Mass Market consumer products division for this 50 year old manufacturer of pet supplies and OTC pet medications. Although a major supplier to specialty pet stores and the agricultural market, Farnam was not yet known to mass market retailers.

Created a successful new Mass Market consumer products division in a highly FDA regulated industry, which in one year established company as a new vendor with broad distribution of a new pet product line in over 7,000 stores; 3,000 the first year

Negotiated long-term Plan-O-Gram commitments with major chains that delivered $7M in first year revenue, more than doubling or 100%+ growth to $14M+ the year after

Created and launched an in-store demo program which increased sales by over 500% with participating retailers

Earlier Positions

ASAP Marketing, Inc, Melville, NY - Sales Director, Partner

Manton Cork Corporation, Brentwood, NY - Regional Sales Manager,

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Long Island University, C.W. Post School of Business, Brookville, NY

BS, Marketing & Management

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