Stephan G. BRIDON

**** ******* **, *******, ** **068

Cell: 832-***-**** / Residence: 281-***-**** / abmrn4@r.postjobfree.com

TEAM LEADER

Personal Integrity and accountability / Leadership / Customer service / Team Building / Results

Dynamic Leader with 12+ year record of outstanding achievements. I’ve been successful at driving sales growth

while establishing a World Class Customer Service culture in highly competitive markets. I’m a Strong mentor

with proven coaching and developing skills, tenacious in building strong teams and securing customer loyalty.

I’m a balanced leader whose ability to consistently streamline processes has resulted in significant gains and

success.

• #1 in the company for 3 straight Quarters in credit card share acquisition

• #1 in the region in 5 Key performance indicator metrics

• #3 highest sales increase from thanksgiving through Christmas in the eastern region (2008)

• Graduated top of the class from the Safeway Eastern division SMRA exam

• Graduated top of the class from the sears Holdings 12 week Executive Management program .

• Coached and mentored 1st assistant manager group(15-20) in preparation for the Safeway Store

Management Readiness Assessment exam.

• Serve as interim DM/ Field Operations Manager in the Baltimore/ Washington Market for Sears

Holdings

• Developed, prepared and presented Leadership modules for Store Management Readiness Assessment

participants.

_______________________________PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE________________________________

Sears Holdings Corp.

Field Operations Manager, January 2010-Present

Responsible for driving company and Business unit standards and compliance across 130 stores in the East Region .

• Successfully Established Backroom standardization within the Baltimore, Washington Dc and Southern Jersey

district

• Implemented strategies to increase overall customer satisfaction by 12%, from a low 44% to 56%.

• Currently in charge of Rolling out a new Work Force Management standard across the region, addressing:

o Sales drivers, labor standards, process execution

o Staffing opportunities

o Team productivity measurement as related to company processes

o Payroll management

Sears Holdings Corp.

Interim DM February 2009-December 2009

Responsible for a district of 11 stores with $300 Millions annual volume and over 1,500 employees including 9 store

managers and over 50 Assistant Store Managers.

• Team Increased district sales by over 800 basis points from March 2009 to January 2010 versus

previous year, finishing 1st in the continental US for the 3rd quarter and second in the fourth quarter of the fiscal

year 2009.

• Team Improved district sales ranking from 90th in the company to 7th versus previous year.

• Drove apparel business top line sales up by 1200 basis points in 2009, finishing 3 rd in the continental

US.

• Achieved an 93% sell through in Fall and winter apparel, best in the company for fiscal year 2009

• Led district team to top 5 in the company for Internal Margin capture increase (357 basis points)

• Led team to successfully reduced shrink by $1.3 million for the 2009 cycle year, leading 7 of the 9

store teams to beat corporate shrink plan. Overall district shrink was 0.8% versus 2.9% for the previous year.

• Led Team to #1 nationwide in March of Dimes fund raiser (2009)

• Led team to #3 in the company for St Judes donation campaign (2009)

• Improved District team ranking in all key performance indicators, rising from bottom 3 in the region to

2nd overall.

• Assigned by Regional Vice President to mentor all externally hired Store managers coming into the

district in 2009.

Sears Holdings Corp.

Store Coach lll, Training store manager, March 2008- March 2009

Manage a 100,000 + sq.ft Big Box store with over 200 employees, 6 assistant managers and 16 department managers.

Responsible for overall operations including action planning, corporate programs implementation, recruiting, coaching and

developing management team. Also responsible for establishing a positive presence in the community through participation in

community based organizations, school programs and not for profit organizations.

• Team improved store variable contributions from 2nd to last in the district to third overall, an increase of

890 basis points through implementation of processes, expense control and team development.

• Store ranked Number #1 store in the district for customer satisfaction rating going from 112 th in the

region to top 5.

• Team delivered a 900 basis points gross profit increase for 2008 fiscal year through merchandise in-

stock increase, delivering world class customer service, reducing shrink and controllable store expenses.

• Team improved the store from 8th the district to number #1 ranking in the region in 5 Key

performance indicators.

• Team reached Number #1 in the company for 3 straight periods in credit card share acquisition,

netting a 18.1% success rate. Store was performing below company standards (4%.)

• Achieved four (9) 100% mystery shop survey.

• Number #1 in the district (34%) in customer satisfaction rating achieving a 88% average.

• Recruited, coached and developed the front end team, overnight replenishment team, and 5 department

managers to improve execution of corporate initiatives and improve the company’s talent pool.

• Developed and Promoted 2 department managers to assistant manager positions

Safeway, Inc (Maryland)

Store Manager Jan 2006- March 2008

Managed a 70,000 + sq.ft store with 100+ employees, 15 managers and weekly volumes in excess

of $450,000. Responsible for overall store operations including store success on key performance

indicators (Labor, Service, Shrink and out of stocks conditions), cash control and accounting,

inventory and security. Develop and direct execution of marketing plan and corporate initiatives.

Prioritize, plan and coordinate work activities, manage time and resources so that work objectives

are met. Train, motivate and develop team to ensure effective performance through development of

best practices and on-the-job training.

• Engineered a 7.8% sales growth within 90 days by establishing World-class customer service, reducing out of

stocks by 60%, improving store conditions and marketing plan execution.

• Initiated and revamped the front end service checklist to maximize effectiveness and increase team

accountability, which delivered a 3-point positive jump in corporate service audits, climbing from a 4.69 rating (on a 10

scale) to 7.75.

• Established a world- class service culture through daily store huddles, one-on-one meetings and progress

tracking.

• Implemented best practices and developed action plans for perishable department that lead to an overall shrink

reduction of 600 basis points and removed 5 departments from “worst performers” list .

• Delivered a 100% success rate on all New item Placement initiatives (goal is 90%).

• Formulated solutions to address 2 poor performing stores through total store analysis, action plan writing and team

building strategies.

• Nominated to define, organize and implement key leadership dimensions initiatives for 1st assistant managers

development group in 2008.

• Developed and promoted seven (7) department managers, one (1) assistant manager and mentored five (5) 1st

assistant managers to Store manager positions.

• Nominated to partner with the industrial engineering department to lead and supervise a team of managers during a

30-day labor study which findings are now being utilized throughout the entire Eastern division.

• Developed and implemented “sustainable excellence”, a performance and team building-based initiative designed

to inspire and motivate store team through exposure to tailored leadership training, out of the box thinking and the daily

usage of proven problem solving tools.

• Established a presence in the community by Partnering with community leaders (sponsorship, meetings),

churches (donations) and schools (work for credit program).

BATTERIES PLUS, LLC 2002-2006 (Milwaukee, WI)

District Support Manager /District Commercial sales manager

Responsible for execution of corporate initiatives for 13 stores in the Milwaukee Market,

Wisconsin. Maintained Stores profitability through team building and the implementation of

corporate initiatives while providing World-class customer service. Identified business trends,

identified problems and developed appropriate action plans to maximize short and long-term

success. Responsible for maximizing and driving sales, coaching and developing Operation

managers and Commercial sales managers.

• Consistently recognized for top performance – District Team earned “All Star Team of the quarter”

award for 7 consecutive quarters.

• Track record of significant achievements, to include reducing controllable expenses by 28%,

improving sales and increasing profits: Lead stores from #11 in the region to #1 in net profit

increase.

• Created a customer first-focused environment promoting the delivery of World-class service and

redirected management focus to team development, Results: Increased sales by 19% and net profits

by 12.2% in the first 5 quarters.

• Implemented and actively maintained shoplifter prevention programs that resulted in a 21% shrink

reduction to prior year.

• Increased employee retention and reduced labor cost by 33%.

• Developed and promoted 2 assistant Managers to Store manager positions.

• Engineered a 58% commercial sales growth in the state of Wisconsin within the first year by

developing key accounts and building strong professional relationships with clients.

• Nominated to the National Commercial Sales Program development committee, along with the V.P

of retail sales, the District Managers, the CFO, the National Account Manager and the Chief Sales

Officer.

Professional references available upon request

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