Laura J. Bennison

ad3t6c@r.postjobfree.com linkedin.com/in/lbennison

Merchandising Executive

Strategic Brand Leadership Omni Channel Merchandising Global Product Development & Sourcing

Trusted and respected executive with proven experience driving profitable sales through innovative, visionary global brand leadership. A natural leader, with the ability to find top talent, develop high performing teams, and collaboratively drive financial results and sustainable growth. Adept in leading brand transformation and building a result driven culture and global brand merchandise strategies.

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Leadership Omni-Channel Merchandising Operational Excellence

Brand Development Innovation I Transformation People Development

Product Development Consumer Centric Trend Analysis E-commerce Leadership

Decisiveness P&L Management Influential-Communication

Professional Experience

TRENDSPOT INC., SAN BERNARDINO, CA 2022-PRESENT

Vice President, Merchandising & Product Development

Lead the Product, Design and Global Sourcing team of 25.

Lead Product and Design Brand strategy for 26 Key Accounts.

Own driving all product strategies and managing the lifecycle calendar from first concept to final samples.

Created a new lifecycle process and RACI accountabilities for the Trendspot Brand.

Lead the Design, product and visual direction for all Accounts, resulting in 10% growth in 2023.

Manage Account analytics and consumer insights.

Drive and implemented a new pre-development QA/QC process.

QURATE RETAIL GROUP, WEST CHESTER, PA 2020 - 2022

Executive Director, Product Development & Global Sourcing

Lead QVC & HSN Décor & Culinary Designer & Proprietary Brands

Drive brand strategy & operational execution of Global Sourcing for 75 Brands.

Launched fifteen new Brands in 2021 and grew sales by over 500% and margin +8 bpts.

Created and implemented a Culinary Product Development & Sourcing team, whilst launching 15 Proprietary Brands across QVC & HSN.

MACY’S INC. NEW YORK, NY 2019 - 2020

Vice President Merchandising, Product Development & Sourcing

Lead the Women’s Private Brand Product team with a P&L of $650M.

Drive brand strategy & vision for INC. Women’s Fashion collections and Denim Brands.

Lead operational efficiencies, resulting in over 2 pt. margin improvement.

Created new omni channel merchandising strategies, to modernize the brand and relaunched the brand to drive greater acquisition of a younger customer.

Developed and implemented and end to end process & calendar, resulting in an 8-week reduction in the development and sourcing timeline.

TOYS R US, BABIES R US, Wayne, NJ 2014 - 2019

Vice President Merchandising & Product Development

Omni-channel lead for Branded and Private Brands, for Apparel, Home & Consumables, with $650.M in P&L.

Led eight direct reports and a cross-functional team of over fifty merchandising, design, and product development teams.

Accountable for the Omni-channel brand strategy, innovation, transformation, and implementation, resulting in new brand launches and a consumer centric line architecture.

Drive share growth and customer loyalty through new Omni-Channel brand and pricing strategies.

Implemented operational efficiencies and economies of scale, resulting in over 2.5 bp .in margin and 4 years of incremental margin and EBITA growth.

Developed and implemented Licensed Brands, i.e., Disney, Jessica Simpson, Kardashians

NORDSTROM, Seattle, WA 2010 - 2014

Vice President, General Manger Merchandising & Product Development

Executive Business Leader for Nordstrom Inc. Men’s & Kid’s Private Brands.

Led eight direct reports and a cross-functional team of Merchandising, Design & Product Development.

Accountable for strategic financial, design, merchandising and supply chain direction for twenty proprietary brands with a P&L of $350M.

Developed clear organizational goals leading to double digit year-over-year comparable same-store sales for existing and unique brands for the Men’s and Kids’ Divisions.

Launched ten new proprietary brands, five Kids’ brands and five Men’s brands, resulting in incremental market share and triple-digit growth.

Led Licensing partnership with PVH / Nordstrom for men’s woven shirts and neckwear.

DENTEX SOURCING INC., San Francisco, CA 2007 - 2010

Founder President

Created and led a full-service apparel sourcing agency for Men’s, Women and Kids’ Responsible for creating and implementing marketing and promotional strategies to build brand awareness and market share.

Drove strategic account direction and logistic communication.

Negotiated financial, creative and import planning with Asian and Latin manufacturing partners.

Supplied consulting services to Investment Bankers on retail strategies and financial implications.

LIMITED BRANDS, Victoria Secret Division, San Francisco, CA 2006 - 2007

Divisional Manager

Directed in-store human resource operations, product, merchandising with a $250M P&L. Led and developed strengths of ten direct reports, cascaded to a team of over 750 employees.

LEVI STRAUSS, San Francisco, CA 2002 - 2006

Senior Director DMM Merchandising – Women’s, Junior’s, and Kids’

Led the strategic direction for product development and sourcing for the Levi Strauss Signature Brand and managed account merchandising with Walmart, Target and Kmart, accounting for revenue of $350M.

Developed and recruited teams of forty-five for the Women’s, Junior’s, Girl’s, and Baby Divisions.

Implemented a new Product Development process, reducing development time by 8 weeks.

Developed and managed licensor partnerships with Li & Fun, Haddad, Tandy and Jerry Leigh for specific products.

GAP INC., San Francisco, CA 1995 - 2002

Senior Director DMM Merchandising, Product Development and Design

Held multiple roles with accountability for DMM Banana Republic Factory Store Women’s and Men’s Division, Gap Women’s, Men’s and Kids’ Outlet Division and Director of Gap Men’s Division. Supplied Strategic leadership and brand management of up to $350M P&L.

Recruited top talent and developed high performing cross-functional teams of over thirty-five managers responsible for Merchandising, Product Development, Planning, Visual Design and Sourcing.

Led launch of new brand strategies and brand proposition for Gap and Banana Republic Factory Store.

Created and drove an entrepreneurial culture to enhance and drive creative and operational excellence, resulting in sustainable top-line growth and profit year over year.

Traveled globally for trend research and to build new and competitive sourcing base.

Collaborated to develop and build ecommerce and marketing strategies for Gap Inc.

Education

Bachelor of Science Merchandising - Marymount College, New York, NY

Study abroad program- London College of Fashion, London, UK

MBA program, course study -Stern School of Business, New York, NY

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