Product Manager Marketing

CHRISTOPHER M. SMITH

***** **** ***** *****

Maple Grove, MN 55311

Cell: 612-***-**** Email: ad5o6y@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

Experienced purchasing and multi-channel merchandising professional with extensive management experience in retail operations, product & vendor management and new product marketing. A creative and innovative leader focused on exceeding performance goals & customer expectations and maximizing vendor collaboration. A sales and profit driver and builder of great teams with excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills. Objective and reliable mentor adept at start-up planning and implementation. A significant contributor to culture of excellence, integrity, urgency, flexibility and creativity.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

DECKSDIRECT.COM, Plymouth, Minnesota

Product Manager Sept. 2023-April 2024

Responsible for the assortment planning and new product line introductions that resulted in over 30% of the company’s overall $80 million annual income. Takes a creative and analytical approach to implementing category innovations and improvements. Partners with marketing, merchandising, and sales teams to develop selling strategies and with purchasing group to develop supplier strategies.

•Collaborated with the marketing, merchandising, sales, and purchasing to strategically drive category growth and profitability

•Responsible for product profitability and pricing

•Managed products through their full product life cycle

•Built strategic relationships with new and existing suppliers

•Developed market, category, and product expertise in areas of responsibility

•Developed and executed an assortment expansion strategy and new product development in partnership with cross-functional teams to reach business growth goals

•Developed, executed, and optimized site merchandising strategies that drive conversion, enhance site navigability, and maximize member engagement

•Analyzed product performance, site metrics and leverage category, consumer, and market insights to effectively drive business strategies

•Constantly reviewed and assessed the competitive landscape to provide insights on product categories and white space opportunities

•Assisted in establishing core KPIs to measure success for merchandising strategy

•Collaborated with marketing team to create compelling content and promotions that drive traffic and sales

•Maintained a deep understanding of customers and their needs, and used this knowledge to inform merchandising decisions

JPPA/PARK SEED, Greenwood, South Carolina

Senior Merchandising Manager Mar. 2021-July 2023

Responsible for the multi-channel merchandising and marketing initiatives for more than 30% of the company’s overall annual income. Setup, marketing, ongoing management and P&L responsibilities for product lines with more than $12 million in annual revenue. Manage team for day-to-day operation & management of the business.

•Collaborated and provided direction to purchasing and customer service teams to ensure there is a focus on current business priorities.

•Continuously introduced new vendors & product lines to enhance assortment and overall sales.

•Collaborated with vendor community to create unique assortments and formed exclusive opportunities that helped grow etail presence in the marketplace and sustain a viable business model.

•Streamlined existing processes as well as developed new processes as the business expands.

•Monitored key competitors to analyze and identify opportunities to more effectively merchandise company’s brand and products on website.

SMITH HOUSEHOLD, Maple Grove, Minnesota

Co-Owner/COO Mar. 2020-Mar. 2021

Traded roles with spouse for a period of one year in order for spouse to re-acclimate into the workforce after a period of time at

home. Managed and maintained daily and weekly domestic responsibilities for three school-age children and household.

HISTORIC SALES/HISTORIC AVIATION, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Senior Product Manager/Senior Buyer Dec. 2014-Mar. 2020

Responsible for the multi-channel merchandising and marketing initiatives for more than 40% of the company’s overall annual income. Setup, marketing, ongoing management and P&L responsibilities for product lines with more than $6 million in annual revenue. Manage team for day-to-day operation & management of the business.

•Over most recent 18 months, successfully scaled back overall inventory levels by more than 50% by returning and/or selling off non-productive products.

•Increased annual inventory turns from 4x to 12x by focusing on removal of non-productive inventory and concentrating energies on higher performing skus.

•Grew gross margin percentages by 20% during the same timeframe.

•Emphasized and led a renewed commitment to the on-line channel increasing percentage of on-line revenues from 10% to 20%.

•Assumed responsibility for day-to-day management of entire business over last twelve months after changes in staffing.

•Collaborate and provide direction to purchasing and customer service teams to ensure there is a focus on current business priorities.

•Continuously introduced new vendors & product lines to enhance assortment and overall sales.

COMMERCIAL WATER DISTRIBUTING, Bloomington, Minnesota

Senior Merchandising Manager/Senior Buyer Apr. 2014-Dec. 2014

Drove future sales growth and new customer acquisition and increased the company’s market presence by engaging with new channel partners and introducing new products on current and new Marketplaces. Managed all Marketplace partnerships and product assortments to increase revenues by achieving high customer satisfaction thereby increasing customer retention rates.

•Managed and maintained current Marketplace relationships which were expected to exceed $12 million in revenues in 2015.

•Initiated and developed new and enhanced Marketplace partnerships.

•Streamlined existing processes as well as developed new processes as the business expands.

•Maximized income of Marketplace sales channels through innovative merchandising program initiatives, pricing and effective selling.

•Monitored key competitors on Marketplace sites and used several tools to analyze and identify opportunities to more effectively merchandise company’s brand and products on Marketplace sites.

•Developed Marketplace reporting and key performance indicators to provide continuous feedback to management.

NORTH AMERICAN MEMBERSHIP GROUP, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Senior Buyer Aug. 2013-Apr.2014

Setup, marketing, ongoing management and P&L responsibilities for product lines with $100 million in annual revenue. Managed team of as many as three for day-to-day operation & management of the business.

•Responsible for sourcing, purchasing and merchandising of products for the company’s Hunting, Fishing, History, MLB & Scout Clubs which represent 70% of the annual $100 million revenue.

•Sources and procures products for company’s Continuity, Life Member and Member Acquisition businesses that account for approximately $90 million in annual revenue.

•Strategizes, plans and executes on the company’s burgeoning e-commerce and email marketing programs.

•Serving as the main merchandising and planning authority for the company’s newly acquired Scout.com entity, which is in the process of launching an e-commerce platform to market and sell to its 2.4 million member base.

NAVARRE CORPORATION, New Hope, Minnesota

Senior Buyer Feb. 2013-Aug. 2013

Setup, marketing, ongoing management and P&L responsibilities for product lines with $200 million in annual revenue.

•Collaborated with accounts to create unique assortments and formed exclusive opportunities that helped grow account presence in the marketplace and sustain a viable business model.

•Controlled a $4 million inventory, which included purchasing and inventory management that produced in excess of $14 million in yearly revenues.

•Generated marketing development funds by interacting with vendor base and partnering with internal and external marketing departments to increase product sales at a retail level via the ideating, planning and implementation of a number of marketing and advertising opportunities.

•Spearheaded relationships with new customer accounts through personal and professional contacts within the industry, which enabled company to double the amount of direct studio relationships in the first year of operation.

SMITH HOUSEHOLD, Maple Grove, Minnesota

Co-Owner/COO Jan. 2011-Feb. 2013

Traded roles with spouse for a period of two years in order for spouse to re-acclimate into the workforce after a period of time at home. Managed and maintained daily and weekly domestic responsibilities for three school-age children and household.

BEST BUY COMPANIES, LLC. Richfield, Minnesota 2000-2011

Senior Merchant/Senior Buyer 2007-2011

Setup, marketing, ongoing management and P&L responsibilities for product lines with $250 million in annual revenue. Managed team of up to 4 for day-to-day operation & management of the business.

•Served as main liaison between traditional brick & mortar and on-line channels for all merchandising and promotional planning leveraging product knowledge and vendor relationships which resulted in sales that exceeded expectations for the on-line channel and enhanced total revenues for the overall business.

•Built and owned complex vendor relationships while displaying extremely high levels of respect, humility & integrity; established and led negotiations, strategies and plans to reach a win/win outcome.

•Identified opportunities to enhance existing product assortment, evaluating new products, vendors and using customer insights; forecasted sales and determined varying levels of product representation by store which resulted in increased sales and a maximized customer experience.

•Successfully introduced new lines into product mix and created unique, exclusive offers to increase revenues and gross profit margin, drive market share and provide differentiation from competition.

•Managed large-scale exclusive entertainment software projects that resulted in increased revenues, gross margins and market share as well as branding the company as the consumer purchase destination.

•Collaborated in strategic planning development including corporate partnerships, brand alliances and international expansion to identify opportunities to drive future sales.

•Served as primary contact with key, preferred vendors to conceptualize, plan, launch and sustain large-scale initiatives and projects.

•Developed comprehensive strategy—marketing, in-store positioning, and pricing—for key new products in relevant categories, which resulted in consistent market share gains.

•Managed exclusive products from high-profile vendor priorities utilizing weekly circular, in-store positioning and signage and other external marketing levers to generate incremental revenue and margins and increased overall market share exponentially each week.

•Negotiated/managed development of exclusive content for key vendor product priorities resulting in sales exceeding expectations by 15% and increased anticipated market shares by 5% on a consistent basis.

•Collaborated in weekly selection of products for in-store positioning as well as managing and merchandising selection for monthly product displays requiring in-depth evaluation of vendor-submitted products and coordination with internal teams, which resulted in increased top-line revenues and bottom-line margins.

Regional Entertainment Manager 2005-2007

Tasked with addressing regional and store-specific product and promotional entertainment needs.

•Maintained and grew key metrics such as market share, customer availability and operating margin by addressing local marketing opportunities to enhance employer’s position in the marketplace and separate from the competitive set.

•Conceptualized, planned and implemented market specific events such as celebrity appearances/performances as well as forged relationships with local sports franchises to host appearances by well-known athletes, which increased customer engagement/excitement and brand loyalty.

•Spearheaded partnership with an entity that provided stores with product specific to their respective store(s) and market(s) and achieved sales of nearly $500k annually since inception by leveraging key vendor and internal relationships to ensure success.

BestBuy.com Product & Promotions Manager 2000-2005

Responsible for product & promotional initiatives on the company’s e-commerce website.

•Planned channel-specific promotions using product knowledge, internal partnerships and vendor relationships to enhance and extend company’s market “reach”.

•Worked closely with the brick & mortar team to plan and implement any and all promotions that took place at the store level to tell a unified multi-channel message and demonstrate a superior product assortment and customer experience.

•Acted as the main liaison between the team and its brick & mortar counterparts to increase channel awareness and enhance company’s marketing and sales potential by clearly communicating team’s capabilities and priorities as well building relationships to instill a level of trust.

EDUCATION

•Associates of Arts, Business - Willmar Community College, Willmar, MN

AFFILIATIONS

•National Association of Recording Merchandiser (N.A.R.M.), Member/New Formats Committee

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