RACHEL GERLI

“If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.”

– Sallie Krawcheck

INDEPENDENT PET PARTNERS (A TPG PORTFOLIO COMPANY), New York, NY December 2018-April 2020 Director of Buying

Independent Pet Partners is a roll-up of 170+ formerly independent pet stores (including the brands Kriser’s Natural Pet, Chuck + Don’s, Natural Pawz, and Loyal Companion) anchored in services (grooming, daycare, and training) with a wellness-focused assortment of food, supplements, and hard goods. Referred to as “a Whole Foods for Pets”, IPP is currently being liquidated as a result of the COVID19 economic environment.

• Assort branded and private label product for 170+ aquired pet stores across 14 states and 4 different banners – taking legacy assortments, vendor agreeements, and data to create one master “core assortment” and regional variations by state.

• Advise trend direction for internal and external partners for seasonal assortments, marketing activations, and e-commerce.

• Liquidate pre-acquisition inventory and provide merchandising guidance, education, and marketing plan for replacement skus.

• Assist with product-related due diligence for potential chain acquisitions, helping grow the company from 82 to 165 stores in 2019.

• Manage 12 new store openings, launch regional exclusives, oversee inventory levels, and help educate the new hires in the field.

• Oversee team of 3 Category Managers and 12 omni-channel departments. Key Achievements:

• Developed opportunity matrix to maximize strong

performing skus and exit underperformers – improving margin by 200bps.

• Consolidated direct order vendors with key distribution partners in order to maximize bandwidth for the

allocation team, replenish more frequently, and save on shipping– improving in stock rate from 73% to 83%.

• Took advantage of Petland Discounts bankruptcy to buy many of their on order POs at a significant discount

– improving Q4 margin.

• Pre-booked holiday assortment well in advance of deadline in order to beat new tariff implementation(20- 30% increase in our sector) and maintain Q4 costs. Key Mistakes:

• Launched 26 sku private brand grooming line (“Wildsaint”) in the same week a FDA report was released calling peppermint oil (an ingredient in two skus) – toxic to cats. Learning: have a subject matter expert vet all wellness products – the manufacturer has expertise but not authority.

• Introduced a new flea + tick collar to stores after a vendor re- formulation making it safer. Stores didn’t believe that the product was topical and not transdermal as before and many refused to sell it.

Learning: Sell your line to the field so they sell it to your customers. After this experience, I created a “tribal council” of field employees to test and provide feedback on all new products – creating stakeholders in adoption and sell through. ONE KINGS LANE/BED, BATH, + BEYOND, New York, NY March 2013 – December 2018 Senior Buyer, Bed, Bath & Beyond Furnishings March 2018-December 2018 Senior Buyer, Décor July 2016 – March 2018

Buyer, Furniture and Lighting April 2014 – July 2016 Associate Buyer, Casegoods Furniture March 2013 – April 2014 Launched in 2009, One Kings Lane is a digitally-led destination for making the home an expression of personal style. With a breadth of the best- quality furnishings and finishing touches, One Kings Lane speaks to a highly engaged audience via a digital-first ecosystem that includes in-house design services; social shopping; editorial; and an online shopping experience. One Kings Lane was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. in 2016.

• Build assortments for categories including furniture, lighting, decorative accessories, tabletop, kitchen, housewares, paint, wallpaper, window treatments, hardware, holiday decor, gifting, stationary, organization, and more from market vendor base, private brand development, and pre-buy products.

• Create calendar of content and thematic sales, catalog releases, new brand/product launches, and press events to evoke different personal styles through curated assortments, blog content, and shoppable images.

• Build and foster relationships with a portfolio of 600+ vendors to secure the first pass at new products, schedule a cadence of branded events, negotiate best pricing, collaborate on private label product, and implement other strategies.

• Develop exclusive seasonal product with key domestic and international vendors that both registers emerging trends and fits into a profitable pricing structure – driving differentiation, brand loyalty, and margin.

• Prepare and present concise, persuasive and data-driven cases for assortment strategies to vendors, cross-functional colleagues, buying team, and executive leadership. Assist in developing the seasonal assortment and marketing plans.

• Represent OKL at trade shows including High Point Market, Maison et Objet, Americasmart, and NYNOW.

• Manage, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of Buyers, Associates, and Assistants. adcwob@r.postjobfree.com

954-***-****

ONE KINGS LANE/BED, BATH, + BEYOND (CONT’D)

Key Achievements:

• Managed and motivated team through full startup cycle – from capital- infused growth during the high-valuation period, downsizing and integration after the sale to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

• Recruited new vendors to ensure continued freshness in product offerings -- as an example, in 2013, expanded the furniture business by onboarding over 60 vendors via trade shows and cold calling – resulting in an incremental $2.5M in revenue that year (22% of TTL business).

• Developed a new process to create a more defensible, unique assortment through importing products from brands at European trade shows that are not yet distributed in the USA.

• Launched several new categories after identifying opportunities, including paint, window treatments, garden statuary, wallpaper, gifting, and a re- launch of kitchen and housewares, handbags, jewelry, and travel categories.

• Developed licensing and commission framework for OKL product, including a line of fabrics launched March 2018 with The Shade Store.

• Created décor assortment for first ever OKL brick-and-mortar store in Southampton, NY, as well as several design projects for influencers. Key Mistakes:

• Sold replica Tolix, Navy, Eames, and

ghost chairs on a 2013 version of the

flash sale website – jeopardizing

potential partnerships with those

brands later in our evolution.

Learning: be original.

• Launched exclusive paint collection,

stocked photography studio with

samples, provided free gallons to

partners – and then the manufacturer

went out of business.

Learning: vet your partners’ cash flow.

• Swung the pendulum “too fancy, too

fast” (according to WSJ) in furniture

category – over-penetrating the “best”

price point product and losing core

price sensitive customers.

Learning: Evolution over revolution.

MACY’S DEPARTMENT STORES, New York, NY October 2011 – March 2013 Associate Product Manager, Girls 7-16

Macy’s Merchandising Group, a division of Macy’s Department Stores, leads the development, merchandising, and planning for all Macy’s private label brands with the objective of being able to react to trend and category needs on a shorter pipeline than the market.

• Managed private label girls 7-16 brand to double-digit positive comps, achieved through product design improvements, implementation of vendor accountability scorecards resulting in greater on-time delivery rates, and enhanced alignment with the Macy’s promotional calendar.

• Merchandised and assorted all apparel categories, including developing sourcing strategies, negotiating costs, and planning customized assortments by weather regions and store size.

• Collaborated with design to re-launch replenishment categories in new fabrications and fits including denim and basic knits, resulting in $500K of cost savings in 2012 and increased sales penetration in these categories.

• Managed two full-time Product Assistants and seasonal interns. GAP INC., San Francisco, CA August 2009 – August 2011 Merchant, Banana Republic Non-Apparel January 2011 – August 2011 Assistant Merchant, BR Factory Accessories January 2010 – January 2011 Representing core staples in the American wardrobe, the normcore offerings of Gap Brands, desk-to-dinner Banana Republic, and value-focused Old Navy are sold in 90 countries worldwide and netted $16.6B in 2018 through company-operated stores, franchise stores, and e-commerce sites.

• Created product assortment from inspiration to execution by developing line plans, shopping for inspiration samples, collaborated production team to secure manufacturing and costing, and presented plans to leadership.

• Achieved a +15.6% comp for the first full year of managing department, surpassing $75M in retail dollars by growing AUR 7.8% through better pre-season promotional planning and capitalizing on current trends.

• Developed key business strategies for total department, created a five-year accessory “outlook”, business recaps for department to senior leadership each week along with quarterly in-depth “Bestseller” meetings each quarter.

• Obtained feedback from stores to improve product and packaging, and to react to selling, including fast and chase styles.

• Identified opportunities and launched new concepts including, nail polish and shapewear. Retail Management Program Trainee August 2009 – January 2010 During the 10-month executive training program, analysts rotate through Inventory Management, Production and Merchandising within Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. The objective is to learn how the product lifecycle works and how customers interact with each brand online and in-store to prepare for placement in one of the key functions upon completing the program.

• Achieved high ratings in each cross-functional rotation and was selected for a permanent position by the end of rotation two, forgoing the interview and placement process at the end of the program—an unprecedented exception. CORNELL UNIVERSITY August 2005 – May 2009

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