Customer Service Assistant Manager

GARY DIDONE

Cell: 647-***-****

*-*** ********** ***** **. Mississauga, Ontario L5R 4H8

*********@*****.***

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, BIG BOX RETAIL

10+ years of retail management experience, including 6 years as a regional leader with Loblaw

Well-versed in multi-unit management, store operations, visual presentation, P&L control, and talent management in the food and CPG industry. Extremely detail-oriented with expertise in strategic planning, project management, process improvement, labour optimization, space planning, relationship management, and cross-merchandising.

ASSISTANT MANAGER – Chalo Freshco #3860-Brampton Feb 2019-Apr 2022

Accountable for all grocery related departments, orders, staffing, training, bookings.

Key focus on West Indian grocery lines on top of conventional grocery listings.

RETAIL CONSULTANT Jul 2012 – Present

Advise the research firms AlphaSights, Guidepoint Global, Mosaic Research, and Ridgetop Research on the Canadian food and retail industry, with a focus on the impact of US-based companies when they enter Canadian markets.

HIGHLAND FARMS INC, Mississauga May 2016-April 2018

STORE MANAGER

Accountable for full store operations and merchandising. Store training and development, health & safety, food safety, P&L and customer relations. Focused on operational efficiencies and shrink controllables.

NO FRILLS –Daniel’s Mississauga Dec 2013-May 2016

GROCERY MERCHANDISING/OPERATIONS

Accountable to Grocery category maintenance of in-stock, SOP’s, training and conditions.

Night-crew operations consultant.

LOBLAW COMPANIES LIMITED

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS & MERCHANDISING – GROCERY/HABA 2009 – 2012

Ontario Region – 124 stores – 3 banners (Loblaws, Zehrs, Ontario Real Canadian Superstore) – up to $2.3B in sales

Served as a link between field operations and corporate support teams with accountability for operational standards and processes, inventory management, visual merchandising, planograms, signage, and the training, coaching, and development of grocery/HABA department managers across the province. Directed a team of 8 district leaders.

Took over a region that ranked 4th (last) in the country in key performance metrics and drove it to 2nd overall with frequent 1st place results:

Improved product availability from 60-70% to a consistent 95-98%.

Increased weekly planogram compliance scores from 85% to 98%.

Improved labour efficiency from 65% to 90%+.

Reduced margin loss percentage from 5% to 3.5%.

Focused district specialists on the bottom 20 stores, identified areas of opportunity, and increased net profit contributions by 2-4% in each location – typically within a 3-month period.

Oversaw product ordering and merchandising execution for all national ads, big brand events, and seasonal confectionary programs; exceeded sales projections for all events by 5-15%.

Tested several highly successful programs before national rollout, including a “back to basics” program that reset all planograms and re-order points and increased efficiency by 20-25%.

Supported the full renovation of 30+ Zehrs Markets and the opening of 2 new Loblaws stores, including the tremendously successful launch at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Created a grocery standards guide for the conventional banners in Ontario, which was later adopted by the Quebec and Atlanta regions.

Gary Didone, Page 2 ****.******@*********.**

GROCERY SPECIALIST, OPERATIONS & MERCHANDISING 2006 – 2009

Ontario Region – 37 stores – 1 banner (Ontario Real Canadian Superstore)

Oversaw all event/ad bookings, merchandising execution, product availability, perimeter planning, and operational processes for the dry grocery, dairy, frozen, organics, and tobacco categories in Ontario (approximately 45% of total store sales) for a newly formed banner. Trained and coached department managers to meet all national standards.

Planned and coordinated the setup of all major events and consistently exceeded sales forecasts by 5-15%. Created photo-diary decks to assist stores with proper execution.

Reviewed and authorized all ad, event, and seasonal orders for all 37 stores to ensure sufficient stock levels and compliance with vendor agreements.

Supported the conversion of 6 stores to the Superstore banner and the setup and opening of 3 new stores, including a flagship store in Milton and an ethnic flagship store in Scarborough.

Facilitated weekly conference calls with store managers, district managers, category leads, and the regional VP; focused on ad execution including product availability, pricing issues, and store-specific concerns.

Co-hosted weekly information sessions for the entire banner on the Business Television Network; reviewed upcoming events, set expectations, and wrapped up with a live Q&A session.

Introduced store-specific floorplan templates for planning and reviewing weekly ads and seasonal programs. Created a 1-page planogram compliancy report that was rolled out across the country.

Supported the senior director of merchandising with ad planning, merchandising initiatives, and reviews at the corporate office 2 days per week for the final 8 months.

STORE MANAGEMENT ROLES 2001 – 2006

Various locations ranging from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet with up to $48M in annual sales

Consistently promoted to higher-volume roles with accountability for food and general merchandise sales, inventory turns, merchandising, P&L, shrink, customer service, staffing, health & safety, and performance management.

Successfully completed every management training program including food safety, health & safety, workers’ compensation, and corporate SOP programs. Trained in all food and non-food departments.

Set up and opened 2 new stores, including the Richmond Hill Loblaws and the Ajax Superstore.

Gained earlier retail management experience with Hy & Zel’s, Payless ShoeSource, and Office Depot.

“Gary’s success has always been his ability to get things done.

He has been known as the go to guy for the field or within home office

when anyone is looking for details regarding any initiative……including me.”

H. Santi – Former Senior Director, National Grocery/HABA – Loblaw

Bachelor of Arts in Economics – University of Waterloo

Certified Member, Joint Health & Safety Committee – WSIB Ontario (2006)

Food Handler 02/2022, Smart Serve Apr 10 2017, First Aid 11/30/2020

LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/garydidone

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