Brian Pugmire

Developed strategies and assortments across six categories to drive incremental revenue and profit across omni-channel platform and grow market share within each respective category. Managed cross-functional team including associate buyers, financial planner, replenishment manager, modular manager, and product development managers. Executed pricing strategies and actions to maintain EDLP footprint in market. Managed partnerships and execution of supplier base, including picking assortment, negotiating costs, setting inventory expectations, adjusting forecasts, and license collaborations. Provided regular reporting on health of business, feature performance, market trends, and future growth opportunities. Oversaw all item creation and maintenance for in-store and online items. Ensured team alignment to strategy.

Managed P&L for assigned categories. Set strategic budgets that aligned with buyers’ merchandising goals and strategy. Planned upcoming fiscal year’s feature events and special buys. Conducted in-season planning consisting of regular reporting around in-line assortments and feature events. Provided weekly analysis and forecasting updates, making recommendations to drive additional sales for category group. Managed all price promotions, rollbacks, clearance pricing, and markdowns. Collaborated with replenishment counterpart to implement new replenishment formula delegating more responsibility to supplier and generating demand on basis of current trend.

Established budgets to align with overall team strategy. Analyzed and reported business financial performance. Held responsibility for forecasting headwinds and tailwinds that might affect day-to-day business volatility. Provided incremental business opportunities by driving seasonal core items.

Prepared budgets for multiple categories. Created financial line reviews for approaching seasons. Managed department’s P&L and presented performance and forecasts each month. Provided analysis and recommendations to optimize assortment performance for cross-functional team. Analyzed and interpreted item performance of past features to provide insightful recommendations regarding store counts, buy quantities, and distribution strategy for prospective feature items. Provided daily, weekly, and monthly projections for all categories pertaining to furniture department. Evaluated item, category, and department performance to make thoughtful and accurate decisions relevant to business.

Private Brands, Packaging

- Sales and merchandising: managed account relationships with Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s: presented assortments across multiple departments. - Managed diverse supply chain and in-store inventory requirements for retailers: Facilitated private label business with retailers, producing items such as Kirkland Signature Polo and Member’s Mark Tee with annual volumes exceeding 1.5 million units for top sales items. - Product design, development, and quality management: directed the fabrication, styles, and color-ways of multiple programs including the DKNYC men’s and women’s socks programs to Sam’s Club - Supervised and evaluated factory conditions and production quality; i.e., scheduled SGS and CTL testing for the DKNYC leggings and hosiery programs - Lead/Managed Costco’s custom clothing program – Nine month in-store special project focused on driving member traffic and increasing customer perception of club membership value by providing high-end, made-to-measure apparel