Christine Harrison

Full buying and financial responsibility for meeting planned sales, margin and turnover goals for all Kmart stores and Kmart.com website. Annual sales volume was $65M in 650 stores. • Managed all aspects of merchandise offering – selection, negotiation, promotion and disposition. • Developed member driven assortments that support departmental goals with a key item focus. • Collaborated with planning team to provide guidance, direction and support in development of annual plans, monthly forecasts, weekly business reviews, ladder plans and purchase order creation. • Prepared and presented product at Assortment Reviews, Line and Business Reviews with Senior Management. • Managed product development cycle from concept and design, to sourcing and costing, to production timing and delivery • Created and communicated department floor plans, detailing fixture and table presentation guidelines for all stores. Analyzed fixture productivity and revised assortments based on sales and margin performance. • Traveled to NYC and overseas to maintain and develop new vendor partnerships. • Managed and developed 1 Associate, (who was promoted to buyer in 1 year), and 2 Assistant Buyers.

Found and acquired compelling product assortment at great price that allowed our Moms to shop with delight on our 72 hour flash sale site. • Identified brands and product that represented our customer’s demand. Utilized high recognition brands, i.e. Carhartt, New Balance, Hurley, etc. that drove big sales and generated $1M plus in sales revenue. • Represented and shared details and successes of our company with potential partners – Zulily ambassador. • Negotiated, built and sourced compelling product assortments at discounted prices using exclusive private label brands. • Drove sales through selection of product, pricing, promotion for greatest ROI. Customer’s enjoyed discounts of 50% or more off regular established retails. • Owned buying responsibility and financial accountability for all Boys’ apparel. • Negotiated buying terms with vendors (price, quantity, and delivery/payment terms). • Managed 3 day event operations with Assistant Buyer.

Planned and managed the fashion content and balance of inventory through understanding the Lingerie and Hosiery market as it relates to customers’ needs. • Exceeded the departmental sales volume, gross margin and turnover targets for 2010. • Created and manage top supplier buy plan for fashion product that provides gross margin results and any needs on a monthly basis for 2011. • Managed non-replenishment key items with unit seasonal plans that include sales and receipts to track the performance. Provide monthly updates and advise what corrections are necessary. • Provided analysis for all key fashion Lingerie and Hosiery buys from Fall 2010 to utilize for Fall 2011 assortment, pricing, sizing, location and receipt flow decisions. • Contributed to in season inventory management including creation and allocation of re-order cut ups and closeouts. • Drove sizing optimization as it relates to pre-packs, re-allocating sizes to better meet the customers’ needs. • Distributed product to maximize regular price selling and sell-through’s. Utilize store location callouts, sales to stock ownership, presentation guidelines and RDM feedback to optimally distribute the merchandise. • Partnered with buyer and financial planner on monthly business reviews and resulting necessary actions. Validated that the original plan goals are achievable.

Held full buying and financial responsibility for the Missy, Petite and Women’s Outerwear and Missy National Brand Denim categories for all Sears full line stores and Sears.com website; sales volume was $105.4 million in 885 stores. • Developed customer driven, trend right assortments and managed all aspects of the merchandising offering – selection, negotiation, promotion and disposition. • Established collaborative relationships with vendors that supported the merchandising strategy and achieved the desired financial performance to meet the department goals. • Managed integration with Product Development on design, sourcing, production timing and brand development. • Visited stores to evaluate merchandise mix, weighed individual and regional store needs and translated the findings into executable product plans. • Provided collaborative guidance, direction and support to the planning organization in the development of merchandise, key item and classification plans. • Partnered with the inventory manager to complete accurate forecasts by evaluating financial information, current trends and anticipated market changes that impacts buy decisions and strategies. • Selected product to maximize return of advertising expense. Partnered with marketing team to reconcile marketing plans and promotional calendar. Monitored and maintained promotional performance. • Coached and developed Associate buyer to ensure growth and readiness for next level position.

Buying / financial responsibility for $65M in sales and 177 stores. • Negotiated and developed key vendor partnerships with National Brands (Levi, Gloria Vanderbilt, Briggs, Sag Harbor, and Liz Claiborne), Market brands (Notations, Volume One, Requirements, By Design, and Assoluto), and Junior brands (LEI, Angels, Disney, Eyeshadow, and One Step Up). • Oversaw all private label brands from product development, sourcing, cost negotiations, and timing of receipts. • Developed a clear, concise advertising strategy that promoted my customer segment in multiple print vehicles that were sent to 2 million customers weekly. • Determined product assortment for a proposed e-commerce site in partnership with Amazon that would feature Plus Missy and Junior products; determining content of the site, pricing, color offering, and copy. • Developed focus group questions; presented samples, plus color and style boards to the focus groups for review. • Presented focus group findings to senior management, along with the appropriate changes in product design and product mix that was suggested by the focus groups. • Shopped the competition locally and throughout the Western US; reviewed product content, labels, styling details, pricing, color impact, and floor space devoted to the classifications. • Presented detailed competitive analyses with proposed action steps to senior managers. • Interviewed graduating college seniors for the Executive Training program; built consensus among the interviewer group on who would be given job offers. • Maintained a strong connection with the stores, visiting at least one store every week; led monthly store visits with senior management and department team to review product presentation, pricing, and inventory of basic items. • Traveled to New York and Los Angeles up to eight times annually to build vendor support, negotiate financial goals, review joint advertising plans, and review their product offerings.

Buying and financial responsibility for the dresses category in conjunction with the Senior Buyer and Planner. • Exceeded all financial goals and was recognized as the No. 1 department in the company.

Oversaw and approved all guidelines for merchandise presentation in 253 stores for the Home Division. • Provided liaison with Target Corporation to customize the Spaceman software that was used to communicate store presentation guidelines; implemented in all Western US stores in 1995. • Created "In a Box" approach that allowed stores to receive their holiday assortment at one time, simplifying set up of fixtures and products, saving time, and minimizing problems. • Analyzed fixture productivity, and made product and presentation recommendations to the Divisional Merchandise Manager and to individual buyers.