Simon Bentley
About
Simon Bentley is from St Albans, England, United Kingdom. Simon is currently Category Buyer at Howdens, located in Raunds, England, United Kingdom. In Simon's previous role as a Buyer at John Lewis & Partners, Simon worked in London, England, United Kingdom until Nov 2021. Prior to joining John Lewis & Partners, Simon was a Assistant Buyer Large Electrical Appliances at John Lewis & Partners and held the position of Assistant Buyer Large Electrical Appliances at London. Prior to that, Simon was a Assistant Buyer Television and Audio Vision at John Lewis & Partners, based in London from Jan 2006 to Jan 2017. Simon started working as Senior Buyer at The. Discovery Store in North Yorkshire in Feb 1996. From Sep 1982 to Jan 1996, Simon was Assistant Buyer John Lewis at John Lewis & Partners, based in London, England, United Kingdom.
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Simon Bentley's current jobs
Simon Bentley's past jobs
Buyer Cooking Appliances -Large Electrical - Lead for the strategic planning and product selection of the Cooking appliance assortment in John Lewis, Accountable for the sales and margin performance of a key multi-million pound category for the Partnership. In a highly competitive, fast moving industry, I am skilled at responding to the daily changes that occur within the market and able to strategically plan ahead the direction for the future category proposition. My experience and know how has enabled me to build strong relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders within the Kitchen Appliance Market. I have a reputation as an effective and experienced negotiator able to adapt to different requirements appropriate to fit the business need.
Large Electrical Assistant Buyer, directly responsible for selected supplier management, range selection and promotional planning with lead brand's within the Laundry, Cooking, Cooling and Dish-Washing appliance categories. Led the development and launch of 40 new Own Label Laundry, Refrigeration and Built-In Cooking appliances. Rewarded with high double digit sales growth and 14 Which Best Buy awards. Appraised and activated shop floor changes to reflect growing consumer demand for 'Built-In' Appliances.
Presided over major advancements in digital and large screen technology ensuring John Lewis were the at the peak of consumer consideration. Re-designed the shop floor to accommodate growing consumer demand for large 'Flat Screen' TV. Led by consumer demand for enhanced sound with vision I created a promotional strategy which encouraged consumers to combine there TV and Audio purchase along with other high margin components. John Lewis market share of the UK market grew by 4% percentage points during mty tenure.
Lead Buyer for a chain of 20 Novelty Gift Stores. An all encompassing role that featured creativity and imagination with regular trips to the China and the Far East a feature.
My early Buying career was spent with John Lewis where the skills and foundations for my adaptable approach to buying different product types were honed. My experience, over two spells with John Lewis, covered new product categories, such as the first home computers, manufactured for the domestic market, to the techniques of balancing maximising of sales and stock control within highly seasonal categories such as Toys and Sports Clothing. Later I moved to more technically demanding assortments where safety and due diligence were critical,developing Own Label products within the Nursery Furniture, Bedding and Feeding industry.