Kshitiz Saxena
[email protected]
· cell 971-50-5595748
Head
Homeware Verticals • Retail
Focused & Result-oriented Buying Manager with a strong sense of retail, product trends and analytical experience. Proven expertise in driving efficiency and productivity through excellent leadership, business development skills & resource planning. Apt at communicating with management, vendors, and internal departments to coordinate overall business functions. Core competencies include:
|
·
International Sourcing
Markets ·
Fashion Trend
Analysis ·
Category
Management |
· Assortment
& Range Planning · Financial
Planning ·
Pricing Strategies & Management |
·
In-house Branding & Positioning ·
Marketing & Promotions Management ·
Vendor Management |
Professional Experience
RED
TAG,
BMA International is a Retail MNC which operates Malls
& Retail Stores across
Senior Buyer
Home Décor,
Bathroom & Light Furniture Dept’s
Guardian
of complete P& L for these departments. Revamped the core Departments of
Homeware Business – Home Décor & Bathroom Accessories. Restructured the
Merchandise Assortment by eliminating the Non performing categories & making
the Non competitive categories as seasonal. Branding
& repositioning the departments in terms of Private Label, Merchandise
Selection, Assortment, Quality and Price Points with consistency. Revived the ailing furniture
business by Strategic Planning. Introduced new categories targeting Young Girls
& Kids, which filled in the void of this Age group bracket. Undertaken
training programs for Retail Sales Associates on
the category management, material & composition of merchandise &
trained them on the Art of Visual merchandising via active workshop sessions.
Selected Contributions:
Ø By Branding & Repositioning our Decorative departments in terms of
Quality, Price Points & Consistency, we have been able to gown this
category by Aed 3.2m from FY 05-06 to FY 06-07.
Ø Revived the Ailing Furniture business by Introducing Furniture 365
Planning i.e. by dedicating top 10 stores permanently to this line of business and
increasing the repetition of Furniture Promotion’s, we have given a facelift to
the whole category. From Aed 3.7m FY 04-05 to Aed 5.7m FY 06-07.
Ø Introduced a new line of business ‘Lass’ targeting the Young Girls &
Kids. This category literally started from a scratch to Aed 1.0m in one year,
speaks for the success itself.
Ø
Strategically revising the OTB Module
for 9 months & above has helped us by forecasting & planning
our merchandise well in advance by reducing last minute confirming orders &
missing Promotions in the current state of business.
Ø
Streamlining the complete
Bath Room Department by defining the Range & Assortment Planning and fixing
the Price Point Matrix.
Ø
Received Employee
Recognition Award from the Management in 2007 for my department’s outstanding
contribution in Sales FY06-07 and for training & upgrading the skills of
our Retail Sales Associates.
GEANT
Hypermarkets,
Group Casino is one of leading Hypermarket &
Supermarket Retailers of France which operates more than 9000 stores all around
the world. The Saudi Business is managed by Leading Retailer of the region Al
Hokair Group and Geant Saudi has 6 hypermarkets in the Kingdom.
Divisional
Manager
Overseas
Buying - Light Household
Main Objective was to set
up a new Department within the group “Overseas Buying - Light Household”. The Core
Strategy behind the Overseas operations was to Start Private Labels for
Hypermarkets, Bring Freshness to the Merchandise Assortment and to overcome Price Wars on
locally sourced merchandise. Making Financial Plans for
Light Household Imports to achieve the Sales targets and Company’s bottom line objectives.
Monitoring and addressing performance indicators like Sales, Promotions, and Ageing &
Discounting on a timely basis. Researching on customer needs
and Assessing competition SWOT areas. Planning National Promotions &
Marketing Brochures for all Geant Stores in the Kingdom.
Selected Contributions:
Ø
Formulated & Constituted the Overseas Buying Department for the
Chain of Hyper markets in
Ø
Achieved 25%
realized Gross Margins on Imports despite taking huge blows during Below the Cost
Promotions on Imports merchandise.
Ø Streamlined the forward cover plan thus reduced the holding
inventory by 20%.
Ø
Initiated the overall
branding process for the Departments.
Ø
Traveling to all
major fairs in the world to choose and put together a new collection of
products according to customer demand, trends & fashion
Ø Streamlining the Overseas Supply Chain & Logistics for the
group by outsourcing the major critical clearing, warehousing & trucking.
Ø Have gained huge experience
while opening new hypermarkets throughout the Kingdom.
HOME Centre,
Landmark Group is one of the largest retail chains
in Middle East & India. It operates stores such as Home Centre, Splash,
Lifestyle, Shoe-Mart & Max. Home Centre is the complete Home Specialty
store which carries Furniture, Furnishing & Complete Home Décor and currently
is 50 stores strong.
Buyer, from Jan’04
Assistant
Buyer, Aug’02 – Jan’04
Household Department
Traveling
to all major Fairs in Indian Subcontinent, Far East & South East Asia for
buying & sourcing. Negotiating on Prices & Payments terms, Finalizing
Quantities and Scheduling Shipments to ensure continuous supply of new
merchandise. Working on Initial Distributions and pushing stocks through Central
& Regional Warehouses. Handling Claims & taking up quality issues with suppliers.
Market Research, Competitors study & SWOT analysis were part of this
profile.
Selected Contributions:
Ø Financial Planning - Planning
budgets and presenting sales forecasts and figures for new ranges. Develop
financial plans for merchandise selections, buying and sales.
Ø
Retail Marketing & Presentations - Working closely with the
Marketing/Advertising Department to aid and assist in Seasonal launch
Brochures.
Ø
Price Management & Markdown Planning - Review and analyze selling
and inventory reports by article number to determine items which contribute to
satisfactory sales; also recommending markdowns and necessary liquidation
actions for slow selling items.
Ø
Retail Floor Understanding -Worked on floor for a few months in addition
to office, in order to understand the Customer needs, taste, fashion and desires.
Sgs India limited,
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, testing and
certification company. It is recognized as the global benchmark for quality
& integrity. It offers valuable service to its buyers by sourcing and
monitoring quality as per their standards.
Executive,
from Mar ‘01
Junior Executive
May 00 – Mar 01
Key Account
Manager
SGS
Key Account Manager for the World’s 2nd largest Group of Retail
Stores Carrefour. Core Objective was to assist Buyers by Sourcing price competent
merchandise from
Key Achievement:
Ø
Work involved coordination of production, product development
& sampling with vendors.
Ø
Ensuring
the correct quality by conducting all types of fabric testing according to buyer’s
standards, fabric approvals, size sets and production samples approvals.
Ø
Expanding
the company’s sourcing/vendor base taking into consideration their
manufacturing strengths, quota availabilities & other compliance issues.
Education
Middle Management Program (2008)
MMP in GENERAL Management from
Masters in International Business (2003)
PGDBA in International
business from Symbiosis institue of management -
Bachelors in Textile Engineering (2000)
B.tech in textiles from
Technological Institute of Textiles & sciences -
References will be provided on request.