Expert Details
Retail Consultant: Consumer Goods, Brands, Trends, Merchandising, Operations, & Store Safety
ID: 733323
California, USA
His consultancy focuses on providing expert assessments of retail brands and offering strategic guidance to management, owners, legal teams, and investors. He conducts comprehensive reviews of merchandising, in-house design, product development, vendor contracts, sourcing, and buying, along with retail real estate evaluations. Expert is skilled in brand positioning, competitive analysis, and assortment diagnostics, with deep product knowledge in categories such as teen, women’s, and children’s apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, plus-size fashion, and beauty. His expertise extends to online and social merchandising, customer engagement, and operational assessments, including management staffing and expense evaluation.
Prior to founding his consultancy, he was the CEO of a large apparel company, where he led the successful transition from public to private ownership, reducing losses and growing the company. He also served as Executive Vice President and COO at The Wet Seal, where he led a critical turnaround that restored the company to profitability.
Expert's career includes serving as CEO of Savers Inc., where he transitioned the company from a family-owned business to a growth strategy, making it the largest for-profit thrift store chain worldwide. At Gymboree Corporation, he expanded operations significantly, growing the store count from 200 to over 600 and overseeing international operations in 14 countries.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Mervyn’s Stores and Target Stores, where he managed large-scale operations, including the management of 60 Target stores in Northern California and Nevada, with sales exceeding $1.2 billion. He also played a key role in Target’s expansion into Southern California.
In addition to his corporate roles, Expert has served on several boards, including the National Retail Federation, March of Dimes, and Kids in Distressed Situations.
Expert's diverse experience and proven track record in leadership, strategic planning, and operations make him a sought-after consultant in the retail industry.
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2010 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: CEO | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Expert assessment of retail brands and their operations• Complete review of merchandising, marketing, in house design, product development, sourcing, buying • Retail real estate reviews of malls, strip centers, life style shopping areas, distribution centers • Brand positioning, competitive review, assortment diagnostics • Product expertise with teen, women, kids, shoes, accessories, jewelry, plus size, beauty • Online, social merchandising, customer connection and guidance • Management staffing review, SGA assessment, operations review, cost/expense assessment • Experienced with Fast Fashion, Department Stores, Specialty, Big Box and general product stores • Opened and managed stores in all 50 states, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Korea |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2008 to 2010 | Employer: United Retail Group, Inc. (Acquired by PPR in 2007) | Title: CEO | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Moved recently acquired company from public to private, reduced losses, and grew the company• Women’s plus size brands Avenue, Avenue Body, Cloudwalker Footwear, Avenue Direct, and Jessica London • 500 mall and strip-center based specialty stores and online stores • In-house exclusive designs and contract manufactured • Full P&L and brand development responsibilities • Charged with improving United Retail Group profitability and growing its concept |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2004 to 2008 | Employer: The Wet Seal, Inc. | Title: EVP, COO | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Returned company to profitability from large financial losses• Sales, real estate, store planning & construction, operations, purchasing, acquisitions, and strategies • 470 mall-based fashion retail stores, Arden B. and Wet Seal brands • Full P&L responsibilities • Major turnaround project, saving company from financial failure and returning it to a profitable brand |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2000 to 2003 | Employer: Savers, Inc. | Title: President & CEO, Owner, Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Transitioned a family owned business to a growth strategy with 60% now owned by private investors• Led the operations of 197 thrift stores • Retail operations in Canada, Australia, and the United States • Responsible for brand, strategy and concept development • The largest for-profit thrift store chain worldwide |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1996 to 2000 | Employer: The Gymboree Corporation | Title: CEO, Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Responsible for the profitable operation of 600+ retail stores and 400 parent/child play & music program locations• Designed, sourced and manufactured high quality children's play clothing • Operating in 14 countries. Growing from 200 to over 600 stores • Direct reports were international director of operations, heads of merchandising, marketing, stores, human resources, real estate and finance |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1992 to 1996 | Employer: Mervyn's Stores | Title: EVP, Stores & Operations | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Major retailer of big box consumer products, apparel and general merchandise• Management and operations of 295 stores with annual sales over $4.5 billion and 30,000+ employees • Responsible for setting direction in support of company vision • Financial responsibility included a $500 million annual budget • Executive member of the Target Corporation management council |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1976 to 1992 | Employer: Target Stores | Title: VP, Regional Manager, District Manager & Store Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:Vice President Regional Manager - West (1987-1992):• Management of 60 stores in Northern California and Nevada • Six districts, sales of $1.2 billion • Operating profit/loss responsibility Regional Merchandising Manager - West (1984-1987) • Management of stores inventories, assortments and product timing • Sales responsibility for all West Coast stores - grew from 27 to 118 stores in four years • 8 Field Merchandisers direct reports District Manager – California, Missouri, Illinois (1980-1984) • Managed district groupings of 9-13 stores in St. Louis and Southern California. • 1,800 employees, $210 million in volume responsibility • Full P&L accountability • Planned the initial Target Stores entry into Southern California. Opened 10 new stores in the market. Store Manager – Missouri (1976-1980) • General store manager duties in three stores over a five-year period • Volume responsibility ranged from $12 million to $22 million • Full P&L accountability • Appointed to open one new store • Named Manager of the Year |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1972 to 1976 | Employer: Cook United | Title: Store Management | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Various management assignments from trainee to store manager• Three store manager appointments during my tenure • Large format discount stores with general merchandise with a focus on hardware and home improvement |
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International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 1996 to 2000 | Country / Region: UK, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Australia, | Summary: Retail and franchised brand operations. |
Career Accomplishments
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| • Stanford University Corporate Directors Consortium • Harvard Negotiation Institute |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Board, National Retail Federation (16+ years) Board, March of Dimes – National Trustee, Executive Director (5 years) Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) (4 years) Gymboree Inc. Gymboree International (4 years) Savers Inc. (3 years) |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Selected as Top 100 best Places to Work by Working Women's Magazine, in the United States. Gymboree Corp. Target Stores Manager of the Year |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| 8+ years of experience as a legal expert witness providing research and opinion on over 20 retail cases involving department stores, big box retail and specialty stores for both defendants and plaintiffs. Case subject matter includes executive management, operations, merchandising, store safety, retail real estate contracts, product production, and sourcing. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| • Henry Crown Fellow – a four-year values-based leader internship at the Aspen Institute (1997) • Various management development courses, as student and instructor |