Andrew Williamson

• Secured product placement at Michael's and JoAnn's, eliminating competitors' space.
• Responsible for Sales and Marketing for 4 separate Business Units.
• Successfully navigated our Leadership Team through the opportunity to enter the Fabric and Quilt sector, establishing placement at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby during the initial product launch
• Collaborate with Product Development, Sourcing, and Marketing in the creation of 1st and 2nd generation products by providing industry insight, market data, and account-specific intelligence

• Serviced various clients in Stationery, Education, Arts and Crafts, and other CPG sectors.
• Launched a profitable stationery collection for a key client
• Collaborated with Colorbök, Inc. in developing a successful Children's Toy and Craft product line, gaining new placement at Walmart
• Developed a children's toy line, earning spot in top 20 innovative products

• Participated in a successful managed sale resulting in a $62MM payout.
• At Target's request, I arranged for a focus group study to identify the optimal merchandising strategy for Target Stores.
• Built and mentored a team of creative and sales professionals who focused on in-store growth, channel development, and market insight.
• Executed launches for various product categories, including Home Décor & Stationery.

DIRECTOR OF SALES

• Established new accounts including Kroger's, Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, Federated Department Stores, Kohl's, Office Depot, Sam's Clubs, and Costco.
• For Target Stores, I led sales and merchandising strategies for Kathy Davis Studios (American Greetings).
• Led Product Manager Teams to define consumer demographics, product positioning, packaging, and pricing strategies.

• Doubled sales with over 2,200 Independent Retailers by hiring, training and managing a 65-member National Independent Broker Team
• Opened new territories by securing International Distributors resulting in $5 million in new revenue
• Communicate product intelligence from Buyers and market insight into the Product Development process
• Responsible for employee recruiting, development, training and mentoring

• Complete day-to-day responsibility including P&L for an absentee owner; doubling sales revenue
• Identified, negotiated and implemented new CSR software
• Identified, negotiated and implemented new MRP and accounting software
• Secured and maintained business from national retailers including Kroger’s, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Walgreens and Sam’s Clubs
• Trained and mentored a full Management Team while Increasing employee productivity by over 30% and retention through implementing Open Book Management